Mike Lynch Cartoon in November 11, 2006 Brandweek

This cartoon -- really an editorial comment on home schooling -- will appear in the November 11, 2006 issue of Brandweek. Brandweek is the sister publication of Adweek.

I'll be honest, I haven't sold to Brandweek recently. I'd been worried.

Brandweek sent me a mass e-mail a couple of months ago saying "electronic submissions only." Until then, I'd sent submissions via the USPS.

So, every month for the past 3 or 4 months, I sent on maybe 10-15 cartoons via e-mail to Brandweek. Some of the cartoons were advertising or business related. Sensible cartoons that would be suitable for the publication. Some were, what I call, the "wrong" cartoons. Like, this cartoon, which has nothing to do with brands or ads made the cut. I'm not sure why, but sometimes cartoons that I don't think will sell, do sell. Which shows you how much I know!

And it was a relief, since I never knew if they were actually clicking on my e-mail submissions and looking opening up any of my JPEG cartoon submissions. At least with a paper submission, I'd get my SASE returned.

But, yeah, to get back to the idea of "wrong" cartoon submissions. I always send along one or two cartoons that I think are funny, but maybe they're off the mark for that market. I always figure that the cartoon editor is looking at images like this all day:

MAN BEHIND DESK
BOARD ROOM MEETING
JOB INTERVIEW
WOMAN BEHIND DESK
ETC.

So, when you kick in some kids in a flat, snowy suburban field (I was thinking of my winters in Lawrence, KS, back in the 1970s), you have an image that, I hope, arrests the dozy editor.

I never expected this cartoon to sell. It's critical of home schooling. I think it's fine to be critical of home schooling. Heck, we're all critical of public and private schooling, why not home as well. I always worried that with home schooling, the kid never learns how to get along with other kids. But at least with home schooling, you can make the claim the kid does in the cartoon.