I’m an aspiring graphic novelist.\u00a0 In short I want to tell complete stories that you can read in one book… and they are comics too!\u00a0 I’ve finished 1 graphic novel, have worked on Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet series as an assistant for three volumes, held two agents, pitched one book, started two webcomics that are now pretty much defunct and through all have recently started my second graphic novel that in the span of three weeks is 10% complete.\u00a0 And my recent productivity has come from a large amount of introspection on what a successful graphic novelist looks like and what you and I can do to get there. If you’re like me, you have a lot of stories to tell and big ones at that.\u00a0 And you are holding down a job, with family responsibilities and aspiration of finishing that book that’s in your head! I present to you the follow keys to ponder as it relates to your own work.<\/p>\n
1.) Webcomics May Not Be The Answer For You – Yet<\/strong><\/p>\n I learned how to make comics online.\u00a0 After college I created my first book online in FROM DEATH TIL NOW and it helped me to make friends in the comics community and learn good things like setting deadlines and keeping them.\u00a0 But what they didn’t do was help me have good expectations around time frames I should consider when making a graphic novel.\u00a0 The minimal acceptable rate of production of make of an online comic is about 1 page a week.\u00a0\u00a0 Consider that 1 page a week means you will only produce 52 pages a year.\u00a0 A 200 page book, roughly 4 years!\u00a0 I recently decided webcomics for me were counterproductive on a long form project for this very reason.\u00a0 I also didn’t like the idea of people watching me as I struggled with a project and it made it hard to abandon if it wasn’t something I thought was working.\u00a0 So consider finishing your project offline before publishing online.\u00a0 That way you know the book is done and you can set good reader expectation.\u00a0\u00a0 If you do make a book online, consider updating it as often as possible..\u00a0 Getting the book done is KEY to a graphic novelist.<\/p>\n 2.) Finish Your Whole Book or a Good Chunk Before Pitching<\/strong><\/p>\n I have worked with two wonderful agents.\u00a0 Brendan Deneen is a big time comics guy who writes the current Flash Gordon series and runs the Ardden Press comics imprint.\u00a0 He gave me my first exposure to the publishing world.\u00a0 We took the 13 page pitch for THE UNKNOWNS, along with a synopsis and went to the publishing world.\u00a0 It took a year from getting an agent to finally getting my final rejection notices at the time.\u00a0 My second pitch was roughly the same size, but just as we were going to pitch it, Brendan took a job as an editor at a publishing house.\u00a0 This transitioned me to Colleen Lindsay before she left to be an editor as well at Penguin (I’m agentless now).\u00a0 She and I had a great conversation over the phone where she got me sobered up a bit.\u00a0 She told me that she knew she would have a hard time selling my book in the state that it was to the publishers it was appropriate for.\u00a0 She really recommended the whole book be finished, or a large portion be done.\u00a0 Because basically, what credit do I have that I am going to finish my project?\u00a0 A well established creator can come before an publisher with an idea and hope for a greenlight but even that can be hard.\u00a0 It’s best to finish your book before soliciting interest.\u00a0 If anything your book is done and you can do what you want with it from there!<\/p>\n 3.) Consider The Time Your Book Takes And Speed It Up<\/strong><\/p>\n As I mentioned before, when considering how long it was going to take me 2-4 years to finish a book at 1 page a week on a 100-200 page project…\u00a0 I felt that was just insane.\u00a0 I looked at my daughter and thought, She will be five by the time I finish this…\u00a0 (She’s 2 now)\u00a0 That is NOT helping me reach my goals in any reasonable state of time.\u00a0 One of my favorite artists, Bobby Chiu said something in an interview I thought appropriate.\u00a0 He said to effect:\u00a0 “If you rub two sticks together slowly for 1000 years you [aren’t likely] to get a fire, but if you rub those sticks together very quickly, you will get a fire pretty soon.”\u00a0 I applied this to my art in every degree.\u00a0 My production had to speed up.\u00a0 I want to be able to have an idea, write that idea and finish a book within a year.\u00a0 TOPS.\u00a0 Because I believe for me, at this stage of my career, I need to start building a library of books.\u00a0 So looking at my production process it became clear that coloring my projects was what was hindering me.\u00a0 I love coloring my art, but when it doubles or triples the time it take to make a comics pages against doing the whole thing in black and white… well…\u00a0 decisions had to be made (I plan to my make color comics in some upcoming short stories).\u00a0 I decided that I would make THE UNKNOWNS in black and white and color it only if a publishing deal stipulated that I do.\u00a0 My current rate of production: 6-7 pages a week.\u00a0 Rough estimate until completion: 6 months.\u00a0 That’s more like it!<\/p>\n 4.) Tell The Stories You Want To Tell<\/strong><\/p>\n Lastly, this is just sage advice.\u00a0 One of the trappings of us all is the desire to achieve a goal can be so strong that we lose sight of what made us enjoy making our books in the first place.\u00a0 Don’t do this.\u00a0 Don’t try and tell a certain type of story because you think it will sell or whatever. \u00a0I struggled with this a lot for awhile, and I second guessed every project I wanted to make on whether it would find success or not.\u00a0 And that’s impossible to know.\u00a0 Make projects you are passionate about.\u00a0 Make comics you would want to see done whether you ever get a publishing deal, make a dollar from your book, or get any recognition.\u00a0 It’s your life, your time.\u00a0 Don’t lose your love of art in search of a dollar.\u00a0 If you make art that you love, do your best to make it awesome, get passionate about it…\u00a0 People notice and you never know where it might take you.<\/p>\n Lastly I leave you with two videos that I have found really inspiring and helpful in shaping much of my thinking.\u00a0 Then get back to work on those books!<\/p>\n KAZU KIBUISHI on making comics and finding your way:
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