Submit your Writing to 2000AD

Tom

An Old Friend
2000AD SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR WRITERS

Submissions should be sent to:
2000 AD Submissions Editor
The Studio
Brewer Street
Oxford OX1 1QN
UK

Send ONE short Future Shock plot outlines (no more than a page), along with a full script or published story to show you understand comic book format. Remember, there's no guarantee you'll receive an answer from the editor whose main concern is getting out 2000 AD every week.
Do not send in proposals for new series unless you are an established professional. New writers begin by submitting Future Shocks - five-page science-fiction stories with a twist ending.
Please send copies of your work - never send originals. 2000 AD is not responsible for the safety or the return of any original material sent to us. It can take several weeks to evaluate your work. DO NOT PHONE to discuss your submission. We often receive hundreds of submissions a week, and it's impossible for us to deal with them over the phone.
Don’t bring writing samples to a comics convention. It's difficult for the editor to give writing the attention it deserves in such a hectic, crowded environment. It's best to post photocopies of your work to the editor for later review.
Breaking into comics as a writer is extraordinarily difficult. The big difference between submitting art and writing to 2000 AD is this: We give new artists work based on the skills demonstrated in their samples, but we don't hire writers -- we buy stories. It doesn't matter how skilled you are as a writer unless you can sell us a story idea.
Competition is extremely fierce. 2000 AD publishes a limited number of stories and there are many people who want to write them. Some established writers are not working up to capacity, and there are many would-be scripters waiting for their chance. Don't be discouraged. It's tough, but the best can find work at 2000 AD .
Contents of Your Submission
You should submit a story SYNOPSIS - a one-page, typed story outline - accompanied by a full script. Only if we like the synopsis will we read the script. Despite what some novice writers think, literally any story we would be interested in can be described in synopsis format. We will not review written submissions in any other form.
If you can't convince us that we must publish your Future Shock from the synopsis, there's no point in going any further. No one has time to read the full script to see if there's something of merit there if the synopsis isn’t up to scratch.

There are four elements you absolutely must include in any Future Shock synopsis. They are:
STRUCTURE (BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END)
A HOOK
READER IDENTIFICATION
A TWIST ENDING
Do not underestimate the importance of structure. This is the foundation upon which your story is built, and if the beginning, middle or end is missing or lacking, your tale will not hold up.
The beginning, middle and end is where you introduce the characters and situations, develop conflicts, and indicate their resolution. Remember, an idea is not a story. The idea must be dramatised, through structure and conflict, with an identifiable protagonist.
Without conflict, there is no drama. Conflict need not be hero versus villain. Man against himself, or nature, or a problem that must be solved are all valid conflicts. Your opening should be compelling enough to grab our interest in the first paragraph.
A hook, also called the high concept or theme, is the essence of what makes your story unique and nifty. When you boil your story down to one compelling sentence, that's the hook.
Additionally, the events you describe must affect a character that we care about in some way. (This doesn't have to be the hero.) If no-one in the story cares about what happens, why should the reader? We all share common emotions and experiences. Tap into these feelings and use them in your stories. Ask yourself, who is the protagonist? What does he want? What forces of antagonism must he overcome to achieve it?
The twist ending is an essential punch-line for any successful Future Shock. Ideally it will comment ironically on the theme of your story. Double-twist endings can be even more powerful, and are harder to see coming.
Story Formats
Future Shocks are always exactly five page long.
If your idea interests an editor, he will work with you on developing the idea further, either to plot or full script.
Professional work looks professional. Bad spelling, punctuation, and grammar are signs of the amateur. The editor will not be interested in proposals filled with errors.
All writing submissions must be TYPED on one side of the paper. Hand-written submissions will not be considered.
Stylistic Requirements
Comic-book writing is about telling a story in pictures, with words supplementing the visual storytelling. No matter what genre you want to work in, comic books convey, through pictures and words, action, movement, and urgency; a sense of drama and grandeur and "larger than life" excitement.
You should learn comic-book techniques and terminology and use them. Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner and Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud are essential "bibles" for the conventions of the medium.
If you have never seen how a comic book script is typically prepared, send an SAE to the editorial address requesting a sample script.
GOLDEN RULES

• Always send photocopies; never send originals!
• Include your name, address, and phone number.
• Always include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your submission, with sufficient U.K. postage.
• Please handle all submissions-related correspondence with 2000 AD through the mail. Don't call. Be patient, be polite.
• Anyone wishing to submit from overseas should include an International Reply Coupon with their SAE. If an IRC is not available, then local stamps equal to the value required to post the submission should be attached to the SAE.
• Emailed unsolicited scripts will not be accepted.
GOOD LUCK!



Here is the link
http://www.2000adonline.com/?zone=submissions&page=writers
 
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