“Honey, I wanna be a cartoonist.” Part 2
After deciding to create a comic strip, I went to my local public library to look up the names and addresses of the major syndicate editors, read up on submission guidelines, and get a feel for what to expect with the submission process. I then spent 6 months or so creating a cast of characters, writing scripts and drawing samples. I took the best 24 of these strips, photocopied them and pasted into a stylish, handmade booklet. In the graphic design business, presentation is half the battle, so I went all out. I took these presentations, FedEx’d them to all the syndicates, and waited.
Here are a few samples from those 24 original strips.
The Sunday was actually colored with Pantone color film. The year was 1991, and we didn’t have Macs with Photoshop to do our color. Anyone who’s been in the graphics business as long as I have will remember this simple yet indispensible design tool.
I remember “the call.” The secretary at the agency where I worked paged me to tell me I had a call on the line. What a surprise to find out it was Jay Kennedy wanting to discuss my submission. We spoke for what seemed like half an hour, and he shared his thoughts about what I could do to improve the strip. He also took the time discuss the business of syndication, something I still knew very little about. When we hung up I remember thinking, “Well, I did it. I’m going to be a syndicated cartoonist.” All I had to do was send in some additional requested samples, Jay would review them, call me back, offer me a contract, and I’d be on my way. Right? A very naive reaction, but consider that, unlike today, there was very little available on what it takes to get into this business.
I did work up those additional samples for Jay, but right in the middle of it all I came down with a severe case of mononucleosis, so I was pretty wiped out for about a month. Jay called me after receiving the samples and let me know that he was taking a pass on syndicating Second Nature. This was a bit of a blow but not a crushing one.
I decided it was time to call Lee Salem at Universal. I hadn’t heard back from him, so maybe Second Nature was generating some interest there. Looking back, I’m amazed at how easily I was able to get through to him on the phone. Like Jay, Mr. Salem was gracious enough to share his comments on the strip. His critisisms were sharp, but I didn’t take them personally. I still had a lot to learn, and these editors were taking valuable time out of their day to teach me. Overall, Mr. Salem liked the writing and the art, but felt that strips with talking animals were a tough sell. Oh, well… strike 2.
Strikes 3,4,5 and how ever many more there were came as form letters. Reality had finally set in. Getting syndicated was going to be a little harder than I thought.
Then Anne came up with the idea that we distribute the strip ourselves to try and generate interest.
Next post: Our Second Nature Direct Mail Distribution Campaign.