When you're an artist, it's good to be ambitious. In fact, if you want to do well as an artist, you HAVE to be ambitious. Ambitions create drive, it also creates goals.

My drive is my love for using my gifts, I love to create things. My goal is to be published, to share my stories with the world, and to spread the Word along with them. This is the direction God has called me

There are many manga-ka (comic artists) across the web, and many here on DeviantArt. A good percentage of them, including myself, have sought to publish their work. However, this process is long, hard, and full of disappointment. Many times we feel as if the publisher we submitted to took one glance and said “no thankyou” without and real reason.

Just yesterday, sephodryrm, finally received a reply from the publishing company Arcana, “They gave me an email that look more like an automated response,” he said.

”Quote.
We have to pass.
End quote.”

This fails to encourage us to continue, and much less grow as an artist. A simple, “you need to work on your perspective” or “your story is too choppy” is just too much for them to consider doing. On Sephodryrm’s case, however, it confuses many of his fans why he wouldn’t get published. His work is already high enough quality. He, however, steams forward with more ambition than ever, and has already submitted to more publishers, and has even made his work readable online as a webcomic to gain fans and support.

Finding a publisher is only half the trouble. Too often have I heard, as Sephodryrm put it so forwardly, “of evil publishers that enslaved and outright robbed artists of their work, ideas and dignity.” Respectable, published artists here on DeviantArt have reported that this has been done to them one way or another.

Erica Reis, known as Solipherous here on DA, is the artist of Sea Princess Azuri. Reis was only beginning to explore the huge under water world in Azuri before her publisher, TokyoPop, cancelled their 3 volume contract “due to poor sales” and forced her to squeeze the remaining story into half a volume. She wished to continue the story as a webcomic, but was again denied because they own half of the copyrights to her characters. Even reading the fine print can’t always prevent copyright pitfalls if even the publisher doesn’t keep the contract.

But is being ambitious really enough? Sometimes, I believe it isn’t. Conditions for a publisher accepting anyone’s work seems to rely more on luck and timing rather than actual sweat and skill. Such an opportunity is available this summer. Over 30 different comic publishers, including ViZ comics and Dark Horse, will be condensed at one giant event called San Diego ComiCon. (Just google it if you're interested) Many are only doing reviews, but others are open to both reviewing and possibly signing a deal with potential comic artists. I’ll be going, along with my sister, to see if we strike it lucky.

Goodluck to anyone who'll be joining us, and goodluck to anyone who's still on the search.