All images and logos within this site © 1997-2006 by Nat J's Mind unless otherwise noted
Please make sure that there is an ending to these stories. As much as we'd
love to think that everyone can conceive of and produce a story that will
last through the ages, we do expect serial stories to end at some
point.
Be very aware of your limitations. Try to put the same amount of effort
into each episode you submit. Think about your storyline and the
commitment you can offer it so you can figure out an estimated number of
episodes you can/will do. We ask that this estimation to be sent with any
incomplete serial story submissions. We
recommend that anyone who cannot consistently produce similar art styles
and storylines over a span of several episodes should try doing feature
stories first.
Midnight Ink will be published bi-monthly, so
you must be able to do 1 of 2 things.
1. Produce (writing, drawing, and inking along with
format coordination) a complete episode within a 2-month period.
2. Hold off submitting your story until you have several episodes produced
so that you are not completing each episode just before the deadline date
for which that episode is needed.
We recommend that you go with #2. Wait until you have a backlog of
episodes, then send them to us. We'll keep them stored with the other
submissions that will be printed in whichever issue they're slated to
appear in. All you have to do after that is make sure you keep producing
more episodes until the story ends. We will always let you know when we
need the next episode from you.
At the conclusion of each serial story, all the episodes will be
combined and printed in one complete volume. If your submission is chosen
for this process, a new contract will be sent out which will detail the
payment arrangements.
The deadline date for each issue is currently about 30 days prior to the
projected release date of that issue. For example, the deadline would be
September 1st for submissions to an issue
scheduled to be released in October.
Feature stories have only one episode, so these are a lot easier to
produce and submit. Simply make sure that the whole story is told within
the alotted page limits. These stories tend to be a lot more detailed
(in artwork) than serial stories because
there is no need to reproduce that quality in another episode. We
recommend that anyone that cannot consistently produce similar art styles
and storylines over a span of several episodes should try doing feature
stories first.
On each Midnight Ink anniversary (October),
all the feature stories from the previous year's issues will be
combined into one volume and republished.
The deadline date for each issue is currently about 30 days prior to the
projected release date of that issue. For example, the deadline would be
September 1st for submissions to an issue
scheduled to be released in October.
Filler stories can be as short as a comic strip, but we do not
accept one-cell bits. They can be several pages revolving around one plot
or theme (similar to mini-serial stories), or
they can be simple one-pagers. We prefer actual short one-page stories to
little comic strips, but we will not deny the latter. Filler
stories are not necessarily funny, but they can be.
Filler story collection volumes will be created and printed
depending on demand and number of filler stories submitted to Midnight Ink each year.
The deadline date for each issue is currently about 30 days prior to the
projected release date of that issue. For example, the deadline would be
September 1st for submissions to an issue
scheduled to be released in October.
You can design the front and/or back cover of the book. It doesn't really
matter what your style is because there is no central theme to the stories
printed in Midnight Ink. The important thing is
that you have the right information on the cover.
Front cover -must include the title: "Midnight Ink" or "M I". It can also include the issue
number or release date, but this is not necessary.
Back cover -does not need to include the name
of the book, but preferably, the design would be similar to the front
cover. The back cover need not be done by the same artist who designs
the front cover. We can/will mix and match as necessary.
We accept two general mediums for cover art:
1. ink on paper- not exclusively so, just some
type of Black & White or Grayscale pattern of contrast. Markers, paint,
pencils, etc. can be used, but the artwork must be done in Black & White.
2. computer graphics- any style/design
including altered photographs. Black & White only. (Please, no unaltered photography).
The deadline date for each issue is currently about 30 days prior to the
projected release date of that issue. For example, the deadline would be
September 1st for submissions to an issue
scheduled to be released in October.
If your submission(s) is accepted for publication, you will be mailed a
contract which you must sign and return before the current submission
deadline date. You will be notified which issue(s) your submission(s) is
most likely to appear in. You will also be sent an Info/Bio-Form to fill
out. The information you put on that form will be posted on this website
and linked to a preview/picture of your submission(s). If you do not want
your info posted on this site, you can check the appropriate box on the
form, but there are some mandatory fields that you must fill out. Midnight Ink will keep that info for recording
purposes only.
At the conclusion of each serial story, all the episodes will be
combined and printed in one complete volume. If your submission is chosen
for this process, a new contract will be sent out which will detail the
payment arrangements.
On each Midnight Ink anniversary (October), all
the feature stories from the previous year's issues will be
combined into one volume and republished.
Filler story collection volumes will be created and printed
depending on demand and number of filler stories submitted to Midnight Ink each year.
If your submission(s) is not accepted, you will be notified by mail along
with a list of reasons for rejection. Your submission will not be returned
unless you sent it with a self-addressed stamped
envelope for that purpose. Even if we do not return your
submission, it will NEVER be used in any
way/shape/form by Midnight Ink or Tainted Muse Publishing without your permission. If the
editors of Midnight Ink decide at any point in
the future that they want to print your submission, it still WILL NOT be used until you are notified and a
contract is signed.