Publishing – Old

Pitching a Project to Cloudscape

The following is the old submission page. CLICK HERE for up to date submission guidelines.

Here it is, folks: full details on what you need to submit so we can consider your book pitch for publishing. Each part is very important, so read them all carefully. We are greatly looking forward to hearing from you!

Please send your complete pitch in an email to jade(at)cloudscapecomics.com with the subject Cloudscape Book Pitch – (name of your project).  You can also contact Jade at that same address with any questions you have about the pitching process or the requirements.

NOTE: Please send only one project pitch per email.

1: Cover Letter

The cover letter should be featured in the body of your email as well as on the first page of an attached document (pdf) that contains the rest of your pitch (described in the following sections). In your cover letter, please give us a summary of the story’s plot as well as introduce yourself, with a maximum of 150 words for each.

2: The Project (Graphic Novel)

After introducing it with the cover letter, go into more detail about the project. This section should be maximum of two pages in length.

If the entire book is a graphic novel with a single story, then this section should:

  • Expand on your plot synopsis, clearly laying out the story’s beginning, middle, and end, including the main conflict and climax. Do not leave anything out; your summary is not a blurb on the back of the book that keeps everything mysterious and suspenseful. Tell us the whole story.
  • Lay out who the protagonist, antagonist, and other main characters are.
  • Explain what genre you feel the graphic novel is and who the is target audience of the project.
  • Every piece of writing and work of art is giving a perspective on the world. Explain what themes your project engages with and what ideas it explores.
  • Discuss what makes your graphic novel special. How is it different from other comics on the market?
  • By that same token, also think about which existing stories share similarities. That helps when establishing the target market of your project. List at least three stories (preferably comics) that you feel your story is comparable to.

2 cont’d: The Project (Anthology)

If the proposed book is an anthology  rather than a single story, this section should still be maximum two pages in length, but the pitch must instead include:

  • The unifying theme of the anthology, and how you will make sure the theme is prominent throughout the book.
  • A short summary of your story for this book (if you are writing one yourself).
  • Which artists you feel you could get to contribute to the project.
  • An overview of what genre you feel the anthology is and who is the target audience of the project.
  • As with the graphic novel, discuss your anthology’s:
    • Theme
    • What makes it special
    • Three books that are comparable to it

3: The Plan

Once you explain your graphic novel’s story, go over the plan you have for how the physical book will develop:

  • Your estimated timetable. Tell us when you intend to have the script completed, the initial pencils, the inks, etc. How much of the story will be finished by when?
  • The book’s dimensions. Give us a rough estimate of the book’s final page count, as well as the book’s dimensions. You don’t need to give specific dimension numbers, but at least say, “I imagine the book to be the size of a Marvel or DC-style graphic novel” or “It should have the shape of a manga.”
  • Inking, colour, etc. Will the book be in colour? How will it be inked? What other parts of the process have you planned?

4: You

Provide information about yourself:

  • Biography. A paragraph (max 250 words) about who you are.
  • Curriculum Vitae (resumé). In particular we are interested in what training/experience you’ve had relating to art, comics, and/or publishing

5: Samples

These should be separate documents from the basic pitch.

  • Sample Script. Send us a pdf of the script from the book you’re pitching. The script does not need to be complete, but must be for a minimum of 10 comic pages. Note that the page minimum refers to 10 pages of the hypothetical comic, not necessarily to the script itself. A 10-page comic could require a script that’s much longer.
  • Sample Pages. Provide 5-10 sample comic pages as hi-res jpgs drawn by the artist for your project. Note that these have to be comic pages, not single images. These pages do not need to be from the book you’re pitching, but if they are, that’s even better. If you have more than 10 pages completed for the graphic novel, don’t send them all, but tell us in your Cover Letter how many you have.

Note that even if you are pitching an anthology rather than a project you’d be writing entirely on your own, it is still important for you to have familiarity with the comic medium. Thus, you still need to send us a sample script that you’ve done, and, if you will be an artist in this project, send us sample comic pages as well. However, if you are pitching an anthology, the sample script does not need to be from the anthology in question.

Things to Remember

  • As part of Cloudscape’s mission to develop comics in BC, we are only open to submissions from individuals or teams that are at least 50% current or former BC residents.
  • No ongoing series. This must be a self-contained graphic book.
  • We only publish comics. No novels, illustrated books, etc.