Traditional Publishing for Cartoonists
Cathy G. Johnson
So, you want to publish a book…
This is a question I get a lot from new cartoonists: How do I get publishers interested in my work?
First, let’s put this question into perspective: Publishing is a method of distribution. There are many other methods of distributing your work that I encourage you to take on: self-publishing, zines, digital methods, etc. Philosophically and professionally, I think it’s a really good call to try publishing your comics on your own, especially at the beginning. There are so many benefits to distributing your stuff on your own. It helps publishers, critics and readers notice your work. You are also much more free to do whatever you would like with your comics, instead of trying to make a book that would be competitive in sales. Being an independent artist has many benefits.
All that being said, this page is specifically geared to cartoonists who are interested in how to traditionally publish. I’m going to attempt to answer as many questions as I can. Also, a disclaimer: I am a cartoonist, and not a person who works at a publishing house. This is all written from the perspective of the cartoonist.
It’s a business.
The first thing I want you to know as we wade into traditional publishing is to never ever ever take anything personally. Publishing gets emotional very quickly for authors, because oftentimes your book is very important to you. As well it should be! Our books are our babies! However, publishing is a business. When publishers make choices, it’s from the perspective of money. They are thinking about market trends, and what they will be able to represent well and sell well. Selling your book will be their job if they take it on, and it’s a tall task. An editor could really love your book, but if they don’t think they can sell it, they won’t buy it. There are many factors that go into purchasing a book.
I encourage all creators to put publishing into perspective. Having perspective will help protect your emotions as you start this process. Making artwork is very personal, and being personal helps us create good artwork. It’s good to be emotional. However, I encourage you to understand that rejection is not a rejection of you. It just means it was not the right place at the right time. It’s okay. Artists are rejected all the time, and it’s okay. You can continue to work and to pitch and make good books. Continue to believe in yourself, and if publishing is what you want to do, stay focused on the goal.
The Pitch
A book pitch is a document that presents your book in a succinct way so a publishing professional can quickly understand it. A good pitch quickly communicates the important information, story and visuals of your comic book. There is a lot of advice out there about how to make a good book pitch, and I’m only one cartoonist with one perspective. Keep doing more research after reading this to find other perspectives on book pitches.
I recommend having a few things in your book pitch:
Overview
A one-page summary of your story from beginning to end. This includes your elevator pitch, plot summary, and other details about the book including target audience, page count, and comparison titles.
Characters
Descriptions of the most important characters in your story, including drawings.
Synopsis / Chapter Outline
A longer beat-by-beat plot outline. Include every important event that takes place in your book.
Sample Pages
10-15 finished comic pages that represent what the final art of your comic book will look like.
If it will help your book pitch, you can also include:
Environment / Setting
The environment in which your comic takes place, including art and a description.
Development Art
Artwork that shares your artistic process.
Creator Bio
Who are you? Include your experience and credentials, other projects you’ve done, anything that will help support why you would be a good person to work with as well as knowledgable about the book you are proposing. Remember, a book pitch isn’t just selling your book, but you are also selling yourself as a collaborator.
Sample Script
Some editors may like to see how you write scripts so they know what they will be receiving in the work-in-progress stage of your book. Do you type a script? Thumbnail? Include some sample of this.
You can also include additional materials, which can be included not in the book pitch itself, but as an extra PDF. Things like a full script, a detailed synopsis if it lasts for many pages, thumbnails, etc. It’s good to strike a balance of not holding back what you have available, but also not overwhelming who you are pitching to. Creating additional PDFs will help people to know that you have a succinct pitch, as well as additional materials they could look over if they’d like more information.
Overall, keep in mind that while there may be rules to pitches, there also aren’t rules. Make a pitch that best represents your project. The most important part is to make it clear and succinct at this stage. Communicate what your book is all about as quickly as possible.
Note on publicly sharing pitches: Some publishers, editors and agents are okay with you sharing what your pitch is all about on social media, and some won’t be. I’m of the belief that I prefer to not share works-in-progress until they are sold, and I have explicit permission from a publisher to share materials. Some agents think it helps sell books if authors share work on social media. I would think a lot about what you are interested in and make this decision for yourself, and if you do get an agent, make sure to talk with them about social media.
Cover Letters
A cover letter quickly introduces yourself, why you are writing to someone specifically, shares the elevator pitch for your book, and thanks a person for their time. Also include any personal connection you may have with the person you are writing, if you have any. In my experience, the text of your cover letter is in the email body you send a publishing professional, but some people may prefer the cover letter be an attachment. You can either attach your book pitch as a PDF directly to this email, or include a link to the pitch through a hosting website like Google Drive or Dropbox (make sure the link is public). Be mindful of how large your attachment is, because some emails won’t go through if an attachment is too big. I am not including sample cover letters here, but feel free to look up some after you are done reading this.
Introduction
Why you are writing / personal connection
Elevator pitch
PDF to full book pitch
Thank you
The most important thing to remember when emailing someone is that they are very busy. Write your emails politely, quickly delivering the information you are trying to share, and thank them for their time. Keep emails short and simple. Attach or link all important materials in the first email. And then, be extremely patient. Do not bother them. Give people at least 1-2 months before reminding them of your email, and do so extremely politely, and also in any nudging email remind them again who you are and why you are emailing them. Remember they are very busy, and any time they offer you is a favor, and not a requirement on their part. I can’t emphasize this enough: Be so, so, so extremely polite.
A caveat to attaching PDFs and nudging etc is this: When reaching out to people, make sure to follow whatever methods they request of you on their websites. Many agents and editors will have instructions of how they like to be contacted and if they like to be nudged on their websites. Follow these instructions exactly. People will have different instructions, and you should always adapt your pitch to what they ask of you.
Now that you have a pitch and cover letter, who do you send it to?…
Literary Agents
Agents are the first people you send your book pitch to. A literary agent’s job is to find a publisher for your book, and to negotiate your contract on your behalf. It will be rare for a large publisher to look at your pitch without agent representation. The reason for this is publishers get a lot of unsolicited pitches, and it’s a lot of work to look through everything. If you already have an agent, that means your pitch has already been vetted, and publishers are more willing to give your pitch the time it takes to look it over.
When looking for agents to pitch to, look at their websites and find explicitly if an agent is looking for graphic novels. Look for agents that are looking for what your book pitch has to offer.
I do not have a list of literary agents who represent graphic novels, because it is an ever-changing group of people, and it isn’t exactly what I do. I encourage you to do your own research on literary agent websites to find people currently looking.
Once a literary agent is interested in you, you should then contact their other clients and ask how they enjoy working with this agent. All reputable agents should be comfortable with you approaching their other clients. If they tell you not to do this, it is a scam, and you should politely turn them down. Also, while we’re here, you do not pay agents or publishers. The way it works is publishers send all the money to your agent, who will then take a small percentage (15%) as their fee, and then send you the rest of the money. You should not be paying anyone at this stage. If someone claiming to be an agent or a publisher asks you for money, it is a scam.
Publishers and Editors
As I said before, I encourage you to start with sending your book pitch to literary agents. However, it’s never a bad idea to keep a list of publishers and editors who may be interested in your book. You can also pitch directly to them, or keep the list handy as suggestions for your future agent.
My first recommendation is to go to your local bookstore or comic book shop and finding comics that you like. Look at who published it, and who the editor was. Look for books that have recently come out. Keep a list. Not all editors are interested in books that are exactly the same as something they’ve already published, as this could be competition, but if some books have similar themes, target audiences or art styles, they could help sell each other. Seeing what an editor likes will help you see if your book is a good match for them. (This is also a good thing to include in your cover letter.) If an editor really likes historical figures, and your book is about a historical figure, you may be a good match!
I also suggest going to comic book conventions and meeting people. Be tactful, however; don’t approach people with only yourself in mind. But don’t feel like you can’t network at places like this. Be interested in what publishers have put out, buy books, ask questions. Be genuinely interested in the answers. This all goes into research for a future relationship. People enjoy working with people they like to talk to, and who are polite. It’s okay to share your artwork if it’s appropriate and kind, but no one, I repeat, no one will buy a book pitch immediately at a comic book convention. They will need to go back to their offices and settle in. I recommend meeting people at a comic book convention, have a short chat, and then after a few days emailing them your book pitch and mention where you met. This is a polite way of sharing your pitch without putting them in an awkward social situation. People go to conventions for many reasons, but professional connections are one of those reasons. It’s okay to introduce yourself to people briefly and politely. Be polite, be professional, and be chill. You can do it.
Next steps…
Selling a book can take a very long time. Stay positive. If someone rejects you but offers to talk with you about why your pitch was rejected, take that opportunity to make a connection. It’s a gift whenever someone gives you their time to talk about your book, so set your feelings aside and accept the gift. Oftentimes, if you follow their advice, you can then submit a future pitch to the same person, and they’ll remember the conversation they had with you. This personal connection automatically gives you a leg up. Everything can be beneficial for your career, even rejection. (On the flip side, if their suggestions don’t feel right to you, you do not have to take them. It just means you are not the right author for them. You should still be polite.)
If you have a lot of rejection, you can reevaluate your pitch and your story. See if there’s anything you can adjust that will make it more engaging to readers. Share your pitch with your family, friends, your teachers, anyone who may have a new perspective and help you look at your pitch with fresh eyes. Be patient, stay strong, stay polite, and it will happen for you.
If an agent accepts your book pitch, you then sign with them. They will then pitch your book on your behalf to publishers. This process can also take time, so be patient. Once you do sell your book, congratulations! If you sold it directly to an editor, you can now pitch it to agents and say you already have an offer from a publisher. I would always suggest getting an agent to look over contracts, or at least hire a lawyer, because you always want a good contract. It is not egotistical to protect yourself legally, it’s your right. Take the time to read over your contracts with a professional to know what you are signing. Don’t feel pressured to sign anything you are uncomfortable with, it’s okay to keep looking.
Once you’ve signed your contract, then you make your book! Your agent and editor will tell you all about the next steps to being published. This is where this article stops. I believe in you, your takeaways from this article should be: stay polite, stay professional, and stay confident. You can do it.