Graphic Novel TK

Latest Episodes:

Episode 10 - Being Professional, with Lucy Knisley Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

So you've got a book deal! And an agent, and an editor, and a publisher -- you're doing amazing. Or you've got a pitch that you're just finishing up, and you're ready to start the process of finding all of those people to work with you, people you hope you'll work with your whole career. Or you've got a book! Or a webcomic! Or a mini-comic! And you're ready to start that Twitter account, go to a comics festival, put yourself out there and make the connections to build your career. How do you go from being a private person to having a professional public presence, in person at meetings, talking on email, calling people on the phone, interacting online, and in public at conventions? What does it mean to be professional? And how do you determine what the right amount of professionalism in each situation is? Basically the secret answer to this is that we all make it up as we go along, but we try to be nice and considerate and thoughtful and think twice about all our actions while we're proceeding. And today we talk to amazing cartoonist Lucy Knisley about how she thinks about professionalism, both now and when she was just starting out with her career. You can find information about all of Lucy's amazing graphic novels and other things at her website, http://www.lucyknisley.com/.

Episode 09 - Rights, with Miriam Miller Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

In our last episode we talked all about contracts -- what part of the creative process you get one in and how to look at them to figure out if you have a deal that you want. In this episode, we talk about rights -- both how they work in contracts themselves, and what a publisher does with the rights that you sign over to them after you finalize your contract. We're excited to talk to Miriam Miller from the publisher Holiday House about being a Subsidiary Rights Manager, what that job is like, and what's involved in selling rights for things like translation and media (like selling a book -- often only the beginning of the process).

Episode 08 - The Contract, with Katie Lane Jun 05, 2018

Show notes

It's contracts time! But what does that mean? What's involved in the process of coming to an agreement with a publisher? What more should you be looking at than the dollar amount you're offered? In this episode, we talk with lawyer and contracts expert Katie Lane, from Work Made for Hire, about the ins and outs of the contract process -- from the moment of getting a book offer through to dealing with any problems you might have fulfilling things you agreed on in your contract. Want to know even more about contracts after listening to this episode? (Of course you do.) Katie has you covered! Here's a series of emails she provides about the basics of contracts demystification: bit.ly/understandcontracts.

Episode 07 - The Acquisitions Meeting, with Andrew Eliopulos May 22, 2018

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What happens once an editor at a publishing house has a book on submission that they want to buy? What are the steps that they need to take between that and making an offer? At many publishing houses, the procedure is to present the book at an Acquisition Meeting -- a meeting with a lot of different people from the publisher so they can all put their heads together and figure out if the book will work for the publishing house. Today, we take an extensive look into this infrequently-discussed part of the publishing process with Andrew Eliopulos, a Senior Editor from Harper Collins Children's Books. Who comes to these meetings? How hard is it to get them to get excited about comics? What sort of things do make people at these meetings enthusiastic about graphic novels? Listen on and find out!

Episode 06 - The Book Deal, with Jen Linnan May 09, 2018

Show notes

How do you get from a proposal to a book deal? What do you need for a proposal? What's the process of talking to agents and publishers to get a contract? Today, we talk to Jen Linnan at Linnan Literary Management about all of these questions -- and more! As an agent who runs her own agency and deals exclusively with comics, Jen has the inside scoop.

Episode 05 - Publishers, with Annie Koyama Apr 26, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of Graphic Novel TK, we're delighted to talk to the amazing Annie Koyama, the publisher of Koyama Press. If you don't know Koyama Press, you'll get to hear about just how cool they (and their publisher) are as you listen. And if you've always been a little bit mystified about what a publisher actually does, this is the episode for you! You'll get to hear about Annie Koyama's process of becoming a publisher, what she does in her day-to-day job, and more.

Episode 04 - Agents, with Bernadette Baker-Baughman Apr 10, 2018

Show notes

This week! Agents -- who are they? What do they do? What are their jobs like, and how helpful is it for authors and artists to work with them? We talk with Bernadette Baker-Baughman from Victoria Sanders & Associates about the ins and outs of her work representing cartoonists.

Episode 03 - Pitching, with Calista Brill Mar 27, 2018

Show notes

From an Idea to a Pitch for a Publisher So you have an idea for a graphic novel! That’s great. But when is it time to pitch that idea to a publisher? Right away? When you have concept art? When you have a full script? When you’ve written and drawn the whole story? When you’ve serialized your comic online and built up a following? Figuring out the best route to publication can be complicated! We talk to First Second Editorial Director Calista Brill about how she thinks about book pitches when she’s looking for new projects for :01. Happy listening! Find Calista Brill online at @CalistaBrill and her books @01FirstSecond.

Episode 02b - Lingo Part Two, with George Rohac Mar 13, 2018

Show notes

What do all of these publishing words mean? This week we’re bringing you part two of our conversation with long-time comics professional George Rohac about the wild world of publishing terminology. In this half, we cover everything from ARCs to ISBNs to paper stock to options to what exactly an indicia is. Our lingo rundown builds on itself, so maybe give part one a listen before you move on to this installment. You can find out more about George’s work at grohac.com, or follow George on Twitter @grohac

Episode 02a - Lingo Part One, with George Rohac Feb 27, 2018

Show notes

Words! As comics people, we all love them — but there are so many mysterious terms in publishing that it sometimes makes your head spin. In this episode (the first of a two-parter), we decode publishing’s secret terminology, with amazing manager and long-time comics professional George Rohac. Lucky for us, George is just as much of a nerd about this stuff as we are.

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