Submission Guidelines

Before you submit, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Have a business plan... Every time you create a new comic series, a new business has been created. Make sure to have a plan for scheduling, production, and promotion. ​

No zip folders ... please follow directions, thank you! ​

Familiarize yourself with the books we publish... With any publisher that you submit to, make sure you are familiar with their product line as much as possible before you decide to submit. ​

We do not pay page rates for your work... Your comic is 100% creator-owned at Rocket Ink. You own the IP rights and we only have the rights to publishing and distribution.

Rocket Ink Studios pays for print costs on your books, we recoup those costs, and then you receive 50% of the profits. ​

Be patient... Due to the amount of submissions we receive, if you do not receive a response within two months, please consider the submission rejected. Generally speaking, we only have time to respond to submissions that are either accepted OR display potential and might be accepted if minor revisions are implemented. ​ Thank you for understanding and we hope you still submit again in the future!

ROCKET INK STUDIOS SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Rocket Ink Studios is now accepting submissions of completed books, both graphic novels and prose. All books must be creator owned. We will not accept story proposals or stories in need of artist to complete. The decision to publish your book is solely up to the discretion of Rocket Ink Studios.

The following is information regarding how to go about submitting your books for publication to Rocket Ink Studios. The information is broken down to sections to find specific details easier.

Book Theme: We will accept any themed stories provide it tells a complete story from beginning to end. Adult themed material is okay but absolutely NO pornography will be selected for publication. Each story should be a stand-alone story and complete in and of itself. Serials are okay providing each Graphic Novel is totally self-contained. Previously published material is okay but we would prefer new material. Please do not submit books with guest appearances of characters from other titles not owned by the submitting creators.

Book Format: Rocket Ink Studios is open to any format of book, however standard (traditional) sized books have a better chance of being picked up for distribution. We have no page count requirements and will consider both black and white and color books, but all covers must be in color. File Format For submission space purposes, JPEG or PDF please. Final file formats will be in either TIFF or PSD, 300 dpi, CMYK. Text needs to be on a separate layer in order for us to appropriately adjust the CMYK levels for print. ​ ​

Deadline: This is an ongoing open submission with no deadline.

Copyright: All stories submitted are owned 100% by the creators and Rocket Ink Studios will simply be the publisher of said story once a contract is signed. Rights other than publishing can be discussed but will require a separate contract.

Publishing: Our books are distributed worldwide in print and digital. All books will be physically printed and available on our website. The books will be made available on Amazon and other online stores. Books will be submitted to Diamond for distribution, but no guarantee can be made on them including the book in their solicitations. In the event the book is not picked up by Diamond we will make efforts to make the book available to direct sale outlets at a wholesale discount. The book will also be made available on most digital platforms.  

Contract: If your book is accepted for publication Rocket Ink Studios will issue a contract that outlines all the specifications and payment information.

TO SUBMIT: Once again, only submit completed stories. We will not put together creative teams. We do not accept scripts only or story ideas. Your email subject should be titled “SUBMISSION” and include a brief synopsis of your story in the body of the email. Your stories MUST be sent as a low-resolution pdf. DO NOT send print ready files. DO NOT send link’s to webcomics or deviant art, etc. DO NOT send separate images. Send submissions to info@RocketInkStudios.com We do not accept story ideas or pitches... Ideas are great! But comic books are more than just ideas. If you send a submission without fully completed pages (art, lettering, etc.) the submission will be deleted. ​ 
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Miscellaneous:
Creative/Intellectual Rights Creators retain all rights to their intellectual property. The rights to produce, publish, and monetize merchandise, film, television, video game, etc. are all retained by the creator(s) of the work. Rocket Ink will only own publishing and distribution rights of your comic/graphic novel to various comic book and book markets. If we bring a licensee or business venture to you, A "finders fee" will be agreed upon.

We reserve the right to suggest changes to title, logo, cover, or any other superficial element. No major changes will be made without creator approval. ​

Rocket Ink Studios handles all color separations and preparations for print, cover design layout elements (not cover image), size dimensions of the book, logo placements, spine on graphic novels, pricing, bar coding and more. ​
 
Royalty payouts are on a quarterly schedule. Creators receive 50% of the profits on all print and digital sales.

Social Media Code of Conduct
You are required and encouraged to actively promote your title on social media. We do not condone the use of block bots/block lists/blind blocking/block chains or any other kind of program or practice that is used to block thousands of people, blindly, en masse. We acknowledge that unpleasant experiences through social media, sadly do occur, and creators can block/mute individuals if they have had those unwanted and poor experiences with them. But due to the fact that you would be part of a creative team at Rocket Ink and a team of retailers would need to be able to confidently sell your comics to as many people as possible, we have adopted a policy that discourages the use of anything that would directly affect our stance of full inclusion for readers and creators. We have readers of all walks of life and it is paramount to us, that we encourage, promote, and stand by our mission statement that comics are for everyone. ​ As a creator, if you have poor experiences with anyone in relation to your work - online or otherwise - and feel that you are being threatened, please reach out to us and we'll do everything within our power to work with you on how to handle this situation. ​ We want all of our readers AND our creators to feel welcome.