A while ago, I wrote a blog entry entitled "So You Want to be a Manga-Ka?" which, much to my surprise, went on to become the most popular entry I've ever written. After realizing how much interest there was in the subject, I promised to follow it up with a series of new articles that never really manifested.

Until now, that is. I've been working a lot with manga writers lately and have realized that writing comics and manga is something that seems simple, but in truth is anything but. I believe it's something that many potential creators take for granted. Many creators spend years refining their artistic skills, only to make the assumption that writing is simple in comparison and that when their art's ready for the big leagues their writing will prove up to the challenge as well.

Unfortunately, that's not the way it works. Writing, like drawing, is easy to do, but it's remarkably difficult to do well. Like drawing, it often takes years of training, practice and development. It also takes something that isn't always so clear to the casual fan: life experience. It's no coincidence that most successful authors don't publish their first book until they're approaching middle age. Since much of manga is escapism and fantasy, often life experience can be overlooked, but believe me, it still makes a difference when it's there, most notably when it comes to creating rich, believable charcters. Nothing helps good character development like a lifetime of interacting with and getting to know people.

But even tossing aside life experience, writing is still difficult. It may be a lot quicker to write a page of manga than it is to draw one. However, quick doesn't mean easy. Writing taxes your mind in ways that drawing doesn't. It takes planning and revising. The worst way to write a comic book script is to just start writing a story as you're drawing it. I'm not going to say that method can't prove successful. It can. But you're stacking the deck against you and all but dealing your competitors a straight flush. Usually, it's only an experienced writer who can get away with something like that, and even then, most will tell you it's not a smart way to work.

So what is a smart way of approaching manga writing? What are some good tips for manga writers? There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of articles, columns, books and blogs about comic and manga writing, and as before, I don't believe I have anything new to offer. However, I can share what I've observed and found to be true in my experience as a manga editor, and for those of you who wish to make a career out of writing comics, that may prove valuable.

1. You must know your strengths. I'm specifically referring to knowing whether you're a writer, an artist, or both. And let me tell you, very few are both. There are writers who can draw, but rarely do they draw as well as an artist who has devoted his full professional life to practicing and studying his craft. The same applies to most artists who can write. Obviously, though, there are exceptions, many of whom have had books published by TOKYOPOP: Felipe Smith, Ross Campbell, Svetlana Chmakova, Brandon Graham, Christy Lijewski, Bryan Lee O'Malley. However, for every one of those there are probably around ten people who far excel at one over the other, and an experienced editor knows this. I'm extremely skeptical when I pick up a manga proposal from a single creator whom I've never heard of because 98 times out of 100, it's poorly written or drawn. (Granted, that's probably true for around 90 out of a 100 of the other pitches as well, but the odds are at least slightly in your favor.) Know your strength and play to it. If you're a good writer and a so-so artist, find a good artist you can collaborate with who isn't a very good writer. You're both going to get much further than you would working on your own.

2. You must be collaborative. I said this in my previous article, but I think it's worth saying again, particularly since I'm referring to a slightly different form of collaboration here. I've always been surprised at the number of prima donna writers out there. There's really no need for it, and personally, it's something I refuse to put up with as an editor. Writing is collaborative. That's really true of all writing, but it's especially true in comics. You're writing something that's going to be drawn by someone else. Therefore, you need to accept that what ends up on the page is probably going to be at least a little different than you envisioned it, and that's okay. In fact, if you're working with a good artist, that's probably desirable since it's likely they have a better understanding of visual layout and communication than you do. Ideally, you'll have a relationship with your artist where you both know each other's preferences, and you can tailor your contribution to their needs.

3. You must be flexible. This goes hand and hand with the above. One thing that is absolutely true of comics is that there is no single industry standard representing the right way to create comics. Comic books and manga are created many different ways, and if you want to write them, you need to learn to adapt. Marvel used to draw their comics first, then create a script to fit what had been drawn. This is still done every now and then (and, rather unsurprisingly, is referred to as "Old Marvel Style"). Sometimes a story is written by one writer and adapted into a script by another. Often you'll pitch a story that is sent through the editorial wringer and comes out looking like a completely different story than you initially pitched--and then you're expected to write it. Occasionally, an artist will ask for very detailed panel descriptions, and occasionally, they'll ask for no panel descriptions at all, preferring scene descriptions (similar to a screenplay) instead. Show me 100 different comic books and I'll show you 100 different ways of putting those comics together.

4. You must be descriptive. Being able to create engaging dialog is obvious in comics, but being able to clearly describe scenes and actions in words is equally important. Your panel or scene descriptions won't be read by anyone other than your artist and your editor (if you have one), but man, can they make or break you. Yes, collaboration and flexibility are essential, but if your panel description is poor, you may wind up with something completely at odds with what you intended. Trust me, this happens far more than you probably realize, and it's particularly problematic when you're collaborating with an artist who doesn't share a primary language with you. (For example, I once edited a comic where the writer indicated that a character "shot daggers across a room" at another character. The writer wanted the character drawn giving the other character a furious look, but the artist got confused and literally drew a the character throwing knives at the other one.)

5. You must understand when to let the pictures speak for you. Manga is a visual medium, and you know what they say about the worth of pictures and words. Guess what? It's all true. A common mistake among beginning writers is that they try to establish things through dialog and monolog that could be more effectively established through a few well-composed establishment panels. Trust me, nothing's less interesting to a reader than page after page of characters talking about their world or their current situation. More often than not, it's a surefire sign of an unexperienced and undeveloped writer. I'd imagine that a great writer could probably pull it off, but it's almost never done because in a medium where you're really only limited by your imagination, what's less imaginative than a comic full of talking heads?

(Okay, I should admit that I've read some great comics that amount to little more than pages of talking heads. It IS possible to make a comic that engages the reader through gripping and compelling dialog, but it really is pretty rare.)

6. You must be concise. This is a tricky one because there are many excellent comic writers who don't seem to have learned it. However, when talking about a comic book page and particularly a manga page (which is traditionally smaller than an American comic book page), it's important that you distill your dialog to only what is absolutely necessary. This isn't the place to be wordy and rambling. Every bit of dialog you write will be placed in a balloon that covers up art in the panel. I'm yet to work on a book where I haven't been sad to see a nice bit of panel detail covered up by a word balloon. If it's necessary, it's necessary, but it's often NOT necessary, and that's a real shame. Please note that being concise doesn't mean your characters should speak in short, stilted sentences. The dialog should sound natural, and people in the real world don't always speak very concisely. However, if you can strike a balance and write dialog that vibrates with the natural flavor of everyday speech, while avoiding being extraneous, you're in very good shape.

7. You must be determined and dedicated. If you're a writer, you have to accept the fact that there are far more of you than there are good artists. The problem with writing (as opposed to drawing) is that it's a flexible craft. It's very easy for someone who had made their career as a screenwriter or a playwright to jump into writing comics. If you think about that, you're really competing with a talent pool that contains every other writer out there. Not just in comics--in everything! That's a lot of competition, and while good artists are always in high demand, good writers really need to scream, kick and claw for the sort of attention they deserve. This is particularly difficult for new writers. The reason why is surprisingly simple: I can flip through a portfolio belong to a new artist in less than a minute and determine whether he or she is worth exchanging business cards with. But with a writer, I need to carve out enough time to read their writing sample or their written proposal, and editors don't have much time to carve. Unfortunately, there's no simple way to get discovered as a writer. You just need to be determined and not give up, no matter how long it takes and how many times your work gets brushed off, overlooked or outright rejected.

8. You must be willing to share your rights. We're switching to the business side of things here, and I expect this one to provoke more than a few writers out there. However, first let me clear up what I mean. I'm not saying you must be willing to share the rights to your manga with your publisher (though it is required with many publishers, including TOKYOPOP, there are publishers out there who will let you retain your rights, or will only take selective rights). However, you absolutely SHOULD be willing to share them with your artist.

Now, just so you know, this isn't anything that's mandated by TOKYOPOP or any publisher out there. I've edited many original manga titles where the artist was strictly work-for-hire. No, this isn't mandated, but it's the right thing to do. Yes, this does potentially limit what you can do with your project and means that someone else will have a say in all decisions governing it. But let's assume you're starting from scratch with your artist. If your manga is successful and continues for multiple volumes, when you do finally reach the end, your artist will have devoted far more hours to its completion than you will have. Don't you think that's worth a share in the copyright? I do, and I'd imagine many artists do as well. If you expect to find an artist willing to collaborate with you and you're not offering to share your rights with them, then I hope you have a deep pocketbook, because the only other motivation an artist has for lending their time and talent to an unknown writer's project is money.

9. You must first and foremost be doing it out of love. I think this is true of comics in general, but it's especially true when it comes to writers. Most writers make a fraction of what artists make. It's certainly not enough to live off of, so expect to work a day job or to juggle multiple projects (which requires getting all of the projects off the ground...not an easy task, as I'm sure you know). You're not going to get rich or famous writing manga. The only reason to do it is because it's something you enjoy and love.

I'm sure I've forgotten a few points. If any particularly important ones come up, perhaps I'll add them to this entry, or put together a follow up entry. I'd also encourage all hopeful manga writers to dig up my earlier installment in this series because most of what's in it applies to them. I feel like I covered much of what I have to say about manga artists already, so the next one of these will probably be about how to break into manga editing, if that's where your interest lies. Hopefully, I'll get it up a lot more quickly than this one.

Have a happy New Year, everyone! Best of luck in the Year of the Rat!