My road to syndication...continued...
In my other life (pre-husband-children-etc) I sold ad space for a local magazine. One evening, at some sales function, I met a local real estate sales person who was one of the top selling agents in our region. We were talking about sales and in the course of our conversation I asked him what he did to become so successful. He told me that when he first started in real estate he was completely green as to "HOW THINGS WERE DONE". He had no idea what the protocols were for networking for contacts and finding clients. He was ignorant, motivated and starting at ground zero...and he told me that, in his enthusiasm, he went out and did everything he wasn't supposed to do. Apparently, that worked very well for him.
Please keep that in mind when I tell you the following story about the Toronto Star.
I had developed a strip about some women friends (I called it "Just Between Friends" because I couldn't think of anything else) and was ready to get myself published. Full of bravado, I looked at the editorial page of the Toronto Star, checked the masthead, found the name of the Managing Editor and, after taking a deep breath, I called him. Amazingly, I got him on the phone immediately. I asked him if he would be interested in publishing some of my cartoons.
Bear in mind here, this was not a follow-up call. I hadn't sent any cartoons to the man. I don't know what the heck I was thinking...maybe that I was opening the door to a conversation about my work? God only knows, because I don't.
There was a pause...the MANAGING EDITOR OF THE TORONTO STAR tentatively asks me, "Have we spoken before?"
I feel this hollow feeling in my chest...a hot flush is welling up at the base of my neck...I have the first inkling that ... perhaps...I have gone about this all wrong...
"No.", I answer. My bravado has dissapated.
"You mean...you're just calling me up out of the blue?"
The flush has risen to my cheeks.
"Yes."
There is a pause of about twenty seconds...and believe me, twenty seconds of silence on the phone is a VERY LONG TIME.
The flush has engulfed me.
"Well...", he says, "I don't know if you're really serious about this...but if you are, I think you're setting your sights a little high to be approaching Canada's largest newspaper.
What could I say? I thanked him for his time and hung up.
IDIOT. Me not him. All things considered, the editor was very courteous to me. In fact, I'm not so sure I would have had this man's patience if the roles had been reversed. (I don't recall who the managing editor was at that time...I've probably blocked it out of my memory)
Fast-forward this story a little...I am bemoaning this moronic espisode of mine to a friend over coffee. She wonders why I didn't go to my local newspaper, the St. Catharines Standard. Hmm...now this may be a possibility. She tells me her boyfriend's father works at the Standard. Hmm...even more interesting. She calls the boyfriend...the boyfriend talks to dad...dad talks to Managing Editor, Murray Thomson. I have an appointment to see Murray Thomson. I think this is probably more along the lines of the way things should be done.
Still...if I hadn't done the thing I wasn't supposed to do...would I have gotten to this step?
Next: Approaching the St. Catharines Standard
Tony, interesting comment about the male cartoonists.
Here's a little blurb from a Salon.com article (from 1999) re. Gary Larson and the Chronicle...
"In 1979 Larson got the idea of doubling his cartooning income (he was back up to $15 each) by getting a second newspaper to publish his panels. He fixed his sights on the San Francisco Chronicle and drove down to San Francisco. After a week of waiting to be seen, of turning over his portfolio, calling in twice a day to ask if anyone had looked at it and being openly pitied by receptionists, Larson was told, to his astonishment, that the Chronicle wanted to syndicate his cartoon, retitled "The Far Side," and offer it to about 30 newspapers across the country. And forget this weekly business -- they wanted one a day."
Posted by: Sandra | October 24, 2007 at 09:25 AM
I would never minimize the importance of having a professional presentation -- mostly because it helps the person you're approaching fit you into their systematized approach, which they probably have if they're good at what they do. HOWEVER... I agree with Mike's assessment that this editor needed to feel important. I actually consider it highly UNprofessional to tell someone whose work you've never seen that they are aiming too high. I can't help but wonder if he would he have said the same thing to a male cartoonist.
And I don't know if it's online, but if anyone wants an account of how not to become published/syndicated, read Gary Larson's account of how he drove down to San Francisco from Washington, with no appointment, to leave cartoons with the Chronicle editors and then hang out near payphones to find out if they liked them. It's how you should never do it.
Except it worked.
Posted by: Tony Murphy | October 22, 2007 at 01:23 PM
The warm cocoon of camaraderie amongst cartoonists and cartoon-lovers...it's a very nice thing!...but I gotta say I'm on the side of the Toronto Star editor in this little story. Quite frankly, I'm boggled by my own ignorance in the way I handled that whole experience. In the silence of those pauses on the phone, I could practically hear the editor's thoughts..."who is this?...did we talk?...have I forgotten something?..."
Posted by: sandra | October 04, 2007 at 09:41 AM
I thought you were going to say he invited you in, looked at your stuff and then told you who to contact at a syndicate. Your version is much funnier and sadly true to life. Thank god he didn't feel like giving you advice, because it wouldn't have been worth anything and then where would you be today? (Over the years, I have known some much more important people who had time for me. Evidently being important didn't matter to them as much as it mattered to him!)
Posted by: Mike | October 04, 2007 at 04:20 AM
I dunno...I like your bravado! I remember many years ago, when I first moved to Toronto I made an appointment with the art director at the Toronto Star (and I remember his name!). I was terrified, even though I had some pretty nice samples of illustrated work which had been published in the Hamilton Spectator. Honestly, he made me feel like a schmo (ok, I LET him make me feel like a schmo). He was quite condescending of my work, because it was 'too cartoony', not serious enough for the Toronto Star. Feh.
Posted by: Patricia | October 03, 2007 at 02:04 PM
Heh, heh...Thank you for telling me that, Jonathan. It's so nice to know I'm not the only one. Whoever said "ignorance is bliss"?...
Posted by: Sandra | October 03, 2007 at 01:45 PM
Ha! This totally reminds me of some of my full throttle/ ill advised attempts at getting a foot in the door.
Beside comics I also carve stone and wood. Back when I was starting out, I decided to bypass sending letters and slides of my work and just go to the galleries. So I wrapped 4 smallish sculptures in towels and stuffed them in a backpack and headed for the streets of Toronto. I can still remember the look on their faces as I started unpacking my work..."You've got to be kidding.." Ha! Not the way to impress a gallery owner! It wasn't a total disaster, they did like my work and I did make some contacts...although my back was killing me for days after.
Posted by: Jonathan Mahood | October 03, 2007 at 01:21 PM