Original series development, questions.

[kevin.gotheborg]

I'm in the world-building and outlining stages of a three-book series set in a Japanese pop-cultural universe spanning mythological Japan, WWII, 1970s to present-day Shinjuku, all the way up to post-apocalyptic Neo Tokyo, inspired by pseudo-historical exploitation films like the Battles Without Honor or Humanity series and Shogun's Sadism, the girl boss genre, and hentai series like La Blue Girl, Angel of Darkness, Eko Eko Azarak, and Lady Ninja. I currently have about 180 pages of loose notes.

Questions:

1) Do you publish adult-themed original fiction?

2) Would you allow the inclusion of coloring book pages, puzzles, illustrations, and possibly stickers?

3) I'd like to expand the universe with related manga, video games, and merchandising. Do you require the sale of all of those rights when you purchase a book?

4) Do you commission manga adaptations of prose novels, or should I do that myself and submit the finished manga seperately?

5) Do you commission Japanese translations of English-language books and manga?

6) I have other books in the works that are not adult-themed. What would be the best original titles for me to read, in order to get a feel for the types of books you publish?

7) This last question is for both Tokyo Pop editors and aspiring editors/writers. Would anyone be interested in looking over and commenting on loose notes, sort of a pre-beta workshop?

Thanks. I hope this thread will offer some good advice for both myself and others.

[Adrian_Alexander]

Answer to number seven:
I would love to look over your notes and make suggestions! I am also working on a fiction submission but my comp is with out printer so I am typing it on my Grandmother's Remington Travel-Riter. *Kicks the typewriter* I don't even think they would accept the submission if it was typed on the typewriter though...

Anyway I would love to look over some notes and make suggestions.

[Blu_Moon]

Howdy. Thanks for your interest; this really makes me excited for what the future might hold. Right now, we're just getting Manga Novels rolling, and we're about to start with Pop Fiction's line this fall. So original fiction is a ways a way, but, we're of course thinking about OGF.

I'll try and answer some of your questions to the best of my ability, but I in no way am writing anything in stone here. Okay? These are mostly just my own thoughts.


Questions:

1) Do you publish adult-themed original fiction?
Depends on what you mean by "adult-themed." Fiction is not rated, art work is. We will publish stories with violence, abuse, emotional trauma, death, etc., that's consistent with a lot of edgy teen literature. Probably not so much with the sexually explicit stuff. And most of our marketing efforts are aimed at teens and older teens, though that doesn't mean that adults can't also enjoy our products. (The protagonists tend to be teenagers, if you see what I'm saying.)


2) Would you allow the inclusion of coloring book pages, puzzles, illustrations, and possibly stickers?
Lots of possibilities exist, the question all comes down to cost/demand. At the moment, novels don't include interior color art, but new technology could help lower printing costs, so I don't want to say never . . . just, not right now.

3) I'd like to expand the universe with related manga, video games, and merchandising. Do you require the sale of all of those rights when you purchase a book?
That would be a legal question, something for someone that handles contracts. I am SO not qualified to help you out on questions with rights/future property ownership, etc. I'm sorry.

4) Do you commission manga adaptations of prose novels, or should I do that myself and submit the finished manga seperately?
Um, first of all, never submit a finished manga. Submit some sequential art and pitch ideas. You can find submission guidelines on the website. If you submit a fully finished manga and it's not what they (any publishing company) wants, that's a lot of time and effort wasted. I get the sense that it would be better to pitch the spec summary and maybe the first chapter or two for a novel, because that gives a sense of your writing style. Again, you finish the whole thing, that doesn't give the publisher any say in its development/ the partnership.

5) Do you commission Japanese translations of English-language books and manga?
I'm not sure about the question (I'm sorry, I'm a tad fried today.) I'm taking it to mean, "Do we take OGM and OGF and translate it into Japanese to sell in Japan?" Nope. Someday, maybe. That could be exciting, if other world markets were interested in a translation of our original properties! If I'm too blonde and not getting what you're saying, please ask again. But I'm a novels person, not manga, so a manga editor might be better equipped to answer your questions.

6) I have other books in the works that are not adult-themed. What would be the best original titles for me to read, in order to get a feel for the types of books you publish?
To get a good sense of where TP is going with its fiction lines, check out our Manga Novels. That should give you an idea of the demographic, genres, and "feel" of the stories we like. [And of course, while we're not trying to copycat anyone, big sellers like Potter, Gossip Girl, Eragon, etc., and the other manga novels from our competitors (ALTHOUGH I AM IN NO WAY SAYING YOU SHOULD BUY ANYTHING FROM OUR COMPETITORS ~_^) are always good to be familiar with, just so you know what's out there.]

7) This last question is for both Tokyo Pop editors and aspiring editors/writers. Would anyone be interested in looking over and commenting on loose notes, sort of a pre-beta workshop?
Of course I'd be interested in reading stuff from bright and committed writers such as yourself. But I work about a 12-16 hour day as it is, and I write my own fiction. I honestly don't have the time to devote to anything other than my titles, and sometimes, when I can steal a moment (I'm at dinner right now) chat with fans in here. When people submit something in hard copy to the fiction department, I save it and go through it when I can, but I rarely have time to give detailed feedback. I'm more sorry about that than I can say. See, I come from three generations of writing teachers, so mentoring people as they develop their craft/ find their voice is something for which I have great respect. However, even if you can't get help from TP editors or fellow writers on this board, there are tons of pitch/beta communities on yahoogroups and livejournal. There are lots of online writing workshop groups as well, if you Google them. All free, and usually with talented and knowledgeable members. And while I'm thinking of it, the best book I ever read when it came to publishing my own original fiction is Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published. A few of my masters professors at Hopkins looked down on that book, thinking they already knew everything about the biz. I Xeroxed some chapters, and everyone in my classes found it really helpful. It's got great examples and explains the basics.


In closing, let me say this. At the moment, prose fiction at TP is just getting off the ground, taking the market's temperature, getting its land legs, and a whole bunch of other mixed metaphors. We're newborns. Give us a few months, I hope we become the most respected and competitive fiction publishers in the manga/translated novels biz. The idea of giving talented new writers a chance to get their original stories out to those within TP's reach is really exciting. We don't have the mechanisms in place right now to pave a smooth ride for OGF, but it's coming. Soon. Like, I hope within the next year, we have plans and procedures. In the mean time, hone your craft, read books like McGee's Story, Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces, and the 2006 Writer's Market.

Most of all, no matter how tired you get, don't stop striving to improve. Even if you're reaching for unreachable stars, at least you're looking up.
Yours, Kara


“Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.” -- Winston Churchill

[Klawzie]

Awesome, Blu_Moon - thanks! That answered some questions for me too. :)

[Adrian_Alexander]

Ms. Stambach is so great!

I have an idea to pitch to Tokyopop as well. It is in its larvel stage and I am working on the first chapter. :D

[KarenCupp]

Kara,
If you like Hero with a THousand Faces, you may wish to recommend The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogel.

[Blu_Moon]

I liked that book very much, too! We're on the same wavelength, totally, in terms of taste! ~_^