Becoming

It happens in the space between an origin and destination. It’s a process of transformation, metamorphosis, evolution…revolution. In the moments between concept and completion the process of becoming can be uncomfortable, beautiful, painful, ecstatic. What will yours look like? What are you becoming? Show us in an eight-page comic. 

What We’re Looking For

We strongly recommend visiting our website and online store to find out what we’ve published in the past—especially the other anthologies. This will give you an idea of what kinds of stories we love to explore.

Here’s a hint: We’re a progressive, inclusive, collaborative publisher. Folks from marginalized groups are super-duper invited to submit. We love work that celebrates the best of humankind (and other species, too). We’re into love, kindness, justice, and forward thinking. But we are not interested in glorifying the bad stuff—hate has no place in our pages.

Finished Comics

Short comics wanted! Eight-page projects are ideal, but we can also work with four or twelve pages. Remember, we want stories that explore the theme of becoming. For advice on creating a comic, check out our sample script and comic, below.

Scripts

If you’ve written a short comic script that fits the becoming theme, but don’t have art yet, that’s okay! Send us your script and let us know if you have an artist attached, or if you’re searching. (Need help writing your script? Keep scrolling—there’s a sample script below.)

Art

We’re searching for great artists to pair with writers! And we feature the work of brilliant artists in our Artist Spotlights. So send us your portfolios, and we’ll get back to you!

How to Submit

1. First, put together your script, your art, or your finished short comic.
2. Then, familiarize yourself with our Submission Guidelines.
3. It may be helpful to check out our Sample Script and Comic Template.
4. Finally, submit your work here.

Deadlines

• We need submissions of comics, scripts, poems, art portfolios, and cover art concepts by April 7, 2021.
• If we accept your submission, your finished work will be due to us by June 7, 2021.
• The anthology will be released in Fall 2021.

Who We Work With

Oneshi Press is excited to work with beginning creators, seasoned professionals, and everybody in between! We want fresh voices, exciting new perspectives, and folks with important stories to tell. Folks from marginalized groups are especially encouraged to submit, because we believe that your voices need to be heard.

How We Work

We work on a collaborative co-op model, where everybody wins when anybody wins. So, we offer all our contributors the ability to purchase anthologies at lowered prices and resell those anthologies themselves. And we’ll pay royalties to our contributors based on profits made from sales.

What We Make

We print a small number of limited-edition anthologies. These are shipped out to our contributors, our Patreon subscribers, and anybody who buys them from our online store. We also sell at conventions and in a select few brick-and-mortar stores. And we sell digital copies of the anthologies online via our store, DriveThru Comics, Spinwhiz Comics, and Comixology.

Oneshi Press Sample Script

Want to know how to format a comic script, then turn it into a comic? We’ve got you covered. Together with Mr. Abstracto, we’ve created a two-page sample for you!

Click HERE to download the Sample Script, page templates, and more!

Page 01 of 02 (5 panels)

[Panel 1: Interior: Wide Shot – Inside a dusty old-western saloon, there is sparse attendance of card players at well-spaced tables and the odd lone cowboy getting tanked on Shwhiskey [REF] here and there. PERSON ONE, a tall, lanky man in dusty cowboy getup, walks nonchalantly into the bar. PERSON TWO, a non-binary astronaut in a space suit, is seated at the bar with their helmet on the bar next to them, and they are staring at PERSON ONE incredulously.] 

01 SFX (PERSON ONE hitting bar): THWUMP!

02 PERSON ONE: Hey, watch it, bar!

03 PERSON TWO: What the hecky, fella?!

[Panel 2: Medium Shot – BARTENDER, quintessential old-timey saloon-keep man, leans over the bar toward PERSON ONE. PERSON TWO looks away, sipping their opulent cocktail minding their own business.]

04 BARTENDER: So, what’ll it be, buddy?

05 PERSON TWO: This is already turning out to be a great sample script…

[Panel 3: Close-Up – PERSON ONE rubs his guts where he hit the bar and looks wearily at the bartender.]

06 PERSON ONE: A double shot of Shwhiskey…and a couple aspirins, please.

[Panel 4: Close-Up – BARTENDER, squinting his eyes, looking visibly annoyed.]

07 BARTENDER: No, I mean what’s the punch line?

[Panel 5: Medium Shot – PERSON TWO two looks deadpan into the camera. Over their shoulder we can see PERSON ONE and BARTENDER squaring off.]

08 PERSON ONE: Thankfully, this is just a sample script. We don’t need a punch line.09 SFX (off-panel trombone, a music note before and after): Womp Womp

Page 02 of 02 (4 panels)

[Panel 1: Exterior: Wide Shot – Outside the saloon, LITTLE BIRD, a small blue finch with a yellow belly, sits on a fence post, looking at the saloon.]

01 LITTLE BIRD: Well, this is just a sample script, so we’re not gonna do the whole thing. But here are some pointers… 

[Panel 2: Exterior: Bird’s-Eye Shot – LITTLE BIRD, close to camera, is now starting to fly up above the saloon, which is still clearly visible in the background.]

02 LITTLE BIRD: Use a page break when the comic page changes and clearly label what page we’re on. That way, the editor, artist, and letterer won’t get confused.

[Panel 3: Exterior: Medium Shot – LITTLE BIRD is perched on edge of nest, where 3 little babies are peeping loudly with mouths wide open.]

03 LITTLE BIRD: Clear formatting distinctions between descriptive text and dialogue are vital for your artist and your letterer to understand your needs.

04 BABY BIRD 1: PEEP! Spacing between paragraphs makes it read easier.

05 BABY BIRD 2: PEEPER!! Write how many panels the page has in the page header.

06 BABY BIRD 3: PEEPEST!!! Number each item your letterer has to add!

[Panel 4: Exterior: Extreme Close-Up – Reveal a WORM inside LITTLE BIRD’s mouth. The foreground of the panel is framed by the peeping beaks of the 3 BABY BIRDS.]

07 WORM: Welp, this is the end, folks…

08 Text Box: END