How to Submit Cartoons for Publication
The goal for any cartoonist is to see your work in print. Whether its in a magazine or newspapers, theres nothing quite like having your efforts validated by a real, by-gosh genuine cartoon editor. My first published cartoon was in a nationally published magazine. It only paid me 25 bucks, but the value of being a published cartoonist was incalculable! Heres a quick primer on how to prepare a single-panel cartoon for submission.
Neat Drawing
Once you have worked out the details in your brainstorming session, you need to transfer your drawing to a clean sheet of 8 x 11 inch sheet of paper. Regular printer paper is fine as long as its clean. Dont get cutesy with the size of the paper or the color. Bigger paper is a pain for editors who have to pour through lots of submissions, and submitting your work on brightly-colored fluorescent paper will NOT make it stand out at least not in a good way. It screams amateur and will get it thrown in the trash.
I will often transfer the drawings straight out of my sketchpad onto printer paper via a light box. I like this process because it preserves the spontaneity and comical whimsy of the sketch which is sometimes lost when a piece is overworked in an attempt to make it perfect.
Using a Light Box
You can get a light box at your local craft store for next to nothing, or you can go to the internet and look up plans for building your own. Simply tape the cartoon rough in place and then tape your clean sheet of paper over top. Turn on the light and you can clearly see the original through the paper. Transfer the drawing using a black pen. This also eliminates the need for erasing pencil marks which can leave your work messy.
Dont worry about drawing the border around your cartoon. The editor will do that if they need one often they dont.
The Artists Market
You can find lots of publications that accept freelance cartoon submissions by looking through a current edition of The Artist and Graphic Designers Market. This book contains lists of magazines and what they pay, as well as the names of editors and submission details. Study them and then submit accordingly. This is important because different magazines require different things. Some have a minimum number of cartoons that you have to meet; many list things they are looking for as well as things they dont want to see.
Mail em Out
Once you have your submission packet ready, its time to send them in. Most publications ask that you send in copies of your originals. Just make sure that you send them in on decent quality paper not the thin paper most public libraries use. Each packet will require two manila envelopes: one for the packet itself, and another that you will put your own address and postage on. This is commonly called the SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) and is a courtesy you offer the editor so he/she can conveniently send back your artwork (along with a check for any they decided to buy!). Dont worry about any kind of cover letter they know what a submission packet is for, and your cartoons will speak for themselves.
Once youve sent the packet in, its time to get started on the next set of submissions. Keep doing this week after week and youll eventually get that first sale!
Ken Nelson is a freelance writer and cartoonist. He markets his unique brand of humor at the Flogwear site where anybody can purchase t-shirts, mugs, aprons, calendars, and many other items printed with his cartoons and writings. http://www.cafepress.com/flogwear
Cartoons - A Popular Humor Dose
In Modern times, the meaning of cartoon has changed a lot from what it used to be in fine art of middle ages and renaissance ...
Cartoons As Weapons of War?
What if it were that easy I ask? What if instead of sending nuclear enabled ICBMs to your neighboring countries, you could so...
Political Humor Sites: 10 Web Sites To Make You Laugh
As author of my own political humor site, I thought Id compile a list of my favorite political humor sites as a reference for...
Do Jokes and Funny Things Have Any Therapeutic Value?
Jokes:Making jokes, making funny things, making funny cartoons, funny pictures and funny stuff in general is not an easy task...
Small Business Opportunities Magazine Business
A Small Business Opportunities Magazine is one of the new small business opportunities opening up everyday. More and more com...
Ebook Publishing Secrets - 3 Secrets Of Successful Info Product Creation
Before going out there and creating a new info product, you should take some time familiarize yourself with some techniques t...
E-BOOK History
E-books find its origins back in 1971. Michael Hart was the creator of this innovation and the founder of the Project Gutenbe...
Promote Using Digg
While Digg.com may not be quite as heavily visited as sites like Myspace and Facebook, it provides an opportunity for any web...
How To Never Lose Money Using Paid Classified Ads
You are going to read something never seen before. r A practical lesson on how to never lose money using small classified ads...
How To Market An E-Book
Whether you're just formulating an idea for an ebook or whether you have your ebook finished and ready for launch, how you ma...
Arrange Finance for Business with Secured Business Loans
Are you planning to avail business loans? Do not want to spend much for that? If you have any property, you can finance your ...
Selling Your Ebook - 4 Strategies On Getting Traffic and Visitors To Sell More Ebooks
Getting traffic and visitors to your website, blog, or sales page may be more difficult than you originally had anticipated. ...
Ebooks - Get to the Point
If you have ever thought about developing an ebook you need to know that ebooks do not need to be the same length as traditio...
Secured Business Loans And Its Advantages
If you want to avail business loans without spending much, opting for secured business loans would be the right option for yo...
Ebooks - Use Your Articles To Write Ebooks About What You Know And Love
Create a massive internet presence with your articles and you will be able to use those same articles to write ebooks. Decide...
How To Get Free Publicity On Google Within 2 Days
Surprised? Don't be.What I am about to reveal in this article is what most gurus won't tell you. Before you start thinking wh...
Hail the Sultan of Submissions, Lance Winslow!
The prolific King of the Keyboard has been writing articles for publication in Ezine @rticles for a relatively short 18 mont...
Worlds Best Internet Marketing Tools
I get a lot of questions from people asking me what the worlds best Internet marketing tools are. Quite honestly, I have to c...
Webmaster’s 10 Reasons to Submit Articles
Savvy web marketers are always looking for low-cost ways to promote a web site. Writing and submitting articles is an easy, a...
Article Marketing - Your Answers To Questions On Article Marketing
The following article is one of a series of articles which focus on Article Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and Internet Marke...