Let's Talk About Submissions
As Transfuzion continues it's steady output, one of the results is an increased number of submissions. I am quite surprised just how many submissions I get at Transfuzion for submissions as it is not something that we are actively pursuing although of course, we are always open to new titles. The guidelines are posted on the website (under "Contact" information) as it a way of connecting creators with us.
One of the things I remember when I was running Caliber was the "submission" piles. It was a chore that everyone at the office dreaded but we tried to get together as a group (all the editors, management, etc...and we had up to 10 people at one time) to go through the submissions. It seemed almost like a necessary evil, even though we would occasionally find some gems in the mix. But the percentage was small, incredibly small. I don't think most fans have any idea of just how many bad submissions editors have to deal with.
But, it's part of the business. You constantly need new blood and finding a new talent that works out always gives a good feeling. With Caliber and now Transfuzion, I feel it's almost an obligation to evaluate submissions.
Where the problem comes in are those who submit and seemingly have no idea of what or who they're submitting to. These "blind submissions" (where a submission is sent to virtually every publisher simultaneously) usually waste everyone's time and are the primary reason that the process of going through submissions are such a chore.
I'm going to spend the next couple of columns discussing some of the problems with submissions even though I have discussed it in the past. I do realize that many people are not going to go back and retrieve all of the older columns so I will summarize the submission process, not just for Transfuzion but in general as well.
Title spotlight
A look at one of Transfuzion's titles
RAVEN CHRONICLES: The Curious Cases of Raven Inc.
Raven Chronicles was a title I created while I was at Caliber. It started the shift of doing purely creator owned books at Caliber to developing in-house properties. The idea behind Raven Chronicles was to team up paranormal investigators. I created the concept, the characters, and had planned to write the first issue and then have each issue handled by a different creator team. I figured having different writers working with the cast of characters would provide an expansive development of the team. There was no central characters and some stories would spotlight just one member whereas others would involve the whole team. Plus there were some supporting characters that weren't part of the team per se and I figured those would have potential to be developed as well.
However, after I did the first issue, I found that I enjoyed working on the book so much, that I ended up writing more of the issues. I had already committed to bringing in some writers on various issues so I wouldn't be writing all the issues but I did end up doing about half of the 16 issues.
The collection from Transfuzion contain all of the issues that I wrote. There are plans to compile a second collection which would have all of the other stories.
The arenas that the Raven team went into varied considerably. It dealt with UFO's, ghosts, psionic powers, werewolves, artificial intelligence, vampires...you name it. When I set the guidelines, I primarily encourage the different writers to make sure they kept the characters consistent but as far as subject matter went, it was pretty open.
Along with Saint Germaine, Raven Chronicles was my favorite series to do. I found myself starting to use the Raven characters in other titles that I wrote. One of the characters was the pivotal force in Saint Germaine. In Helsing, the Raven team was brought in to investigate the disappearance of Samantha Van Helsing. A mini-series, Red Diaries, brought a dramatic change in Raven Inc. I let other writers play with the Raven team in Ripper Legacy and Black Mist. And even Seeker, which was not a direct tie-in to Raven, featured a character that was related to one of the members of Raven.
Raven Chronicles became my personal shared universe which many of my other titles tied into, either directly or just alluded to.
I keep planning to get back to Raven Chronicles but conflicting schedules always seem to pop up and more pressing work keeps relegating it to the back burner. But the plan is there and I figure that's a good sign that the desire still burns.
The Transfuzion website has much more information on the collection.
Gary Reed is the publisher of Transfuzion Publishing and was the former publisher of Caliber Comics. As a writer, he has written a number of graphic novels and comics including Saint Germaine, Deadworld, Baker Street, Renfield, Raven Chronicles, A Murder of Scarecrows, and others. Outside of Talking Transfuzion, he has his regular blog covering a wide variety of topics at reedgary.blogspot.com and his website www.garyreed.net
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