(no subject)

[telophase]

Because we are masochists kind and gentle people, rachelmanija and I are editing and publishing an anthology of original manga short stories - sometime in the spring, since the current Rising Stars of Manga contest ends in January and we don't want to compete with anyone's time for that.

This is through PandaBuddha[1], currently a small, loose conglomeration of artists including tesstrosa and nightambre for sure and several others in potentia.

So. Original (not fan) manga short stories, in the rough area of 3-20 pages, any genre but kept to PG-13 rating and below. With insultingly low payment - on the order of $10-20 + contributor's copy, but at least some payment, and a small print run of 50 or so copies, reprinted if there seems to be demand. Sold through the various cons PandaBuddha members go to and online.

Anyway, this is in its vague beginning stages at the moment, and if you think you might want to submit something for consideration, drop a line and let's talk. We're willing to work with people on developing/writing/drawing a story if it seems promising, and we're also willing to look at already-finished stories.

Any questions, please ask - we're fairly new to this, too, and are working it out.

rachelmanija is making a series of posts about manga writing basics, starting with:

Part I: Format. This is a common way of writing comic scripts, but you will find variations.

Part II: Dialogue

[1] So named because when it popped up in one of dragonscholar's random generators, all the artists perked up and said "The logo possibilities!!" Never let it be said we don't have a firm grasp of priorities.

Comments

[dragonscholar.livejournal.com]

I touched greatness.

. . . you best wash, you never know where I've been.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Have you had your shots?

[m00nface.livejournal.com]

Sort-of related question but feel free to bitchslap me if it's too off topic: manga writing basics are one thing, but is there anywhere that goes through the manga analysis basics? Or alternatively, do I need to know how to write a manga (entirely thereotically, I hope) in order to write about it? I know where I stand with anime via film studies qualifications, but manga... Everything I know about critiquing non-moving visual storytelling comes from your LJ and That Issue of The Comics Journal. Is there a list anywhere of things I should look for when approaching a manga critically?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I don't mind off-topic at all in my journal: witness the recent complaint about Googling and pron that got sidetracked into what various of us were having for lunch. XD

I don't know if there's anything specific like that out there. I figured out the way I do it through a combination of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics, Will Eisner's Comics & Sequential Art and Graphic Storytelling, and talking to the comics artist Brian Stelfreeze at various AggieCons and A-Kons. :)

Although looking at Amazon has produced a book called Panel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1893905144/103-9486930-6320658?v=glance), which looks like it's worth a read. *makes note*

[maiteoida.livejournal.com]

I already mentioned that I'm interested- hopefully by the beginning of January I won't be too busy (which I doubt- RSOM will be just about done and I think I'll be doing my Winter Term that month, which will probably leave me with a lot of free time to do whatever).

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yay! *cheers* XD

If you wanna write it yourself, work with your RSOM writer, or hook up with another one, we're aaaaaaall easy with that. :) Not sure when the actual deadline will be - I think I want to aim for next year's A-Kon for it, which means that to be ready at the first week of June I have to get it to the printer's by mid-April to the beginning of May, so mid-March to the beginning of April will be about the time, to allow me to do layout and such, but the final deadline will be set later. :)

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested in submitting a short, humour piece? I'll be hermitting in my studio working on stories for ustudios and Kaguradan at that time, or I would offer you something longer.

(And I totally won't be insulted if you're looking for something other than what I can do. ^_^)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Sounds great! And I expect short is good - we may end up with people sending us their RSOM entries that didn't make it, so there may be a plentitude of 15-20 pagers. XD

[octopedingenue]

I'm all kinds of interested, although I'm a complete tyro in the field--I've never written a manga/comic/any other kind of script, I don't have any real ideas for a manga, I can't draw well and I've never worked with an artist, etc., etc. But I have to do SOMEthing for my creative writing senior project in the spring (GAAAH GRADUATION), and a manga as part of it could be neat.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hey, sounds great. If you want help hooking up with an artist, we'll see what we can do. :)

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of wishing that I, you know, did original work or could draw.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Eh, if you hook up with an artist there's time to file the serial numbers off work out an original story. ;)

[cicer.livejournal.com]

Yay! Good luck and congrats on moving forward with this project!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[matildarose.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested myself in submitting, even if I really can't think of a short story idea. XD All my story ideas are loooonnngg, overdeveloped, and make me hyper thinking about how the heck to put it into comic format.

I'd probably have to do something light-hearted and self-contained. :o I'm already thinking of possible ideas.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Sweet! XD And feel free to toss ideas at us - won't guarantee anything one way or the other, but we'll be happy to help you poke at ideas. :)

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

I'd love to do something like this, if I'd ever written a manga before. And had an artist to work with who didn't mind my gothic fantasy tendencies. Ahahaha!

Anyway good luck with the project! It sounds great! :D

[telophase.livejournal.com]

You just need to track down a gothic fantasy artist. XD

[redsnowpenguin.livejournal.com]

penguin is interested, too, but suspects she'll need plenty of feedback from editors (and a good whipping once in a while when she lags behind schedule...erm >_<)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

XD We can probably provide...

[ninjashira.livejournal.com]

*waves hand* Ooh, me, pick me! I'f I'm not completely burned out after RSoM, I will soooo do a thingy for this. :) If I manage to come up with an original idea, that is...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

XD Now, how did I know you'd say something like this...? And we can find ya a writer if you don't want to think on your own and don't want to continue with the RSoM one.

[scortia.livejournal.com]

I'm once again interested in participating... I promise that I actually have the time to submit quality work this time around. Hurray for graduating! >)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

XD Cool!

Hey - noticed you're gonna be at AFest in teh Bizarre Bazaar, too. Maybe we can finally meet in person this time. XD

[fusakugyoku.livejournal.com]

Telophase~ *RANT WARNING!*

Hi, you don't know me, but I lurk you (I'm a stalker~hehe); um, I came over and bought the antho you guys were selling at A-Kon 16 (I was this really shy dorky non-cosplaying little under-18 Asian chick...you don't remember me though)...

I'm actually working on my *dead* RSOM-spec'ed project now...but I know it's not going to win, and I may not even enter, so I'd love to work with you guys...I have (optimized) sample pages up at my DA: minakichan.deviantart.com

It's not done yet, but I'll (probably) have it finished by October if I can work my butt off hard enough. My artz are a little low and I don't have much seqart experience, but if it's suitable, and if I could contribute...I would die of uberpeppygleefulhappiness.

Thanks!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hey, looks good! :) And seems promising - are you willing to work with us a bit on art/writing?*

As for A-Kon, after sitting for three days across from the DDR machines, even if my memory operated in tip-top condition all the time (it doesn't, oh boy it doesn't), I was so braindead that I barely remember my own name from that time. But if you want I'll do a really good job of faking that I remember you! XD (and thanks! we appreciate it! XD)

*The plan is to take the 'editing' part of editing the anthology seriously - if someone doesn't want to take editorial input we'll judge the piece on its own, but someone who's willing to work with us probably has a better chance. And it deosn't mean you take our suggestions blindly - it's perfectly OK to say "you said the panel needed [blah] but I've been thinking and maybe it'd do better with [bler] instead." The point is to make the work the strongest it can be. XD

[elfiepike.livejournal.com]

let's put this down as crazy-talk, but i'm, um, actually really interested. ^^; when do you have to really really know? because i must overcome the whole "never completed comic ideas" bit. (i've definitely started writing a few, and i've definitely storyboarded some out, but that final step of actually finishing them... nope!)

though actually, i'm probably better as an artist than a writer. so if a writer needs an artist and they don't mind someone who's totally retarded a beginner?

...or i could go over here. yes. um.

either way, i would like to own a copy. :)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:D Well, there's time yet. The final deadline for having the completed stories will be somewhere around the end of March, although we'll need to know beforehand so as to plan out how many stories there will be. We're willing to work with people - I wanted us to have some editorial control over this - although that's not a final guarantee of publication.*

And if you want to work with a writer, I'm sure we could find someone to hook you up with. :)

* We've gotta balance length and content and genre nd stuff, so it's not a straight matter of what's good and what isn't. However, if it turns out to be an experience that doesn't kill us, it's entirely possible we'll do more. :D

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

The format I use (http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scriptsmart/formats.shtml)
There are templates for all sorts of scripts there, I use the comic format not screeplay style. ^_^

*reads interesting links*

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks for the link. :)

[fanartist.livejournal.com]

I have a rejected submission to a... contest... *cough* that I want to redo.

However, I'll collaborate with any writer who's willing to team up.

I can also work in different styles, so those who want something extremely stylized and have no artist, talk with me and I'll see what I can do.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Great! XD Whatever you'd like to do -- I'm working on forums for PandaBuddha right now, and I'm putting in a section for writers looking for artists and vice versa, so hopefully that'll provide a place for people to hook up. rachelmanija also knows several good writers who are willing to work with an artist for this.

[beatgeek.livejournal.com]

*dragged here by octopedingenue* I'd be very interested in trying my hand at this, if I can bring my art chops up to a suitable level and...uh, you don't know me, do you? Uh, hi *weak grin*

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hey, sure, why not. :D We're willing to work with people (er, won't guarantee acceptance until we get close to seeing the final result), or we'll take submissions of the final piece if you don't want to work with us editing/advising/etc.

I've got a better list o' info over at the brand-new PandaBuddha forum (http://www.pandabuddha.com/forum/).

Heh - I took a look at your LJ for the hell of it, and saw the icon of your cat. My cat looks very similar to your, and her preferred sleeping spot for the past week has been in a box almost exactly the same size as that one. XD