So you want to know the secret to writing a best-selling middle-grade graphic novel.
I’ll tell you now, the answer is not satisfying. It’s like the question, “how do you make a viral video?” This is the formula for a viral video.
- Make video
- Release video
- Tap into the zeitgeist, get lucky and become a huge success.
A mega-hit graphic novel is the same formula.
- Make graphic novel
- Publish graphic novel
- Tap into the zeitgeist, get lucky and become a huge success.
This information is close to worthless, mostly because step three seems to be luck. But there are absolutely some things we can do to put ourselves into the alignment of that being a possibility. So let’s talk about those.
I was recently listening to Ben Wilson on his Podcast How To Take Over The World, and he shares a story about luck. When he was in college, he was in an elevator when a very famous politician got in. Ben had nothing to say, to pitch, to offer, or ask. But to someone else, that happenstance meeting would have been their lucky career break. Some great up-and-coming political mover and shaker who just needed facetime with the right connection. So that elevator ride wasn’t lucky for Ben, because he wasn’t prepared. But for someone who was prepared, it would have been lucky. Ben talks about luck being an accumulation of tiny advantages. So that when something lucky does happen, you can take advantage.
He closes with what he thinks the answer to finding success is. You work really hard. You make really good content. Then luck will usually come your way at some point.
This goes along with the adage “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” Let’s break this down with our focus, making middle-grade graphic novels.
Preparation/You work really Hard. What does this look like? First off, the hard work has to be focused and smart. Just putting in tons of hours on something isn’t the point. You have to seek to improve and elevate your craft. An artist who draws everyday may see some improvement over time but an artist who makes the effort to learn and understand anatomy and perspective will grow by leaps and bounds.
Graphic novels are story and art so you have to get good at writing and drawing. (Or find a partner to do the thing you don’t.) But for both crafts, you need to study story and storytelling.
Take a graphic novel, book, movie, or story you love and study it. Why does it connect with you? The characters, the story, the world, the intent? What is it that hooked you and keeps you coming back? This is also helpful to do with stories you don’t like. What didn’t work for you, why did it fail. I guarantee the person that made it wanted it to be great. What would you have done differently?
Now do the actual work. Do a short story. FINISH IT. This is advice I hear a lot of creators recommend. Making comics is hard. I mean seriously, there are so many skillsets involved in creating a comic. So write and draw a 5-page comic. Then do a 20-page comic. The stakes are low and you will learn a ton. Yes, I’m sure you have an awesome 300 page graphic novel in you but start with something manageable.
If you are a writer and don’t draw but are wanting to make a graphic novel, you would benefit greatly from attempting to draw some pages from your script. It doesn’t matter how crappy it looks. Stick figures are fine. The idea is you will get a better understanding of thinking visually and what can be communicated in a single panel and on a page.
Janet ran into the room looking everywhere for her phone. She finds it under the seat cushion. She grabbed the phone triumphantly. She panics seeing the screen showing 5 missed calls. That’s at least 3 panels.
Make really good content. This step is going to take a while, so you might as well start now. Your work is going to stink at first but that’s okay. Go back to step one, working hard. If you are doing focused work, you are going to improve. Lousy will eventually turn to less lousy, to okay, to good, to really good.
Share your work. Share with your friends, share online, get feedback, join a community, develop relationships.
I’ve made a fair amount of comics over the years, all self-published. I got to a point where I knew I wanted to work with a book publisher. Most book publishers require work to be submitted through an agent. So I set out to find an agent. But to get an agent you typically need a pitch for a story along with art. I created a pitch for Woodland Hills then included an extra (not required) step and wrote a full manuscript. I also drew a number of sample pages of art.
I then meticulously began finding and researching agents I thought might be a good fit. I used a spreadsheet to keep track of everything. I spent the year sending out query letters in manageable batches. I spent the year getting rejections back. I gave myself a year to find an agent with this specific project. As the year was approaching an end, I started working on a pitch for a new project where I would begin the process again. While I very much believed in Woodland Hills, maybe the timing is not right for it.
In October, I participated in a Twitter pitch fest. I didn’t put much stock in it but it certainly couldn’t hurt to try. After a year of pursuing agents with no success, I had several agents from the pitch fest reach out to me and ask to see more.
I don’t use Twitter all the time. It was luck that I was on Twitter that day and the pitch fest showed up in my feed. But you know, preparation and opportunity… That Twitter pitch fest turned out to be my elevator ride. When several agents got on, I was ready. That’s how I connected with the person who would become my agent.
Like you, I’m back at step one of our formula.
- Make graphic novel
- Publish graphic novel
- Tap into the zeitgeist, get lucky and become a huge success
The final thing I’ll say about step 3. Make the work you are excited about. Don’t try to recreate the current hot thing. You’ll just be a cheap imitation and readers will see that. When Raina Telgemeier wrote Smile, there was no one asking for graphic novels about kids and their personal struggles. That was the story she was excited about and wanted to tell. Was there uck involved? Absolutely and she was ready for it. Smile came out and changed book publishing.
Do what you love, do it well, and create your own luck.
-Write on.
Things Mentioned:
Other Stuff
I made a How-To video for making your own font from your handwriting. If you’ve ever wanted to, I walk you through it step by step.
Family Stuff
We went on a surf camp weekend with friends. Lots of walks on the beach with River. Not sure what the appeal of eating sand is but he certainly seems to enjoy it. I was the default fire builder, putting those Boy Scout skills back to work.
Thanks for reading. See you next month!
-Josh
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