Breaking In As An Editor

Who would want to do this?!

Me. I did. I’m frequently asked how I became an editor, why I wanted to be an editor, and if I ever wanted to be a writer. These are valid questions since it’s often only talked about breaking in as a writer, artist, colorist, letterer, etc.

Way back in the 90s, when I was in college, I was majoring in Illustration. Indeed, my goal was to become an artist. An artist of what? I was thinking of children’s books. As I have mentioned before, I had worked at bookstores since I was sixteen, and had been studying art my whole life until that point. I was in the Art Honor Society in high school, and there was one person who was better than me, her name was Miho Yurino. I still shake my fist at the sky when I think of her. She constantly stole my thunder! I wonder whatever became of her? Anyway, when it came time to go to college, I chose an art school. To become a “returning student” and therefore get a chance to select better classes, I opted to go to summer school at my future college right after high school graduation. I took what I thought would be an easy summer class, which was Intro to Fiction Writing. I fell in love with writing, took summer classes every year, and eventually graduated with a double major in Illustration and Fiction Writing. My degree is in Fiction Writing. So, to say my knowledge of writing fiction is extensive is an understatement. There were no comic book classes at that time, but I did take a Publishing class where various miscellaneous genres, like greeting card writing, were gathered to try and figure out next steps, which was cool. This is pre-Internet, readers. I was printing out my stories on a dot-matrix printer, and then tearing off the holes on the sides before turning them in.

Could I have used the school’s computer lab with more updated equipment? Probably.

So, the answer to the posed question of ever wanting to be a writer is yes. Here is the weird thing that happened to me while in school, though. I burned out on both writing and creating art. Years of doing it non-stop. After graduation, I needed to take a break, which came in the form of using my knowledge to help someone else instead of producing it myself. And truthfully, that was more rewarding. I’m a helper; I like to help people be stronger. Editing is like a wonderful puzzle that needs figuring out. Where are the plot holes? Why is this happening? What’s missing within the structure? Could this be stronger? Why does this artist love to create tangents so much? Is the perspective wonky? Etc. And it’s no fun doing that on my own stuff! And that answers the second question of why I wanted to be an editor. Plus, I still write. You’re reading some of it right now.

When I broke in, it was because I partnered up with two different writers who wanted to submit proposals to Image, thanks to posting on the internet. I oversaw everything on the pitches and was the contact person who sent them in. This meant I got all the rejections, but that’s okay, because it also meant that my name became familiar. I was friendly, polite, and memorable. I went to cons and met publishers so they could put a face to my name when I followed up later with my next pitch. I never dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a fandom on it, I always looked professional…because that stands out, for better or worse! I could be the weirdo who overdressed absurdly at cons, or the redhead that looked pretty damn sharp, could go either way! And I used that in my emails later…"This is Kris Simon. We met at Wizard World last weekend. I was the redhead in the pinstriped blouse who spoke with you about blah blah blah.”

So, when a book was finally accepted at Image (you can read all about it on this Substack), people there were genuinely happy for me; they were rooting for me. And since none of the other books had an editor, all eyes were on mine. Some creators hated it because, apparently, editors can be horribly mean people who change everything you love about your story, or because they are simply unnecessary, and they were already at Image, so clearly they were doing just fine. However, I was blessed with a writer who really loved what I was contributing to the project, and he was vocal about it online. So, I was hired by someone else who got a book accepted. It was Robbi Rodriguez’s first book, called Hero Camp. He was the one who loved to draw tangents, incidentally. Don’t ask me how I remember that 20 years later, some things just stick.

As the only editor editing creator-owned books at Image, I developed a working relationship with Jim Valentino, the publisher at the time. Obviously I did not suck at what I did (I think this is key—really, you can’t be terrible at your job if you want to make it in the biz), because when he stepped aside as publisher, and resurrected his own imprint, he asked me to help him re-launch it. And it was there that I was a part of discovering all sorts of today’s well-known talents.

Being as how I am doing the same thing at my current publisher, with the manga line…I can say with certainty that I see the same names submitting proposals, over and over. Determined. They have introduced themselves to me at cons, have been polite, taken rejection with aplomb, and keep right on submitting to me. I am rooting for these creators! They will finally hit on “the one.” I have seen it happen. I may even give feedback on some of them before they go in for an “official” editorial review. Full circle moments, I’m paying it forward the best way I can.

I can’t say this will work for anyone else trying to break in as an editor; everyone’s journey is different, and times change. For instance, my journey had zero to do with Marvel or DC, or internships. I did not start as an assistant editor and work my way up. But I do think the one thing that will never change is that you need to know your shit. Read Scott McCloud and Will Eisner, study Hogarth. The resources are there! Remember the Steve Martin quote: Be so good they can’t ignore you.

That’s it for this week! If you haven’t heard, I am on a podcast! Last week, we did something a little different and turned the tables by interviewing the folks who usually do the interviewing! It was so fun! This week, we will spotlight our next guest, Matt Kindt. So make sure you check out that post when it goes live on Friday.

If you subscribe to The Superfan Podcast’s Substack, you get access to kick-ass recipes related to our guests' fandoms! A reminder that the podcast has not yet been released; the episodes will start coming out soon! Subscribe to the Substack to be in the know.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to my new subscribers! You can also find me on Instagram as @geekchic_promos, and on Bluesky as @kris10simon. There’s also the Editor Girl website. If you’re on Cara, you can search for me using @kris10simon. See you next week!

Onward,

Kris