Stone Dragon Press - Submission FAQs

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Submission FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
and Answers

Creators FAQ for creators of Comic Books and Graphic Novels or authors of Regular Books and Novels.

Creators FAQ

Comic Books and Graphic Novels

Regular Books and Novels

Comic Books and Graphic Novels FAQ

What will I get paid?: Creators get 10% of the cover price.
What if I drew it and another guy wrote it?: Then the two of you are "the creator," and both of you will be paid a total of 10% of the cover price.
So, if there were 20 of us working on a comic, the 20 of us would get 10% of cover to split among ourselves?: That's right.
What if I wrote a comic script, but I don't have an artist to draw it?: We have a group of artists we work with. You can look at samples of their work and choose one of them to draw your comic, or you can choose your own artists and work out what you pay them.
If I work with an artist from your place, what will I have to pay?: That's negotiable, but it would be fair to split the 10% royalty with the artist. After all, your work ain't complete if it ain't in pictures.
What if my comic book doesn't sell?: First, let's assume we're doing our job: we can print the comic, we sent it to reviewers, we took out ads, we told people who want to know, we're cruising the web telling folks. If we do all that, and it doesn't sell, we don't much care. We don't actually print your comic until someone buys it, so if no one buys it, we're only out the money it took us to get it into the computer (which isn't very much) and the cost of a couple review copies. See, we have to sell a certain number of comics, but we don't have to sell any one particular comic book.
I don't understand why you don't care if my comic book doesn't sell.: OK, let's pretend we only sell comics, and let's pretend that to pay our workers and pay the rent and so on, we have to sell 100,000 comics. (Remember, this example is pretend.) Because we can print any issue of any comic at any time in any quantity, we have to sell 100,000 comics, not 100,000 of this month's comic. We can have; We don't care how many of each comic we sell, we only care that we sell 100,000 comics. There aren't any copies sitting in a warehouse waiting to be sold, so we don't have to sell a specific comic—we just have to sell comics, period.; If your comic takes two years to get a readership, we don't care, as long as we are selling comics and paying our bills. We can print your comic two years from now as easily as we can today. That's the beauty of printing on demand.
So, what if I'm up to #12 and no copies of my comic have sold?: Somewhere along the line, we're probably going to try to figure out why that is. Maybe your comic sucks. Maybe we aren't telling the right people. Maybe your comic doesn't suck, and we're telling the right people, but there's something they don't like about it. We'll figure it out, and we'll talk about what to do next.
When are my comics out of print?: Well, your comic book is never out of print at Stone Dragon Press. Our contract with you lasts for five years. At the end of five years, we can still publish your comic until you send a letter telling us to stop. We have 90 days to publish after we receive the letter. At the end of that 90 days, rights revert to you.
Speaking of telling people, where will my comic sell? Who'll know about it?: We have a spiffy web page, and we'll sell by direct mail and email. (We're like a comic book store with a comic book printing machine in the back.) If enough people call to buy books, we'll add an 800 line.
But how will people find out?: The same way they do with any comic: magazines, reviews, ads, word of mouth. Plus, we'll use direct mail and email to show them the things they like. It'll be like getting a Land's End catalog that only shows the clothes you like in your size and in the colors you like.
Direct mail—that's a catalog in the mail?: Right, and we can send the catalog by regular mail or by email.
What can my comic be about?: We don't much care. It shouldn't violate anyone's civil rights or copyrights; it shouldn't be unlawful in some other way (child porn, f'rinstance); but after that, we don't care.
So you'll take anything?: Well...no. Life is short, so we want to publish what we think is the best we can get. ("Best" does not necessarily mean "commercial.") Some comics are just complete swill, and we don't really want to waste our personal time on that. Really, it ain't about the money (see above), it's about wasting time on something that's no good.
So you'll really take what?: Our long suits are speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror) and funny animal stuff, but if you've got a boffo western comic, send it along. We're not going to turn down your comic Rover and Lockets about a Chihuahua obsessed with compartment jewelry if it's well done. Look at Dork by Evan Dorkin: it's not really about anything, but it's pretty damn funny. Some of us read his comic Milk and Cheese and nearly bled to death from laughing so hard; others nearly bled to death from outrage; but we all agreed it was well done. So, forget genre, do a good job, and send it along.
Superheroes, too?: Yes, superheroes, too; but do us a favor: go read Watchmen before you send us any superhero stuff. Watchmen kind of put the lid on superhero comics, so whatever you've got had better be original and very well done.
Okay, I want you to look at my comic. What do I do?

Regular Books and Novels FAQ

What will I get paid?: Creators get 10% of the cover price.
What if I have a co-author?: Then the two of you are "the creator," and both of you will be paid a total of 10% of the cover price.
So, if 20 of wrote a book, the 20 of us would get 10% of cover to split among ourselves?: That's right.
Can I get an advance against those royalties?: Sorry, no. Remember, we don't print an item until the customer buys it, so we can afford to wait for a work to gain currency or find its readership. If we pay advances, we can't do that. We are asking you to share the risk with us; in return, your book is always in print, and you can choose the cover art.
I can choose the cover?: Yes. We have a group of artists we work with. You can look at samples of their work and choose one of them to draw your cover, or you can choose your own artists and work out what they draw and what you pay them.
Waitaminnitdid you just say that I, the lowly author of a book, get to choose the artist and work with it to design a cover for my book?: Yep.
Can I get that in writing?: Yep. The model contract gives the author control of the cover and the interior illustrations, within certain time limits. Here's another great thing: if we disagree about the cover, we can offer the book with either cover and let the customer choose.
If I work with an artist from your place, what will I have to pay?: We pay the artist 2.5% of cover to do a cover and three interior illos for your book. If you want more than three illos, you have to pay the artist .1% of your royalty per illo.
I get a cover and three illos, and after that, I have to start forking over my own royalty rights?: Yes. You can always work out a piece rate privately with our artist or with someone else. We just want the artwork on time.
What if my book doesn't sell?: First, let's assume we're doing our job: we can print the book, we sent it to reviewers, we took out ads, we told people who want to know, we're cruising the web telling folks. If we do all that, and it doesn't sell, we don't much care. We don't actually print your book until someone buys it, so if no one buys it, we're only out the money it took us to get it into the computer (which isn't very much) and the cost of a couple review copies. See, we have to sell a certain number of books, but we don't have to sell any one particular book.
I don't understand why you don't care if my book doesn't sell.: OK, let's pretend we only sell books, and let's pretend that to pay our workers and pay the rent and so on, we have to sell 100,000 books. (Remember, this example is pretend.) Because we can print any book at any time in any quantity, we have to sell 100,000 books, not 100,000 of this month's releases. We can have; We don't care how many of each book we sell, we only care that we sell 100,000 books. There aren't any copies sitting in a warehouse waiting to be sold, so we don't have to sell a specific bookwe just have to sell books, period.; If your book takes two years to get a readership, we don't care, as long as we are selling books and paying our bills. We can print your book two years from now as easily as we can today. That's the beauty of printing on demand.
So, what if I'm up to book #6 of my trilogy and no copies of my book have sold?: Somewhere along the line, we're probably going to try to figure out why that is. Maybe your book sucks. Maybe we aren't telling the right people. Maybe your book doesn't suck, and we're telling the right people, but there's something they don't like about it. We'll figure it out, and we'll talk about what to do next.
When are my books out of print?: Well, your book is never out of print at Stone Dragon Press. Our contract with you lasts for five years. At the end of five years, we can still publish your book until you send a letter telling us to stop. We have 90 days to publish after we receive the letter. At the end of that 90 days, rights revert to you.
Speaking of telling people, where will my comic sell? Who'll know about it?: We have a spiffy web page, and we'll sell by direct mail and email. (We're like a comic book store with a comic book printing machine in the back.) If enough people call to buy books, we'll add an 800 line.
But how will people find out?: The same way they do with any book: magazines, reviews, ads, word of mouth. Plus, we'll use direct mail and email to show them the things they like. It'll be like getting a Land's End catalog that only shows the clothes you like in your size and in the colors you like.
Direct mail—that's a catalog in the mail?: Right, and we can send the catalog by regular mail or by email.
What can my book be about?: We don't much care. It shouldn't violate anyone's civil rights or copyrights; it shouldn't be unlawful in some other way (child porn, f'rinstance); but after that, we don't care.
So you'll take anything?: Well…no. Life is short, so we want to publish what we think is the best we can get. ("Best" does not necessarily mean "commercial.") Some books are just complete swill, and we don't really want to waste our personal time on that. Really, it ain't about the money (see above), it's about wasting time on something that's no good.
So you'll really take what?: Our long suits is speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror), but if you've got a boffo western, send it along. We're not going to turn down your book The Hunt for Dead October about a supersecret submarine staffed by zombies if it's well done. Look at Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson: it's not really about anything, but it's pretty damn good. His book The Diamond Age brought arguments; but we all agreed it was well done. So, try to stick to our genres, do a good job, and send it along.
Space operas, too?: Yes, space operas, too; but whatever you've got had better be original and very well done.
Okay, I want you to look at my book. What do I do?: Write or email for our submission guidelines, called "Stone Dragon Style Sheet." It explains what to do next. If you don't follow the guidelines, or if you send something before you see the guidelines, we can't be responsible for the results. We especially can't be responsible for losing the only copy of a manuscript.
I'm not in the USA. Will you accept my manuscript?: Yes.
Where should I send my query?: We don't take queries.
Why?: We don't want to read your hype about your story. We want to read your story. Send your story.
So I should send my query where?: To your mother. To the Pope. To Hell. Somewhere it will be read, because we don't read them here.
But I really want to send a query.: We really will throw it away.
How about if I send a query by e-mail?: We will throw it away.
Can I send my MS by e-mail?: Yes, but get a submission code first. Any MS received without a submission code will be trashed.
What if I become a smashing success, and a multinational multimedia entertainment corporation that is swallowing up giant companies and their subsidiaries to obtain leverageable properties wants to pay me a lot of money to publish my book and stuff?: Good for you. If we still have the rights to your book, you can buy the rest of the rights back or wait for our contract with you to expire. We want you to succeed, and we don't want to stand in your way.
What will the finished book look like?: Just like the books you see in a store, except the paper and the cover will be better quality. We also have some great ideas about changing the cover to show the art better.
Yeah, but what will it look like?: Got a mass market book handy? Good. Look at it; look right at the cover. Now, wherever their logo is, imagine our logo instead; wherever the author's name is, imagine your name instead. There you go! Just like that!