Tim Broderick
Tim Broderick is the creator of the webcomic Odd Jobs, featured at Moderntales and Timbroderick.net. His mystery graphic novel “Cash & Carry” is being published by Echelon Press in January, 2008.
Future of Comics
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Years ago, while I was discussing the idea of going behind the subscription wall at Moderntales.com, I happened to make a point that - when considering the future of cartooning - still resonates today.
You will always be able to find comics to read (for free on the internet), but unless there's some way to adequately compensate specific creators for their work, those specific creators will not continue to produce that specific work.
The Road Less Traveled: Still Traveling
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There's one last thing to pass on in this series about publishing your graphic novel through a traditional prose publisher: Does this work?
Easy answer: Yes.
The Road Less Traveled: Selling the Book
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Most people, like me, are not very good at selling things.
But according to what I've learned, there's really only one true thing about selling your book: You have to do it - one on one, one at a time.
Unless you're John Grisham, you're not going to get a marketing budget, a promotional manager or personal assistant. You'll have to do it all on your own.
First things first - you've got to track your money. Only you know how much it makes sense to spend on things like conventions or advertisements, but to know that you have to have hard data. That means get in the habit of saving your receipts and maybe even setting a budget. Purchase a financial program. But know how much you're spending - you can use that knowledge to test what works and what doesn't.
Here's where you'll spend that money:
Conventions
The Road Less Traveled: Money and Contracts
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Your book has been accepted by a publisher. The hard work's over!
Well, no. You've pretty much just entered the Twilight Zone and that means dealing with contracts.
But what kind of contract you get depends on the publisher you're negotiating with, and you need to set your expectations accordingly.
I was actually going to talk a bit about marketing this month, but the recent discussions over Bookscan numbers in a number of comics blogs made me change my mind. You can read my take on how language can shape expectations here.
For this column, we're going to look at some key details of a typical contract written for a larger publisher and the kind of thing you can expect when dealing with a small publisher.
The Road Less Traveled: REJECTED!
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So you've sent your materials to a publisher or agent, you've waited politely for the prescribed amount of time, and finally a letter from them shows up in your mailbox.
Chances are you've been rejected.
So now what?
So, you've sent your materials to a publisher or agent, you've waited politely for the prescribed amount of time, and finally a letter from them shows up in your mailbox.
Chances are you've been rejected.
You will feel many emotions, but I'm too heartless a bastard to discuss them now. Seriously, I could care less -- this is a business not a birthday party. So when you've calmed down, there are two things you need to do:
A Road Less Traveled: What's the Next Step?
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So, now that you have: a completed novel, a killer query letter and a short but riveting synopsis, who do you send these things to first: a publisher or an agent?
If you're like me, you ask people who have more experience in these kinds of things. And that's what I did: I contacted several published mystery writers on what they'd do if they could do it all over again.
If you think there's a consensus out there, you might be surprised.
A Road Less Traveled: The Synopsis
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"A Road Less Traveled" is a series of articles by Tim Broderick detailing the path to publication of his graphic novel, "Cash & Carry" (based on his webcomic Odd Jobs, featured at Moderntales and Timbroderick.net). In this month's article, he discusses crafting the synopis for a graphic novel.
In previous installments, Tim reviewed how he signed with a traditional publisher for his graphic novel and how he constructed his ultimately successful query letter.
Whereas writing a query letter is a creative challenge, writing a synopsis of your story is an exercise in patience.
A Road Less Traveled: Writing the Query Letter
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Last month Tim Broderick, began a series of articles detailing the path to publication of his graphic novel, "Cash & Carry" (based on his webcomic Odd Jobs, featured at Moderntales and Timbroderick.net). In his first article at ComixTalk last month, Tim covered how he signed with a traditional prose publisher as opposed to a comics publisher. This month Tim dives into the specifics of how he constructed his ultimately successful query letter for "Cash & Carry".
One day a few months ago, at a dinner with several of her local Chicago authors, my new publisher talked about a presentation where she discusses the ins and outs of getting published - including the best query letter she'd ever gotten. She revealed then that it was mine.
A Road Less Traveled: Taking Your Webcomic to a Traditional Publisher
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I thought things were changing. Apparently I was wrong.
When Zuda released its contracts last month, I think they showed that the major comics publishers are more interested in acquiring properties than publishing books. As Gary Tyrrell over at Fleen said about the contracts, "Webcomics can do better and so can you."
Believe that! Contracts like Zuda's play off the insecurities of creators -- you're the harshest critic of your work. Put that aside. If the comics industry refuses to change the way they operate, go to the publishers who will give you a fair deal.
I have a book coming out in January with a small but respected publisher, and receive compensation comparable with others in the prose publishing industry.
I thought things were changing. Apparently I was wrong.
Experience Required
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A few years ago, I got tricked on a message board.
Someone posted a question attributed to Edgar Allen Poe asking whether writers need to know their topic. I weighed in that, yes, writers need to do their research or readers will not buy into their stories.
Later, it was pointed out that Poe was out to prove that, no, you don't need to have intimate experience of something to write about it and promptly described how it would feel to die from hanging – obviously something he hadn't experienced first-hand.
I didn't have a reply to that then, but I do now:
