Thread "The How, What, When and Why" in forum "Fowl Play"

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 28, 2007

This is basically going to be the thread I use to answer any questions you guys have. I only want it to have the answers. I'll start up a seperate thread for you guys to ask me stuff. First thing's first

Submissions due date for next issue: March 21st

Release date of next issue: March 28th

Anyway, each post is for each category:

What Is Fowl Play?

Submitting Material

Legal Matters

Money

Staff

Where Can I buy each Issue?

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 28, 2007

What is 'Fowl Play'?

Every time I walk into a comic shop or pick up a Shonen Jump or something like that, I always wonder what it would be like to have something of mine in one of those magazines. That is what Fowl Play is all about. Allowing people to see their works in print and also to help promote them. Basically, you guys send me your stuff and I print it.

Why call it that?

No clue, it just felt right. Might change it if people want a new name, but for now it's 'Fowl Play'.

How often will this come out?

I'm currently hoping for it to be a monthly publication, but if it gets popular, I'll make it fortnightly and if gets really really popular I'll be daring and try weekly. Of course, by that time hopefully I'll have a staff

Do I have to put something in every issue after I do one?

No. If you can't do it, then you can't. You can skip an issue or two if you can't keep up

I have a 200 page comic I want you to print. Is that okay?

For now, the maximum amount of space each creator is allowed is 35 pages, so they don't overshadow the entire issue. If you do have something more than that, please divide it up. If not, then I'll do it for you.

There a minimum?

No. You can have anywhere between a little one panel cartoon strip to a 35 page story

How many pages will there be?

For now, the most I'll do is 300. Maybe a few more depending on how much room is needed. However, if I can get about 500 pages worth of stuff a week from you guys, then I'll increase the pag number

You know how Shonen Jump does graphic novels full of collections of one comic? Are you going to do that too?

Once you reach about 170 pages worth of content (You can include posters and cover art into this. Also, if you allow it, people can also use a page to advertise) then yeah sure, if you want. As stated below, nothing like that will happen without permission

Will you be doing sections? Like, all sci-fi, all fantasy, etc.

For now, I think I'll just put them into western, manga, traditional manga (right to left) and unique (A blend of the two or something else that looks different)

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 28, 2007

How do I send my stuff to you?

If I get a good response, I'll make up an email account and put it on here. It will be entirely for submitting

EDIT: Okay, made the account. Everyone, send your stuff to:

fowlplaysubmission@yahoo.com.au

And don't forget the .au part. I'm in Australia and the email address won't work if you forget

I don't have a scanner and my work is on paper

That's fine. You can always go down to a copy place or see if your local library has one. If you're in school/college, they might have one, or possibly your workplace or even a friend may let you borrow theirs. If neither of these are optional, you can also use a camera and then clean it up in photoshop or whatever.

Can't I just stick it in an envelope and mail it to you?

I live in Australia, just to let you know. However, if you're willing to pay for postage (Here and back if you want those pages returned to you) along with a five cent fee per page, then sure. But I'm not going to give out my address to everyone on the net, you'll have to contact me for it AND provide some information so I know you're legit. I don't want every one knowing where I live

Will you have special themes? Like, you only accept Christmas themed stories in December? Or only romance in February?

No. And trust me, I never will. If you want to do something like that in celebration of the holiday, then that's fine by me. However, I will not expect you to. You can do whatever you want, as long as you stick with the mentioned guidelines.

EDIT: I have decided to add in a theme for artworks to be sprinkled throughout the comic.

I can't draw/have a sprite comic/sprained my wrist. Is there any other way I can contribute?

You can type up a short story or a chapter to a longer story if you like. Otherwise, I could use some interviews or tutorials if you have any (This is supposed to be drunk duck in magazine form)

Why won't you take sprite comics?

Legal reasons partly, but mainly because you're using some one else's work if you take a Sonic/Mario/Megaman/Link/whatever sprite and make him into your own character. HOWEVER, if you do something that's entirely original pixel art (Something like Screwball Islands) then that's fine, I'll take your stuff

Can I send you a fan fic?

Nope. Rename and redesign the characters, then we'll talk. However, if the owner of the characters tells me that it's okay, then you'll be just fine

Can I send you something that advertises my site/product/service?

That's fine, but you'll have to pay for it (See below in money section)

I don't think my work is good enough

That's fine, send it over anyway.

My stuff is pretty mature (Full on sex, heavy violence, hard coarse language, basically anything to get an A rating). Is that okay?

If I get enough people to submit stuff like that, I'll have a 'Mature' issue just for that sort of thing, which will only be available to anyone who can prove they're at least 18. But, if you were hoping to get that stuff into the main magazine, sorry but no. If you want, you can edit it to get rid of all that stuff. Once that's done, you shouldn't have a problem getting in

Who judges our work on whether it's print worthy?

You do. One man's trash is another's treasure, so I can't really say whether something's good enough if some one else would love it. Anyway, this is only in the beginning stages, so I won't have a standard criteria or anything like that.

When is the due date?

For now, every issue is coming out on the 25th of the month (There won't be one for December 2006 though, January 25th will be the release date of the first issue). I would like your submission by the 18th, so then I'll have a week to organise everything

What size/resolution would you like?

Make sure it can work with a normal comic sized page (17cmx26cm) and put it at 300 dpi

Do you want colour or grayscale?

EDIT: Grayscale please. I'll have special colour issues every twenty five or annually, whichever works best

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 28, 2007

Are we selling you our work?

No. You still own it. I think that since I'm publishing it, on paper it'll say I own it, but don't worry, I'm going to write up a contract saying that I have no right to it

Will I be credited for my submission?

Of course. Provided you leave your name or whatever you'd like to be called

Are you in any way connected to drunkduck?

No, I'm not connected to drunkduck, nor am I acting on behalf of the owners. I'm just doing this for the fun of it. This isn't officially the drunkduck.com magazine, it's just what I think it would look like. And no, I will not be using Drunk Duck or Platinum Studios in order to boost sales and/or publicity.

However, if either show an interest in being connected, well I'm not going to say no. But, until that day occurs, it's just me

Will you ever sell the magazine?

I don't think I'll be up to that point for a while. But, no I don't think so. Unless it gets to be too much of a hassle or something prevents me from working on it. However, if selling it meant I was still editor (Much like Drunk Duck was bought and Dylan Squires is still in charge) then yes, maybe, depending on how much I was offered

What if I want to sell my idea to Platinum Studios?

Go for it. If there are any legal complications because you submitted it to 'Fowl Play', I'll do whatever I can to straighten it all out.

What happens if I send you something that has a copyright infringement and you get sued for it?

I'll immediately tell them where you live. As part of the contract mentioned above, you'll take all legal responsibility, meaning I can't be blamed for something you did (Don't complain about this. You make your bed, you should damn well lie in it)

Posted at 9:11PM, Nov. 28, 2007

(Note: All cash is in US dollars to make things easier. To find out what the value is in your local currency, just google 'Currency Converter' and you should be able to find the answer)

Do we get any money up front?

No, sorry, not that rich.

What about when the comic makes a profit?

You'll get some of that. However, Lulu only pays out every month and that's only if you make at least $25 in profit. Anyway, your payment all depends on how much you did, quality, etc. No, don't try to get more money for the time it takes. I have no way of monitoring it and don't send me a video either, I don't have the time.

How will I get paid?

If you have paypal, I'll send your cut through it. Otherwise, I'll write a cheque and mail it. If you don't get it, I'll cancel it and write a new one. Later, if I get a staff, I'll try and get someone with paypal who lives nearby to give you the money in person. And no, I will not mail cash. It has a habit of getting lost

I don't have a credit card/I don't trust buying on the Internet

Well, you'll have two options. The first being that you go to your local newsagent, comic shop or establishment which you think would sell this sort of magazine and ask them to order some copies to sell. Just give them the publishing information and you should be set.If that doesn't work and I get a big enough demand, I'll put a few issues on eBay and you guys can pay through paypal, money order, etc.

How much will each issue cost?

Whatever the production price is, plus 6% rounded up to the nearest dollar. Now that I've worked it out, it will be available on Lulu for $12

Why such a small profit?

A profit isn't meant to be too big, otherwise people won't buy it. I know people don't like paying too much, so I'll try to be as nice as I can

I think the print version is too pricey

That's fine. You can download it as an ebook. Of course, print is a better option, as it gives you something you can show easily to others and just flip through at your leisure without having to wait for your computer or whatever to load, but your choice. Same profit is still made

I want to buy ad space in the magazine. How much?

$2 for a half page, $4 for a full page, $7 for the back cover. And before anyone says anything, that's pretty cheap for advertising on a magazine.

I contributed to the issue. Do I get it for free?

I can either send you the .pdf through email for free or, if you want the print version, I can buy that on Lulu at the author's discount and that'll be all you'll have to pay me, on top of postage/shipping costs

Why can't I get the print version for free?

I'd have to pay out of my pocket, and I'm pretty much broke. However, if I sell at least 1000 copies of the issue, then I will offer the issue for free, as long as you pay for postage. But, if it sells 2500 issues, you won't have to pay a cent.

The alternative is if your cut adds up to the cost of one issue, I could always send it to you instead of your payment

Will you ever pay for our stuff up front?

That would mean I'm buying it from you, which means I'd have all rights to your story and its characters. If you are perfectly fine with that, then we can work something out. However, that won't be for a long time.

Posted at 9:11PM, Nov. 28, 2007

Who works on Fowl Play?

Me and anyone who submits material to it. There is no one else, at this time, on the formal staff except myself

Have you got any jobs open?

If you could make some graphic ads for project wonderful and other places, that'd be great. However, you won't get anything up front. I'll check the results of the ads and depending on how many clicks we get, you'll get more (Maybe 20 cents for each person who clicks on the ad you made). I swear I'll pay more when the magazine picks up

Also, for some one to make a contents page, a front cover and anything else the magazine needs. You'll get the same as a contributor, plus 5%. Remember, 5% can be a lot depending on the whole.

Of course, if no one's interested, I will do it all myself

Do you always try and get away with slave labour?

Hey, I feel guilty about it. If I had more money, I'd pay about $90 a page. But I don't, so I can't

Posted at 7:02PM, Feb. 2, 2008

How many issues are available?

Just the one at the moment

Where can I buy each issue?

Go to Lulu.com and search for Fowl Play. If you're looking for a specific issue, add that to you search.

For example: If you're looking for the first issue, then type in Fowl Play Issue 1 and you will be directed to the first Fowl Play

I can't afford Print

No need, there's also a download option