When seeking someone to letter your comic book, the more direct you are, the better. Here’s an approach that can impress a potential hire with the first e-mail:
How to Lay Out the Scope
A comic book letterer is either full time (5-10 different projects every week) or working on a few books at a time in order to maintain a steady day job/family life. With so little time to spare, going back-and-forth with a potential client through numerous e-mails to figure out the full scope of a project before agreeing to the work can be rather exhausting. Finding out what a client expects from them does not need to be a game of 20 Questions. Laying out the scope from the first e-mail will not only impress a letterer, it will save time for everyone and often help prevent severe misunderstandings later in the project.
Answer the following questions for yourself before reaching out to anyone:
Question #1: How big is the project?
Since letterers are often paid by page rate, the most important question in their mind is “How many pages will I be expected to letter?” Is this a 2-page pitch, a 100-page graphic novel, a 4-issue miniseries, or perhaps an ongoing monthly series? By describing the size of the project, the letterer can build an idea of how much time and energy will be expected from them. It’s a key component to understand the scope and if a rough estimate isn’t included in the initial e-mail, the letterer will have to go back and forth with you until they find out.
Question #2: When is the work due?
If there is a strict deadline, particularly an urgent one, you have to make that clear from your first e-mail so that the letterer can check it against their schedule. If you don’t have a strict deadline, that information is just as important.
You may think that having a relaxed deadline for a project will make a letterer interested in adding it to their workload. However, some may need the pressure of firm deadlines to prioritize their work efficiently. The truth is that you don’t know whether a loose or strict timeline will work for your potential letterer. All you can do is lay out the facts and give them the opportunity to decide what they are capable of on their end. Some folks love flexibility, but some folks need structure.
Question #3: What are the page size dimensions?
You have no idea how impressed a letterer would be to see the inclusion of page size dimensions. You can read more about those here on Blambot.
Letterers design templates that fit the dimensions of the comic book so that the lettering layers can sit on top of the art layer without severe misalignment in publication. The art needs to be uniform to fit both those templates and the book layout for the final product. Do not expect the letterer to correct any varied size dimensions in the art and do not expect a them to overhaul the size dimensions of a book after the lettering is done. Expecting that from a letterer will entail an incredible amount of additional work that would need to be compensated: they would have to resize their templates, resize and replace the art, and then check and fix placements for the lettering on top as well. It’s enough to make one cry.
Decide on a page size at the start of a project, request that the artist adhere to those page size dimensions, ensure that the colorist does the same, and assure the letterer of those measurements so that they can build their templates accurately. Even if a comic is the usual U.S. standard size for print, tell them that — the letterer will be happy to know what to expect. It will also give them the impression that you respect their time.
Question #4: How much are you willing to pay for lettering per page?
If you don’t wish to answer that question for yourself, then you could instead flip the question to ask the letterer directly: “Would you be available for this project? If so, may I ask your page rate and when you would be able to start?”
Outside of the essential four questions above, here are some additional questions you can anticipate answers for when discussing the project:
5. What is the name of the project?
6. Who is the publisher?
7. Is there an Editor?
8. Who are in the creative team?
9. What is the story about?
How to Sweeten the Pot
You don’t have to restrain yourself to answering just the initial four questions. You can include any details to help round out the recipient’s understanding of the project. If you have other members of the creative team, be sure to mention them. Writer, Artist, Colorist – the letterer is going to be someone who knows comic book creators either personally, professionally, or even in their secret wish list of “Folks I hope to make comics with one day”. If there is something in the scope that they are not crazy about, there may be someone on the creative team who they’ve always wanted to work with and wouldn’t hesitate at the chance to do so.
Or, adversely, there may be someone whom they have not worked well with in the past. They may want to say no regardless of a favorable scope. The latter result may not sound good, but trust me, it’s better to have that cleared up early and move on to a different letterer instead of committing to someone who inevitably finds out later. Sharing the rest of the creative team names with your potential hire will benefit you in the long run.
Another thing you can expand on is the genre and pitch notes. An elevator pitch isn’t necessary to get someone on a book, but it is a good addition to share and it can be exciting to hear about.
How to Sour the Pot
You can mention personal accolades, your skill and acumen for comics creation, or how you’d like to spin the comic off into multi-media ventures. You can tout your credentials to your heart’s content. If that’s how you roll, then you do you. Just so you know: This may scare letterers away. Collaborative creative fields need Big Egos as much as a drowning man needs More Water.
Collaboration means constant negotiation. Creating comics means going back and forth on numerous details and listening to each other. This is why an Editor is essential to a project. You need a good editor to filter feedback and answer questions, as well as all of the in-between details that often get overlooked. If you don’t have an editor attached to your project, your team deserves to know up front. If they dive in, they’re diving in without a lifeguard on duty. It’s perilous, but not impossible. It’s just good to be fully aware of the situation.
How to Accept a “No, Thanks”
I mentioned earlier how busy folks can be. We don’t know what each other’s personal challenges are, but we can empathize that everyone tends to have rather full schedules. While a creative needs money to survive, but they also need the time and space to be creative. It may not seem that way to some, but lettering is a creative endeavor. Creativity isn’t simply putting pen to paper to make something beautiful. Creativity can also mean problem solving and, if lettering is composed of anything, it is coming up with incredibly creative solutions to bridge the gap between art and script.
So there are times where a letterer has to say no. It’s not a rejection of the work, nor the opportunity. A “no” is simply a “I’m not the right person in the right space to make this happen.” A good letterer recognizes their own limitation so as not to fall short of a potential client’s needs. Accept the situation for what it is instead of trying to make the collaboration happen no matter what. It’s far better for you to find the person you need instead, even if they aren’t initially the person you wanted. You may be pleasantly surprised by the result and may someday get another chance to work with the one you had wished for.
How to Write an E-mail
Let’s make this extra easy. I’m going to layout a simple template for you to use. Just fill out the blanks, read over it, change up whatever you need (or completely re-write it), and feel free to use it however you wish.
Hello (Letterer’s Name),
I’m (Name) and I am a (Your Role). I’m in need of a letterer for a new project. It will be a (Answer to Question #1) and the timeline will be (Answer to Question #2). The page size dimensions are (Answer to Question #3).
The page rate is (Answer to Question #4, or flip it around how I mentioned). In addition, (add answers to Questions #5 - #9 or other information to sweeten the pot – it’s optional). I hope you’ll take this project into your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you for your time!
(Your Name)