Why Should I Pitch to WWAC?
WWAC does not operate on a paid model. None of us at WWAC get paid, including the editors and publisher. So, why pitch here? What we do offer is individualized editorial feedback, a community of peers with similar interests, a respectable byline on an Eisner-nominated site, and the knowledge that you said what you wanted to say. For us, it’s worth it.
WWAC has published almost 300 women and nonbinary writers, many of whom have moved on to write and work in other areas of the comics industry. We’re always looking to publish new voices. Don’t let a lack of experience put you off — we’re looking for good ideas expressed engagingly, not big names, and our editors will work with you to help you hone your critical writing skills. We are especially interested in being a space for underrepresented voices who have no published bylines, or who may be reluctant to pitch at corporate-owned outlets. We pride ourselves on being the first stop for many writers who end up working in the comics industry as creators, critics, editors, or other roles at comics publishers. But we also pride ourselves on being a place that people come back to write for — some even years later! When you write for us, you become part of the WWAC family.
What Should a Pitch Look Like?
Pitches should include:
- A brief outline of your idea and why you think it’s great
- A little bit about you and links to what you’ve done before
- Some suggestion of the form and length your article might take
Typical word counts on WWAC:
- News articles, announcements — 500 or fewer
- Reviews, interviews — 500 to 1500
- Features — 1000 to infinity
What Types of Content Do You Publish?
Reviews
What’s a review? Reviews are short pieces about a single comic issue, collected edition, graphic novel, book, or movie. Is there a monthly comic, webcomic, manga, or tv series you consume and want to write a review for on a weekly or monthly schedule? Fantastic. We love a series. We also accept reviews on non-serial media (zines, graphic novels, books, movies) or collected editions (e.g. trade paperbacks, anthologies). We have a dedicated editor for different types of media.
Previously On Comics
Previously on Comics is our weekly news round-up. Is it everything that happened this week in comics? Absolutely not. We focus on the joys, sorrows, and yes, the discourse happening in comics, with our own special flair. Previously on Comics is a monthly commitment with a rotation of other writers, and a great way to sharpen your writing skills on a deadline.
Pubwatches
We are inundated by announcements for comics by a variety of publishers on a daily basis. Pubwatches were created to be monthly round-ups of all comics announced, with a little context and opinion thrown in. Pubwatches are great for people who are wanting to write, but may not know what they want to write about, or feel confident in their abilities. It is also great for people who want to write on a regular deadline.
Comics Academe
Comics Academe is an ongoing series of public-facing scholarship from contributors who write about comics in and around academic settings (faculty, librarians, graduate students, undergraduates, independent scholars, etc.) from a wide variety of disciplines including English, Archaeology, American Studies, Media Studies, Fine Arts, and more. As part of our process for the Comics Academe section of WWAC, Prof. Lauer provides editorial feedback specifically for academics writing for non-academic audiences for the first time. Past contributors have won awards with the Comics Studies Society and have been featured in various peer-reviewed journals including INKS and ImageTexT.
Con Diaries
We welcome stories about comicons, conferences, festivals, industry events, award shows, happenings…if something is going on, and you’re going to be there, why not write about the experience?
Interviews
Are you a people person? Interviews are a great way to leverage your conversational skills and get to hear some amazing creators talk about their work. WWAC gets more interview opportunities than we could ever accept, and in addition to being a fantastic opportunity to meet people in comics, they also provide the opportunity to read something you might never have read before.
Features
What is a “feature”? Why isn’t it a review? Features articles is the broadest category of articles we publish, and often we fall back on “not a review.” While this can encompass a variety of article types, from investigative journalism, to analysis of comics industry trends, or commentary on current comics discourse, most of the features we publish are longform critical essays or critique. This is not to say they are always negative. All living things are critics—that is, we all have thoughts about the world around us, and the media we consume, and how the one relates to the other. We are looking for comics criticism that makes us think, and feel.
Should we be on your press list? Do you want to send us review PDFs?
We love review PDFs! And press lists! Wild, we know. If you’re a publisher or independent creator who thinks your stuff would be right up our alley, get in touch! It is far easier for us to cover you if you send us your books.