#i think chief needs some tweaking but otherwise i love how everyone looks

[irimarzz]

i finally made cuckoo's nest sims. Harding is def my favorite of them he just turned out so perfect ❤️ from top to bottom it's mack, chief, harding, & billy

[torontocomicsanthology]

Stephanie Cooke on Collaboration and Pitching Comics to Media

The Toronto Comics Anthology has always been an ongoing platform to showcase veteran as well as up-and-coming creators. In addition to featuring work from unpublished writers and artists in our fourth volume (now on Kickstarter), we conducted a series of short interviews to share helpful tips and insights with new creators.

Stephanie Cooke is the Editor-in-chief of Rogue's Portal, a contributor to Secret Loves of Geek Girls, and a 2016 Millarworld New Talent winner.

What about the city inspires you? Or shapes your writing?

Steph: There are such passionate communities within the city and it's the absolute best to know that there are people around me who appreciate all the same things that I do. If I'm looking for something to do on any day of the week, there's something happening. If I want to just go explore, there's always a part of the city that I haven't been to. Toronto is growing and changing and is just a much a person as anyone else; the city has so many stories to tell.

I love writing in a cafe or pub while I sit by a window. It seems cliche, but people watching and imagining everyone's story helps give the characters I'm writing more depth and life.

What was the hardest thing about getting into comics?

Steph: The hardest thing for me was writing only what I needed to and remembering that it's a collaborative medium. You have to trust your artist to tell the story so you need to allow them the creative freedom to do as they see fit, as much as possible.

That and resisting the urge to go back and correct stuff in previous issues. Wanting to edit and change and tweak things after the fact is a ridiculous urge that I think anyone writing episodically faces.

All in all, telling stories in comic book form has actually been incredible for my writing. It's been very rewarding to me so far to tell big stories that I've always wanted to tell and getting it all down on the page. For me, it's a lot easier to pace a comic than to write, say, a novel and a lot less daunting.

What are you working on right now?

Steph: SO MANY THINGS!!!! ...she says half jokingly. I love projects and working on creative endeavors so anytime an opportunity to do something new and exciting comes up, I jump at the chance. I wrote a radio play in 2016 and that's going to continue in 2017 with a new original we'll be performing at some point.

In addition to my story with Shawn Daley for Toronto Comics (I am SO excited to be working with Shawn!), I have a story coming out in another anthology called Blocked, about bad dating experiences, I'm writing a mini-series that will hopefully turn into a reality at some point next year and then there are a couple things that I can't talk about just yet. SECRETS!

What comics or trends in comics would you like to see next year?

Steph: I jumped for joy when they announced a queer latina woman writing a queer latina character (the new America Chavez comic from Marvel). I want more of THAT. Not specifically queer latina writers/characters (although that would be awesome) but rather, I want diverse stories being told by diverse creators. Not only do I WANT that, but I truly believe it's the step forward that comic books need.

As an editor at Rogues Portal, could you share some advice for marketing your comic to journalists?

Steph: That site is my baby and I take pride in the fact that we do our absolute best to give a voice to indie creators trying to get their work out there. The best advice I can offer is this:

1) Read the review guidelines in a Contact/About/FAQ page. Most sites will say where you can send review copies or press releases regarding your project, so if such a thing is in place, make sure you adhere to those rules, otherwise you run the risk of your email being deleted before it's even opened.

2) If you're sending your work out to a specific site that you love and you're familiar with a couple of the reviewers, pick one to zero in on and contact them personally. Don't send a form letter, just reach out and level with them: ie. "I'm a big fan of the reviews you do on ______. I'm currently trying to promote my new comic, which is being released on ______ and I was wondering if you might be interested in covering it. I can provide a PDF, preview pages or I can answer some questions if you'd like to do an interview. Here's a little synopsis _______________. Let me know if you might be interested."

Keep it relatively short and sweet but get in the important information. Offer up other ways a site could cover it besides a review. Sites LOVE being able to say WE HAVE AN EXCLUSIVE! so pitch something cool that could bring in traffic and is beneficial to everyone involved.

3) DON'T send pitches through Twitter DMs and such. If you want to go that route, ask for the appropriate email so you can contact someone that way.

4) And this isn't so much to journalists as a general tip: BE. ON. SOCIAL. MEDIA. You might not like it, but unless you're Brian K. Vaughan, you're not going to get anywhere if you don't have an online presence of any sort. Twitter and Facebook are tools you absolutely NEED to succeed as a creator. My best advice there is that if you don't know how to use social media, have someone teach you or look up articles (this sounds silly, but really it's so helpful).

For more from Stephanie, find her on Twitter or at her website.

If you enjoyed this interview, please consider supporting independent comic creators in the Toronto Comics Anthology: Yonge at Heart, on Kickstarter until March 30th.