Chewing Pencils

Method 4:- Unsolicited Submissions

This is one of those strange methods of selling cartoons that seems to be a gold mine for some artists but a constant source of frustration for others. Basically, it entails sending off a bunch of your cartoons to an editor or publisher in the hope that they will like what they see, buy it and print it.

My experience of unsolicited submissions has been pretty good. Currently, about one third of my income is derived via this method, with about 80% of what I submit being published. The money is good and because there is nobody telling me what to draw, it is often quite fun!

There is the potential to waste a lot of time and effort sending hundreds of cartoons to editors without earning a cent in return. Thus, it requires a few skills on top of being able to draw cartoons and lick a stamp. Here are a few things that I have found to help my unsolicited submissions end up in print.

1. Look for publications that already use work from a number of cartoonists. I don’t mean a newspaper that publishes a regular editorial cartoon, but a magazine that regularly has gag cartoons scattered through out. Readers Digest is a good example. You shouldn’t limit your submissions to places like this, but there’s no point ignoring markets that obviously publish cartoons!

2. Contact the editor directly and ask if they are accepting submissions and what the best process is. Even if you’ve heard from somebody else about the submission process, making personal contact with whoever makes the decisions is a good idea. It puts your name in their head and sends the message that you want to work with them by going through the right channels. It also means that you send your work to the right person!

3. Ask what delivery methods are acceptable. If your target client only accepts submissions in hardcopy, then don’t send emails with large attachments! If they won’t accept email submissions, ask if they will view a special website that displays your work. If they won’t do that, you’ll have to use snail mail. But whatever they say, make sure that’s how you submit your work.

4. Remember the smaller regular submissions are better than large, irregular submissions. One of my main clients has a memory like a sieve, which means if I send them ten cartoons for consideration one might get published and the rest forgotten. Instead, I only send about three at a time and save the rest until next month. This keeps fresh material in front of the editors face and increases your chances of getting published.

5. Offer some easy, no cost method of either returning your work or letting you know what they want to print. If using snail mail, included a return, postage paid letter or postcard that gives an editor an easy, ‘tick box’ way of saying what they want to use and whether they would like a high res file sent through. And always follow up your submissions with a phone call to see what they thought about your cartoons.

6. Submit the same work to multiple publishers. There’s mixed feelings about this idea. Some cartoonists think it’s better to submit your cartoons to one place and wait for a rejection before sending it elsewhere. The trouble with this is that some places take months to get back to you with a decision. I’ve tended to submit the same things to a number of places with the attitude of ‘first in, best dressed.’ So far it hasn’t caused any issues, but I can see a number of pitfalls that I might have to face in the future. For instance, if two places publish one piece at the same time before they inform me, there could be some awkward rights issues to work through.

7. Make sure your submissions are well presented and are appropriate to the publication you are submitting too. Sending a bunch of abortion gags to a parenting magazine is not a good idea…

8. Don’t send work to publications that don’t pay. And for those that do, make sure you get a list of their standard rates or negotiate your own price.

9. Don’t send originals. They’ll get damaged and you’ll probably never see most of them again anyway.

10. Until you establish a client base, expect to receive lots of rejections. Don’t let this discourage you, but use it as motivation to keep going for the next paying job.

If you haven’t tried this method before, here’s a little project to get you started:

· Set yourself the goal of drawing two cartoons a week for the next twelve months.
· During your lunch break, wander down to the shops and scour the magazine stands for target clients. Make contact and see who accepts submissions.
· At the end of each month, you should have 8 - 10 cartoons. Aim to submit them all somewhere.
· Do the same every month for twelve months.
· Buy yourself a decent present with your earnings at the end of the year.

Draw well!

To see the other ‘methods’ in this series, visit this link.