quote:
Originally posted by thedoctor:
Your right. Rob and straight just don't mix.
OK, good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this.

quote:

Sounds like a good book so far. I'll check it out when Epic gets around to publishing it. Been trying to work out an idea myself. I think this helps me in that i can now know what to expect from Epic and a little about what might interest them. I guess the Southwood Saga might have a chance afterall. [wink] [who, me?]
YE$! Thanks for the support. I must be up to about 20 copies sold now. I don't even have "Ultimate" in the title.

I'm glad you're finding these posts useful. That's the name of the game. Good luck on your idea.

This might be a good time for the Creator-Owned Speech. I've heard a lot about Marvel backing away from creator-owned projects. I have no idea if this is true, but it seems to me like it probably is. Which means that Epic is eventually going to ask me to sign away all rights to Northwood. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about this yet -- I guess it will depend on what they're offering. I'd feel better about it if I knew I was getting more than one issue. Plus, if Marvel owns the concept, they might be more willing to promote the book, since they have more of a vested interest in its success. But my inner artiste throws tantrums at the thought of losing ownership. If Northwood tanks at Marvel, I couldn't take it anywhere else, and I wouldn't be free to write a Northwood prose novel, which I'm 11,000 words into as we speak. I could find myself in a situation where I have to license back my own property.

The first thing Teresa at Epic told me was that she liked the genre of my pitch. Not that I had done it particularly well -- she didn't say one way or the other -- just that she liked the pointy ears instead of tights. So, to Epic's credit, they are looking for new ideas or at least new directions. At the same time, they're discouraging new ideas because they can't offer the same creative guarantees that a novelist has, for instance. Given all this, maybe the pitch with the best chance of success is one that takes an existing Marvel character into a non-superhero genre.

When I submitted to Epic, I made sure to send them an idea that I'd be willing to give away under the right circumstances. It's probably worth thinking about if you want to submit an original concept. Could you live with Marvel owning it?

One last thought on the subject. Good ideas are cheap. Legally, they're worthless. (Correct me if I'm wrong here, RKMB Dave.) So selling out your idea to Marvel isn't necessarily evil. Personally, I have a lot of ideas. I could be willing to part with one in exchange for some practice and exposure.

Southwood Saga. Very clever. You'll be hearing from my lawyer (RKMB's Dave) shortly.