How to Publish Your Comics: Strategies for Breaking Into Graphic Novel & Editorial Publishing
Are you a cartoonist, graphic novelist, or graphic memoirist looking to break into traditional publishing? Join us for a comprehensive 90-minute workshop on securing traditional publishing deals for graphic novels and contracts for editorial (newspaper/magazine) comics.
Graphic novelist K. Woodman-Maynard will dive into what literary agents do, whether you need one, how to approach publishers and agents, and what artwork and writing you’ll need. She’ll share her personal journey with three agents and two major publishing deals, and include insider tips and real-life experiences that helped her along the way. She’ll cover what to expect financially with advances and royalties and warning signs to watch out for. Plus, we'll explore strategies for succeeding on your own while you wait to hear back from publishers.
For editorial, Susannah Hainley will share how she successfully pitched her first comic via an Instagram DM, and what she’s learned as she’s gone on to publish comics with a range of media outlets both large and small. She’ll cover the entire process of publishing an editorial comic: doing your research to make sure you’re submitting the right work to the right places, tips on how to organize and pitch your ideas, how to approach payment and contracts, and behind-the-scenes examples of how a comic goes from script to published piece.
We’ll also discuss the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus self-publishing, and have time at the end for questions and answers.
You’ll walk away with:
The confidence to pitch your work
Clarity on how to navigate the publishing process
Motivation to take the next step in getting your work out in the world
Resources to refer back to when you need ideas and support
Who we are:
K. Woodman-Maynard is a graphic novelist and comics coach who helps clients sharpen their sequential storytelling and craft. Her graphic novel adaptation of Tuck Everlasting (Macmillan) was called “a must for any graphic novel collection” in a starred review by School Library Journal. Her graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby (Candlewick Press) was called “hugely rewarding” by The Wall Street Journal and featured in The New York Times, Times Literary Supplement, and the Guardian. She coaches comics creators, mentors through Sequential Artists Workshop, and shares creativity and process insights through her Substack, Creating Comics.
Susannah Hainley is a comics creator, educator, and design consultant who takes an interdisciplinary approach to visual storytelling. Her comics have been published by The Washington Post, The New York Times, Serviette magazine, A Bundle of Sticks magazine and sex education website Oh Joy Sex Toy. Susannah also teaches at California College of the Arts in their MFA/BFA in Comics, and runs an extension class on Food and Comics. You can find more of her work on her Substack, GRAPHICA and on Instagram.
This class is best suited for:
Cartoonists interested in publishing a book-length work through a traditional publisher (i.e. Scholastic, Random House, First: Second, etc.)
Cartoonists interested in publishing comics for established media outlets and independent media (i.e. newspapers and magazines)
Coaches or editors who regularly work with cartoonists
This workshop probably isn’t best suited for:
Artists/illustrators who don’t also write their own comics
Cartoonists interested in exclusively self-publishing
Cartoonists and writers interested in serialized comics publishing (i.e. Marvel, BOOM, etc.)
What you’ll get:
You can attend live on Zoom or receive the recording
After the live call, you’ll receive the recording and PDF of the slides and Q/A section.