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Backstage Passes, Part II

By Douglas Cohen

In my last editorial, I began the process of explaining how an issue of Realms of Fantasy comes to be. In Part I, I mostly focused on the fiction department. This time around I’ll be discussing the artwork.

It falls to me to pair the fiction with the artwork, a task that is both challenging and, quite frankly, a whole lot of fun. When it comes time to make these pairings, I’ve read all of the stories at least once, but sometimes it’s been months since I’ve last read them. So the first thing I do, no matter how well I think I remember any of these stories, is read them again to refresh myself.

But this time my reading process is somewhat different from when I’m reading for the fiction department. Before, I was reading with a fiction editor’s eye, forming opinions about such things as character, plot, voice, etc. Now, my chief concern isn’t with the underpinnings and effectiveness of the story, but rather in finding the best artist to visually capture this tale. So this time, as I’m rereading the stories, my focus is on the imagery and the feel of the author’s tale. Why feel? Simply put, not all authors write visual stories, and not all of the images authors convey in their stories will translate well into a worthwhile illustration. This is not the fault of the authors in any way. It is not their task to write a story that is easy to illustrate (that’s just a bonus). Their task is to write an engaging story, which they’ve already done. Yet I’m faced with finding the right artist, so if I can’t key in on the imagery, the feel of the tale becomes doubly important.

I tend to be a visual reader, certainly not so as visual as the artists contributing to the speculative art field, but visual nonetheless. So when I’m searching for the right artist, one thing I’m looking for is someone whose artwork seems to match up with the visuals in my head as I reread the story. It’s rare to find an exact match, though, which is another reason the feel can be so useful. How did the story make me feel? How does the work of this particular artist make me feel? Do they possibly have some illustrations that invoke the same feelings in me as those in the story? If the answer is yes, that’s a very good sign. If the imagery and the feel of the illustrations seem to match up with the story, well, it’s about as strong a pairing as I can hope for.

As to how I find artists, I learn about some of them through their submissions to the magazine. I learn about the rest of them through research.

Once I’ve located my artist, I fire off an email, introducing myself and the magazine if I haven’t worked with them before, and discussing rates and deadlines. If everything works on both sides, I pass along a copy of the story, an artist FAQ, and the exact deadline. In terms of deadlines, whenever possible, I try to give the artists three months to work on their piece. Some artists can render a brilliant piece in a very short time, but others work at a much slower pace and require more time. (Sound familiar, writers?) Also, assuming business is going well, artists often have a number of projects in the hopper at once. The more lead time you can give them, the easier it is for them to say yes to taking on another assignment.

When it comes to working on the actual illustrations, I give the artists a lot of free rein. Long before I joined the magazine, Realms of Fantasy had a history of allowing its artists a lot of creative freedom. When I started overseeing the artwork, I chose to honor this tradition. On occasion, I may have a specific idea or scene in mind, in which case I’ll let the artists know what I’d like them to illustrate. If not, I’m content to let their imaginations run wild.

At some point, the artist will deliver a sketch or sketches to me. While creative freedom is all well and good, I like to make sure the artist and I are on the same page about the illustration. If I decide we are, I’ll give the OK and wait for the final product. I never make suggestions just for the sake of making them/putting my fingerprint on the illustration. The most important thing is the illustration, and if it’s coming along fine as is, there is no reason to tinker. If the artist delivers several sketches, we often engage in some discussion as to which one we believe will work best.

Of course, when I do have suggestions/thoughts/concerns, I’m never shy about making them known. When this happens, I prefer to keep everything a collaborative effort. I like to know what the artists are thinking and what they think of my suggestions. If they like my suggestions, fantastic. If not, we often engage in dialogue that leads to a solution that neither of us might have reached on our own.

When the final illustration arrives, I must then decide whether to accept this piece for the magazine. If I do (and I almost always do—I work with some very talented people!), the artist will make sure I have a high resolution version of the final image and will submit an invoice. Sometimes an artist wishes to post the work online before it’s published in the magazine. In these cases, we simply ask that the artist mention that the illustration is for Realms of Fantasy, and to provide a link back to the website. Otherwise the illustration usually isn’t seen by most people until we publish it in the magazine.

Now there is also the matter of the cover, which is the most important illustration each issue, because this is what people are seeing on the newsstands. But covers are normally chosen much later in this entire process, so I’m going to discuss this aspect of the magazine in a later editorial.

Next time I’ll discuss the magazine’s nonfiction. Until then!

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