Fan art/stories?
Craig Lotter
>I still think they should accept reader-written / drawn stories (paying
them
>only a pittance, of course, for the honour of being published). It'd
be cheaper
>than reprints and maybe better.
>
>Or are there Union rules against that kind of thing?
Why doesn't the Megazine do this? If they are in such dire monetary
constraints why do they not utilise this massive resource that they
possess. Their fans. I'm sure that their are hundreds of talented
readers who would be more than thrilled to get something published in
the megazine, not at all concerned with pay. Who knows you might even
uncover a new 2000AD talent while you are at it.
Though perhaps you should give the copyright to whoever submits the
story. If he does go on to bigger and better things (i.e. getting paid
for his work) you could run into a sticky problem.
Craig the Cimmerian Conqueror.
He came. He saw. He changed his pants.
William Logan
<LTTC...@mail.uct.ac.za> wrote:
>UKSCMP wrote
>>I still think they should accept reader-written / drawn stories (paying
>them
>>only a pittance, of course, for the honour of being published). It'd
>be cheaper
>>than reprints and maybe better.
>>Or are there Union rules against that kind of thing?
>Why doesn't the Megazine do this? If they are in such dire monetary
>constraints why do they not utilise this massive resource that they
>possess. Their fans. I'm sure that their are hundreds of talented
>readers who would be more than thrilled to get something published in
>the megazine, not at all concerned with pay. Who knows you might even
>uncover a new 2000AD talent while you are at it.
Sounds good, give over a few pages of the Meg to up and coming
wannabes, they'll work for peanuts and save the Meg some cash.
Sounds good but I doubt if it would work. 79 was launched not only to
provide Dredd fans with a fanzine made by fans for fans but to
showcase talent by 2000AD hopefulls. Some of the stuff I've recieved
has been quite good and either saw print in the first two issues or
will appear on the web site. However I've also recieved stuff you
wouldn't believe and will never see the light of day.
To put this kind of material in the Megazine would increase Andy's
editorial time therefore probably soaking up some of the money saved,
plus would their be enough stuff of a decent quality to fill the slot.
Personaly I want to see pro's working in the Meg or writers and
artists on the verge of breaking through. If wannabe's want to
showcase their work then there are other ways of producing it.
La Placa Rifa,
W. R. Logan.
Beyond Honour, Their Is Duty... Beyond Duty, Obsession...
And Beyond Obsession, Insanity. Beyond That, There Is Only
The Class Of '79
Adapted from Judgement Day Part 20 - Prog 799
Dickson@ideoman.prestel.co.uk I.K Dickson
> them
> >only a pittance, of course, for the honour of being published). It'd
> be cheaper
> >than reprints and maybe better.
I know this is pessimistic, but the truth often is. The problem is that
you're assuming that stories sent in by readers would be any good. The
chances are that, if they're amateurs, they'd be utter crap. Lets face it,
a lot of stories written by professionals are utter crap. Surely with
amateurs the ratio would be a lot higher.
I'm an amateur writer myself (in fact, probably over half this newsgroup is
an amateur writer/artist/publisher), and although I've had some very
complimentary things said about my work by people(including Mr. Logan and
Mr. Fraser), I know I've still got a (very) long way to go before I'm
anywhere near the standards of Wagner, Ennis or whoever. Most amateur
writers and artist are so shit it really is beyond belief, and a good
writer/artist among them is like trying to find a piece of hay in a massive
stackful of needles.
I guess that's point one. Point two is that the Megazine's quality would
undoubtedly suffer from the poor quality stuff, and so would lose
readership. It would effectively become a victim of its own attempt to save
money. Point three (and please correct me if I'm wrong here) is that the
writers and artists that DO work for 2000ad and the Meg are ordinary people,
same as the amateurs. (it seems obvious, I know, but people do forget this
one.) They're all freelancers, not in-house artists. This isn't a factory
line or something, where you sign up with a company and do different things
for that company and no-one else. Many people that work for 2000ad also
work for other comics companies, and are only employed on the strength of
their talent. What I'm getting at is that the professional artists are on
the same footing as the amateurs, the only real difference being that the
editors know their names. If you suddenly pay less for one person than
another, because the former is considered "amateur", the company could stop
employing "professionals" altogether, and only pay amateur rates. Why pay
£60 per page when you can do it for £20? Maybe this is a bit far fetched,
but it could do some serious damage to the industry if the suits ever got
wind of this amateur/professional situation. Plus, it'd be hard for an
amateur to turn professional, becuase asking your boss for a payrise can be
a bit dangerous if it turns out that they're not prepaired to pay you the
extra (especially if they can just go and get another guy). The situation
20 years ago was not unlike this in British comics, where a writer or artist
was not allowed to sign or credit their work IN ANY WAY, because to do so
was to risk them getting popular with the readers, and so be in a position
of influence. It was to make sure they were always totally sack-able, if
they caused a fuss.
(hope this doesn't come across as an angry rant - it's not meant to! I'm
just telling it as I see it.)
Ben
Craig
You still get all the submissions as usual. The better than average art
and/or stories and pass this information on to the megazine who can then
make up their own minds about it and offer the said creator the
opportunity to create a trial story for the megazine (without pay of
course). If the the response after publication is good then the said
person will have broken through and joined the ranks of the
professionals. So class of '79 still gets its usual submissions and the
megazine gets the top of the crop. True it doesn't solve the editorial
time question byt then again - when have you ever heard of a editor
doing actual work?? ;)
As an after thought. Does 2000AD and Megazine actively acquire overseas
talent? Do they receive submissions from abroad? Is e-mail submissions
with respect to art being accepted these days?
Craig the Cimmerian Conqueror,
Who has finally run out of ideas on this thread.
AndyDiggle
>(paying them only a pittance, of course, for the honour of being >published).
It'd be cheaper than reprints and maybe better.
We want to entertain Dredd's fans, not exploit them.
Andy Diggle, 2000 AD / Judge Dredd Megazine
"Get a clean-up crew in here."
Doomsday: Megazine 59
Gordon Rennie
>
> But why doesn't Class of '79 forge tighter links with the megazine then?
> You still get all the submissions as usual. The better than average art
> and/or stories and pass this information on to the megazine who can then
> make up their own minds about it and offer the said creator the
> opportunity to create a trial story for the megazine (without pay of
> course). If the the response after publication is good then the said
> person will have broken through and joined the ranks of the
> professionals. So class of '79 still gets its usual submissions and the
> megazine gets the top of the crop. True it doesn't solve the editorial
> time question byt then again - when have you ever heard of a editor
> doing actual work??
Craig,
I humbly suggest you should forget this whole 'Megazine should hire amateur
writers and artists for nothing' idea. It's a complete non-starter
practiced nowhere else in professional publishing, and I.K. Dickson has
already explained reasonably and at some length exactly why that is. I
don't know what other comics or magazines you read, but basically
professional publishers should always pay professional rates. If you're
not willing to pay any kind of realistic fee for material then that
material simply isn't worth publishing and all you're doing is cheating
your readers by charging full cover price for something you fully know to
be sub-standard material.
What you're proposing is an open invitation to exploitation. It doesn't
necessarily follow, as you suggest, that "if the response is good then the
said person will have broken through and joined the ranks of the
professionals." After all, from the publishers' point of view they've
found a supply of idiots willing to work for nothing. Why then should they
suddenly start paying any of these people anything resembling a proper
rate? The usual reason would be because that freelancer could try and take
their talents elsewhere, but that doesn't apply here, not when the
freelancer has ran out so many options that he's allowed a professional
publisher to pay him nothing for his efforts. Simple universal rule: if
your work's worth publishing, it's worth being paid for.
Mike Sivier
>Simple universal rule: if
>your work's worth publishing, it's worth being paid for.
It's probably worth adding to this that fanzines, or stripzines if you
like, exist partly for love, and also partly to show the professionals
what is bubbling under.
The amateurs will get their exposure, albeit on a limited level, and
they also have something to show a professional publisher. If a
publisher then likes the work - and wants the amateur to work for
him(/her), then it's time to negotiate pay.
That's how it works, and also why Co79 should stay separate from the
Nerve Centre. If it ain't broke, and all that.
--
Mike, probably rambling.
Mike Sivier
>>I still think they should accept reader-written / drawn stories
>>(paying them only a pittance, of course, for the honour of being >published).
>It'd be cheaper than reprints and maybe better.
>We want to entertain Dredd's fans, not exploit them.
GOOD answer!
Also one from one of the few people working for a pro comics publisher
who I would tend to believe.
--
Mike
Yes indeed, true believer!
Mike Sivier
>but then again - when have you ever heard of a editor
>doing actual work?? ;)
Coming home after yet another 10.5-hour working day, I find this
comment... unappealing.
--
Mike
Ian Dickson
Mike Sivier <mi...@wurzzz.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:938542749.19598.2...@news.demon.co.uk...
> andyd...@aol.com (AndyDiggle) wrote:
>
> >>I still think they should accept reader-written / drawn stories
> >>(paying them only a pittance, of course, for the honour of being
>published).
> >It'd be cheaper than reprints and maybe better.
>
> >We want to entertain Dredd's fans, not exploit them.
I was going to write a lengthy add-on to this, but I'm too drunk. I'll just
say that Class of 79 already fulfills all the requirements that a possible
amateur section could provide in the Meg, with the exception of news-stand
presence (which the Meg berely has these days anyway). And it wouldn't
solve any real problems, it would more than likely create new ones.
(Dylan, if you're reading this, I'm heading back to Cardiff tomorrow and I'm
bringing the CD burner with me...)
Ben the intoxicated
(that appears under a different user-name almost every time he appears...)
William Logan
Sivier) wrote:
>That's how it works, and also why Co79 should stay separate from the
>Nerve Centre. If it ain't broke, and all that.
The money would come in handy though 8-)
Craig Lotter
doing something just because they love doing it. Just the thrill of seeing your
work published is often than more enough reward than actually getting paid for
it.
Or are Britons just more materialistic than most? I don't really know. As for
the work being sub-standard? Surely at one time this means that J. Brashill's
first submission was sub-standard. Or that John Wagner's first story was
sub-standard. All that I am saying is that perhaps Megazine should become a
breeding ground for new creative talents. If you go into any job at the lowest
experience level you can't really expect as high a wage rate as those higer in
experience than yourself.
By the way...what ever happened to Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future. As I
recall a lot of new talents were showcased in its pages (I could be wrong
though...my memory isn;t all that good).
I am not talking about ongoing exploitation. Only for one story I am sure that
new talents won't mind being exploited this once. If they can garner enough
support on the strength of their story arc then surely they must have joined
the ranks of the professionals.
Craig the Cimmerian Conqueror
(who thinks he is really just harping on about nothing at all)
Craig Lotter
Craig Lotter
AndyDiggle
>people who love doing something just because they love
>doing it. Just the thrill of seeing your work published is
>often than more enough reward than actually getting
>paid for it.
What's important isn't the reward of getting published, so much as whether
everyone else actually wants to read it.
Grant Goggans
<LTTC...@mail.uct.ac.za> wrote:
>Very good points. However I still feel that there are certain people who love
>doing something just because they love doing it. Just the thrill of seeing your
>work published is often than more enough reward than actually getting paid for
>it.
So publish it yourself. Works for me.
--
happily ever after,
Grant
Mike Sivier
>On Tue, 28 Sep 1999 18:19:05 GMT, mi...@wurzzz.demon.co.uk (Mike
>Sivier) wrote:
>>That's how it works, and also why Co79 should stay separate from the
>>Nerve Centre. If it ain't broke, and all that.
>The money would come in handy though 8-)
Good thing I said "if *it* ain't broke", then, and not "if you
ain't..." :)
Okay, folks. Six months without a holiday has finally fried my brain.
I have no memory of writing or sending my previous message.
Good news is, I get out next week! :)
--
Mikw
Daniel Fawcett
What the hell is Class of '79?
DJF
--
A Proud Member of the Useless Generation
AUD - http://come.to/a-u-d/
C.B.M.
> Sorry if I'm sounding thick here, but remember I'm new.
>
> What the hell is Class of '79?
A Judge Dredd Fanzine featuring stuff made by the fans for the fans.
Others will give you the whole sales pitch.
I'll give you the website address:
Phil Nixon
Daniel Fawcett <dj...@freenetname.co.uk> wrote in message
news:7t673p$khe$1...@gxsn.com...
> Sorry if I'm sounding thick here, but remember I'm new.
>
> What the hell is Class of '79?
>
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,
The Class Of '79 is the Premier Judge Dredd fanzine. To find out more point
your browser to:
and follow the link.
And while you're at it check out some of the other web sites that Cybergoth
hosts. Lots of people around here will love then.
Phil
William Logan
<dj...@freenetname.co.uk> wrote:
>Sorry if I'm sounding thick here, but remember I'm new.
>What the hell is Class of '79?
>DJF
The Class Of '79 was and is the premier Judge Dredd fanzine. It's
actual conception is shrouded in mystery but two printed versions did
see the light of day and even won the best self published/independent
award at Comics 99's National Comic Awards. After issue #2 my pocket
could no longer take the amount of cash needed to produce 40 pages of
material so '79 went solely web based.
To find out exactly what The Class Of '79 is all about point your
browser to:
La Placa Rifa,
W. R. Logan.
Beyond Honour, Their Is Duty... Beyond Duty, Obsession...