DC Conspiracy[dots pattern]

8.18.2007

Editorial Control #0: I’m the Editor

My job is to support you. I help you pull a thought out of your brain. I help you nurture it. I talk to you about what we’re going to do with it once we’re ready to harvest it. I help you process it – I help you make it work. Together we package the idea – try it out – repackage it – repeat. We isolate what’s right and we discard the rest. We build it up and we cut it down.

Repeat.

I live by the big picture. We chart a course and I keep you on it. You have a scene that’s the funniest thing you’ve ever written and I tell you that you’ll have another opportunity to use it. I let you know what doesn’t belong and let you know when you’re too afraid to go where we agreed you should go. I pat you on the back when you do a good job and will ask for a complete redo if it isn’t working.

Repeat.

I go from idea to pitch to synopsis to outline to story to script to thumbnails to pencils to inks to tones to letters and give input at every step. I package it up. I guide the design. I copyedit and take care of the front, back and filler matter. I look at several potential covers and oftentimes suggest a different approach. All the while I listen to your inputs and stay in line with your vision. If we wander too far, we go back to the beginning.

And we repeat.

I get it to the printer and spend days repeatedly reading the proof. I come up with marketing ideas. I set up interviews and meetings and spend hours on the internet and in libraries looking up new contacts and new places to promote the work. I organize signings. Shake a lot of hands. Make a lot of phone calls. I make sure the book is well represented online and in print. I protect the brand – I understand what can be ignored and what can be harmful. I protect against the potentially harmful weeks in advance.

Repeat.

All the while I’m looking for new books. New talent. New ideas. I contact a new creator once a day. My contact list is filled with hundreds of writers and artists that I’ve been watching. I know their likes and dislikes, where they live and what’s going on in their towns, their spouses’ names, how many kids they have, their favorite teams, their pets’ names, and their favorite comics. I know what their dream project is and I want to help them make it happen.

I’m the editor. People often ask me what I do and my answer is, “What do you want me to do?” This new column is going to go a bit deeper into that answer. It is going to be various musings on storytelling, deadlines, tools, marketing, production…the things I do everyday. I will be candid. I will say what worked and what I’ll never bother doing again. I will speak from experience but also think about what’s next – what I haven’t tried yet.

I will be cross-posting this on several public forums. You can read it on the Eximious Blog, DC Conspiracy Blog, Art DC boards, my MySpace page, and my Engine Ning blog. Hopefully there will be discussions on all of those forums. Columns will be posted when I feel like posting, but it’ll likely be at least weekly.

That’s all for now – I look forward to talking to you.

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Jason at 12:36 AM  |  link to this   

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