Thoughts on Submissions

It’s been a few weeks now since the submissions period for the next volume of BOXES ended and I’ve been in touch with everyone about the outcome. Suffice to say, this next issue is shaping up to be something special! I’m looking forward to sharing all the creators with you in a few months time.

I thought it would be a good time then to lay out some general thoughts on the submissions compared to previous volumes. I’d also like to point out some things that some submissions could have done to improve their chances.

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First up, I’d like to emphasise that the overall standard of submissions received for BOXES Vol. 4 was extremely high. There is so much talent out there bubbling under the surface of the UK comics scene that’s waiting to burst through! This volume also saw the highest number of submissions received so far. I had a lot of very difficult decisions to make this time and unfortunately had to send rejections to some very talented artists.

Getting a rejection is no slight on the quality of work. There are many factors that go into the make up of an issue of BOXES (or indeed, any anthology). Some examples would be page count, subject matter or the balance between colour and black and white art.

-- I started writing a bit here about the things I consider when making up an issue but it was getting a bit long. I think it’ll merit its own post another time (perhaps just before the next submission period opens). --

For articles, I definitely want to see more ideas submitted for them in the future. We have a nice, interesting one lined up for BOXES Vol. 4 so no worries there. But if you are a comic journalist or just an artist with something to say about the craft then please send it in next time! For my own part, I think I need to emphasise the articles more when publicising the submissions period.

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Now for things that I noticed in some submissions that could be improved upon for next time. These are just general tips and certainly don’t apply to all the rejected submissions, but enough to make them worth highlighting. These could also be useful for submitting comics anywhere, not just BOXES.

1. Make sure your synopsis tells the full story. As an editor I need to know everything that happens, including and spoilers/twists. I also want to know any underlying themes you are trying to get across and how you’ll emphasise them.

2. BOXES is a magazine that publishes complete short stories. I’m not looking for anything that is a pilot for something longer, or part 1 of a multi-part story. That’s not to say you can’t write about the characters again in the future, but what you submit should be a complete short story.

3. For art examples, including previous comics you’ve made and saying that the comic you are submitting will be in the same style is fine. However, going the extra mile and including 2 or 3 panels either from the comic or of the characters in the comic can really help communicate what you are trying to do.

4. Also, one more thing on art work. Including images of someone else’s art work and saying “I’m going to draw it like that”, is not ok. You need to show me that you can draw like that.

Hopefully that was useful and/or informative! I’d like to do a few more posts about making anthologies and publishing in general so if you think you’d find that interesting let me know.

If you enjoyed the comic At Sea by Savannah Storm in BOXES Vol. 3 then you should read her latest post here: ‘At Sea Comic’.

In it she goes into depth about how she wrote the story and the techniques she used to illustrate it. Very interesting!

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I’d also suggest subscribing to Mason Wilson’s Substack.

Mason was in BOXES Vol. 1 and he’s recently been doing some excellent weekly diary comics along with some delicious short horror stories. Highly recommended!

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Ok, I think that’s all for now!

‘til next time,
Steven

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Remember there are lots of excellent indie comics available in the ThirdBear Press store! Our most recent publications are BOXES Vol. 3 and Sycamore by K. Briggs.

You’ll also find a variety of indie comics in our distro. We recently added Grog the Frog and Skin Deep from Silver Sprocket and Stories from Zoo from Bubbles (along with their latest issue).

Thanks for checking them out!