Getting Published

The road to being Published is a singular journey, filled with more rejection than you can imagine. The Illustration field is full of talented people that have degrees in art and design. Does that make them more qualified than the self-taught artist? Not at all. Publishers and editors really aren't interested in Art Theory or Personal Statements that invariably attach themselves to illustrators with degrees. They don't care if an illustration is done totally in one program or if it is rendered in a 3D generating program and then post worked nine ways from Saturday in Photoshop. Hobbyist level programs vs. Professional programs are just background noise to them. All they want is a suitable illustration for their publication. And they want it yesterday. In freelancing the portfolio that lists a prestigious art school might get a closer look, but it will not guarantee a commission. In fact, the degree only matters if you are looking to be HIRED ON as an employee. In getting that Elusive Commission, what does matter is the ability to deliver what the publisher wants. While that might sound simple, I can assure you, it isn't. You need the uncanny ability to take a minimum of information and crawl into the publisher's head and produce his unique vision. Finding teeth on a chicken is easier. One thing I can promise you, the publisher will invariably change What S/He Wants as often as the Dow Jones switches directions. Depend on it. To get published you are going to have to do a few things.

Research -- Genre is everything
More Research
Get rid of the ego -- Genre is everything
Really Listen
Firmly establish your genre -- because it is everything
Develop thick skin
Get out of your own way -- Genre is everything Now, this is NOT a critique on anyone's art. But if your entire portfolio consists of nothing but Doe Eyed Naked-or-mostly-so Vicki in a Temple with a sword, replete with flying hair or a variation thereof, get ready for a LOT of rejection. There are a few e-publishers that buy this sort of art, the wages are VERY small and they want exclusive rights. And with the current volume of the aforementioned genre, the competition is fierce for those measly pennies that can be pried from those parsimonious purses. There is nothing WRONG with the NVIAT images. I think they are a fun and easy on the eyes. But unless you are Boris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta, Luis Royo or Julie Bell, you aren't going to be selling many of those. I don't recommend agents, but if this is the genre you want to do, I strongly suggest you find one that specializes in cheesecake and pin-ups. If you do your research, you will find that photos dominate the genre, not computer generated art. The trend towards electronic submissions is still painfully slow in the art world. Publications for printed images would just rather see and feel the image than look at it on a monitor. There are three reasons for this (or so I'm told). First Reason: Publishers are ignorant about RESOLUTION. An image looks great on a screen. It looks VERY different in print. Colors are less vibrant, the images are not as sharp and the sizes are deceiving. Second Reason: There are a lot of wanna-be artists out there. Anyone with a paint program and a little time can churn out hundreds of images that are not suitable for publication. Yes, all their friends think they are Savants, but 99% of the time it just isn't so. Electronic submissions net an editor THOUSANDS of poor quality or just flat out garbage images a day. Third Reason: Attachments are the devil incarnate. Most publishers have a limited amount of mailbox space, and since images of suitable size and resolution can be upwards of 30mgs in file weight, a lot of images might be bounced. Add to this, the increasing and ever present chance of embedded viri, you can understand the bias towards electronic submissions. On to Genre... When you submit to a publisher, you need to have it clear in your head what they buy. Avon and Harlequin buy Romance Images of the PG or G rated variety. This means fully clothed people in standing positions. Warner and Mira publish Romance books of the bodice ripper variety. That means you can show a shirtless male and a female with a bit of skin showing and they can be lying down, or slightly suggestive (hence the term "bodice ripper"). Tor and Bantam publish Fantasy and Sci-fi (Space Operas) and Westerns (Oat Operas), and most of these are still PG or G rated. If you submit anything that is not within their buying genre, you will get rejected. Research is as easy as spending the day at Barnes and Noble. Just take a whole day and look at the books. Note the publisher on the spine. Find more books by that publisher. You will get a very good idea what they are buying by comparing the covers. Take a pen and pad of paper with you, as the publisher addresses are generally listed inside the front cover on just about every book right next to the Library of Congress numbers. While you are jotting down publisher names, take the time to compose a description of the images for that publisher. You will find they are all very similar. You will want to at least mimic that when you send in your portfolio. This will save time later when you get the commission and you are asked for a storyboard. Some authors have a choice in what images are used to grace the covers of their books. These are the authors that have many books published. Just look for the stack of books by one author. You might want to pick up one or two of these books at read them to get an idea of how the story is visualized. Prolific authors mean many possible commissions. A very sneaky way to get around a contrary publisher is to contact the author and create a friend. You will, of course, have to read everything by that author and be able to discuss their stories at length. This isn't necessarily the drudge it sounds like. You could practice illustrating different scenes in the book and get the authors opinion. The more you please the author, the easier it will be to impress the publisher. And now about commissions... Be prepared to scream. Frequently. Publishers will ask for THE most Irritating Changes. And they ask for a LOT of them. Now you can spend your time arguing, but since they have the wallet, it's just easier to do the said changes. Beware of becoming known as a Difficult Artist. Even if you are the best artist they have, Publishers are egomaniacs and will simply find someone else to deal with. Learn to keep your mouth shut and do the requested changes. You can illustrate just how wrong the changes are while still appearing to be accommodating. Eventually, the publisher will trust you enough just to assign you the image and leave you alone to create. And that is your goal, after all. Cheers and happy campaigning, --Terri Lindsey

Terri Lindsey is a graphics artist, illustrator and web designer. Currently employed as Art Director for Faultline Studios, she oversees the illustration department and is the lead artist for Crown of the Emperor Collectible Card game. It is rumored that she lives on nicotine and diet soda, but none of our correspondants have returned to verify if this is true. --Nihil me terret Be sure to visit Terri's website, www.darkswan.net, and Renderosity Store...