I’ve been receiving several inquiries from friends and colleagues who have heard that I’ve left Dabel Brothers Publishing.

Yes, I have left, for good. Yes, I’m mildly annoyed about it, and yes, it was because I chose to, and not because I was forced to.

I’ve had enough inquiries that I’m going to tell the story. But I’m not one to air dirty laundry, and I won’t be explaining the intricate details of this company. Pretty much everything here is public knowledge already. Instead, I’ll offer a brief survey of the experience, and it will be my final word on the matter.

In August, 2002, my then-friend Mike S. Miller introduced me to Les Dabel, who had just started a small comic book company called Roaring Studios that was already in trouble. It had published two books — The Rift and Waterdogs, and was about to go under. Mike had been hired on as the artist for their licensed project, The Hedge Knight, and I was hired on to handle the book’s PR. My first job — to write a letter to the guys working on the other books to let them know their books were canceled, and to write up a press release about The Hedge Knight. We also had several other projects on the horizon: Marshal, North and South, Fatal Sword, Hymns, Legacy and Roaring Monthly. To show you how idealistic we were in those days, check out this press release I wrote for the Roaring Monthly:

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I just posted some listings for some work for my flagship book at Army Ant Publishing, and I was thrilled to receive dozens of replies within a short period of time. I was less thrilled when I read them. Despite the fact that I’d taken plenty of time to carefully craft a want ad and include details about what sorts of artists I needed and how they should apply, the majority of applicants didn’t even bother to read the ad — they just scrolled down to my email address and applied for the job. Did they really think I’d hire them?

So, to help those who are clueless, here are some guidelines for applying for a freelance art job. If you’re an artist looking for work, let me assure you — if you follow my guidelines and submit professional-level art, you’ll be much more effective at getting gigs than you would be otherwise. The only exception would be if you already know the publisher or you have a sure-thing referral. But then again, you probably knew that.

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