How to Get Published As a Comic Book Writer
Congrats!
You’ve written a (completed) comic book script.
You’ve built your creative team (artist, inker, colorist, editor, and letterer).
You’ve funded your project (crowdfunding or other).
And now you want to get it published. So, how do you do that?
Let me be clear that just because you make a comic book doesn’t mean you’ll get readers.
But, there are ways to do it and you must understand that Publishers want to know two things:
1) Can you MAKE comics?
Meaning can you do the actual work and put out quality work consistently?
This starts with first knowing how to format a comic book script, then writing your first comic book script, finding a team to work with, funding (crowdfunding is best) your comic book, and then your next, and so on.
You need to prove yourself to get artists to want to work with you, and publishers wanting to publish your stuff.
2) Can you SELL comics?
Do you have a readership? A following? Are your stories marketable?
This is the hardest part of the equation, and this comes with building your social media numbers, your fanbase, your online presence, and most importantly by consistently producing and selling comic books.
New writers need to understand that the odds of your comic book being published by a major publisher are very rare, in fact, IMAGE COMICS, BOOM COMICS, DARK HORSE COMICS, and other top ten comic book publishers mainly release comics by established creators or first-time writer/creator celebrities.
So, you should just be focused on getting that first book made, building your fanbase, and then working on your next book and next book and so on.
But, did you know there are other ways to get published credit work?
Publishers That Accept Online Submissions
*Pro Tip: Carefully read and follow all guidelines and instructions before submitting.
Image Comics
Mad Cave Comics
Dark Horse Comis
Humanoids
Top Shelf
*Pro Tip: Google search or contact other publishers if they are accepting completed comic book submissions.
Option 1: Online Self-Publishing Websites
DriveThruComics
This was the internet’s first download comic shop, and it’s a great place for self-published, indie, and a few top publishers to sell, market, and promote their comics.
If you can’t find a publisher to publish your comic, you can publish it yourself through this site.
*Pro Tip: Many of my books are on the site for FREE under my self-published label Mankindx3 Studios: https://www.drivethrucomics.com/browse/pub/6114/Mankindx3-Books?term=mankindx
Global Comix
This site also offers direct-to-consumer publishing and monetization tools and it supports vertical and traditional page layouts.
https://globalcomix.com/publish
*Pro Tip: This site also has a great Commisions section where you can find your next artist or writing gig: https://globalcomix.com/talent/projects/
Kindle Direct Publishing
KDP provides you with free and simple tools to self-publish your book in more than 10 countries in over 45 languages.
IndyPlanet
Offers digital publishing and print-on-demand publishing (perfect for Comic Con visits)
GumRoad
Is a platform that enables independent creators to sell digital products directly to their audience. It supports self-publishing digital comic books and offers marketing and sales tools.
Option 2: Webcomics
I like the medium of webcomics, and before it became so easy to do digital copies of your comics, webcomics was the cheap (no printing cost) way to go.
There’ve been many successful webcomics that have gone onto PRINT/PUBLISHING success GUNNERRIGG COURT and DREAMLAND CHRONICLES to name a few, as well as Annie Szabla had her webcomic BIRDBOY picked up by DARK HORSE COMICS!
PROS: The positive part of doing a webcomic is showing readership! You can show actual numbers. (will they stick around for a paid printed comic? that’s the risk the publisher has to weigh), plus you are doing consistent work as you release new pages on a schedule and publishers like seeing people who are constantly working.
CONS: A couple of the stereotypes or negatives are that; publishers like selling content that hasn’t been exposed to the general public for free already. Plus the other drawback is you may have to print a small sampling to properly pitch it to publishers (in person), as nobody is going to look at your iPad while you show them your work.
Dorian: Comics Game Platform
Dorian is a NO-CODING REQUIRED Comic Book Game Platform where you can write, design, and earn money from your comic game stories.
Sign in, use their templates, create your (no-coding required) comic game, upload, and attract readers.
WebToons
WebToons is a webcomic platform that offers a unique vertical scrolling format.
Option 3: Comic Book Talent Hunt Competitions
Another way to “break into” the comic book industry or get published credit is through Talent Hunt competitions (these are available to writers and artists, and generally occur yearly).
TOP COW COMICS
https://topcow.com/top-cow-productions-announces-talent-hunt-cyberforce-winners/
Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/723403334749559
*NOTE: Be sure to FOLLOW Top Cow (& Top Cow President and COO Matt Hawkins) on all their Social Media to learn when next year’s competition is open.
MAD CAVE STUDIOS
https://madcavestudios.com/mad-caves-7th-annual-talent-search-officially-opens/
*NOTE: This year’s competition is CLOSED, but follow them to learn about the 2025 Talent Search
*Pro Tip: In many cases, you will be asked to write a new story based on the companies (whichever company is offering the talent hunt), so my advice for anybody entering is to RESEARCH the characters and make sure your COMIC SCRIPT IS PROPERLY FORMATTED! (you can learn one way how to format a comic book script here: https://medium.com/@KellyBender17/how-to-format-a-comic-book-script-09dd8c019e7a)
Are These Worth Entering?
Take it from me, a Top Cow Talent Hunt 2015 Winner… YES!
Besides your social media followers increasing overnight, the various proverbial doors being opened, the feedback, experience, and industry insights you learn from the competition, and working with industry professionals — multiple editors, publishers, marketing teams, artists, inkers, colorists, etc. are invaluable.
Option 4: Write Anthology Stories
Anthologies are great places for new comic book writers to find published credit, and best of all you can submit (properly formatted) scripts and the anthology publisher will match you with an artist, inker, colorist, and letterer.
*Pro Tip: Anthologies are collected volumes of short stories, typically based on a specific topic or theme.
*Pro Tip: My first four published works were for anthology stories, I spoke about three of them here: https://medium.com/@KellyBender17/writers-dont-find-their-voice-they-build-it-over-time-16d489be0c27
Search on the internet for anthologies that are accepting submissions and then follow their rules and guidelines.
Here are a few that I know accepted submissions in the past:
Comic Book Anthology Creators
Find Anthologies
(Twitter/ X) *Their last post was in 2023
Oneshi Press
(Though I am not sure if there’ll be future ones)
Pro Tip 1: Act & Be Professional
Remember that this is one book, and if you want to make a career out of this, it will be the first book of many.
So ensure that your social media is you and that YOU are the brand, because if someone wants to work with you or hire you, it should be easy to find you.
yourname@facebook
yourname@twitter
yourname@linkedIn
yourname@Instagram
yourname@email.com
*Pro Tip: Remember that you as the writer are the brand, and if you create a Twitter Page for “Book A”, and it grows to 5000 followers, what happens when you release “Book B”? Do you need to start again? Not if you make your social media based on YOU the brand.
Bonus Tip
While always using your real name in your profiles, you should also use your REAL FACE.
Publishers, industry pros, artists, colorists, inkers, and letters want to know you are real, and you need to establish a real connection with them- and the easiest way to do that is to prove that you aren’t a troll, aren’t a bot, and are a real person.
Also, if you are talking to publishers, industry pros, artists, colorists, inkers, and letters and they are at your local Comic Con (or you travel to one they are at) won’t it be easier to recognize each other and start a conversation?
*Pro Tip: This also helps guard against fake accounts using your presence/name.
Pro Tip 2: Give Credit and Promote Your Team
Give credit where credit is due by supporting and promoting your team.
This is so important especially when you are starting, and the books are making zero to little money, and all you and your team have is the credit and promotional of tagging your team in posts, and comic sites.
Promoting your team is important, as this comic will not only lead to your next comic, but will do the same for your artist, inker, colorist, editor, and letterer.
Promote Them In These Ways:
- Interior Credit Pages (see below for examples)
- Mention them in Interviews (written or oral)
- Tag them in Social Media Posts (Tag them, and when your project is done help them find their next gig by sharing their contact information)
*Pro Tip: It’s important to tag only people connected with your project in your numerous social media posts, as it’s unprofessional (and annoying) to tag everyone, especially pros you might be friends with.
Below are examples of the interior cover credit pages from a few of the comic books I worked on.
Summary:
To become a published comic book writer, the first thing you have to do is learn how to properly format a comic book script, write it, build your creative team (artist, inker, colorist, letterer, and editor), organize a crowdfunding campaign to fund your project, promote your book (and your team), and pitch it to publishers (or publish it yourself), and then do it again and again!
Just start writing stories, even if you have to publish them yourself, because you will get better the more you do, and I promise you somebody (fans, critics, fellow writers, and eventually publishers) will notice you are good, that you are putting out quality work and offer you a role, contract, advice, job, etc.
