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Mar 04
Graphic Novel / Literary Agents.
By Jason Brubaker on March 4th, 2010Posted In: Making Graphic Novels
Finding an agent may not be the first thing an artist like yourself may want to do. I mean, don't agents take a cut of your profits? Don't they push you around? Jim Lee or Todd McFarlane never had an agent, did they, and look at how big they got!
Those are the common thoughts about agents among artists I think. But I have a few reasons why I want to find a good one for my graphic novel work. You see, I have a tiny history with art agents. One good and one bad.
A bad agency story:
In 1995 when I was 20 I went to conventions showing my comic art around to anyone who would give me the time. Any offer was a good offer I thought. One of the offers was with a comic agency called (Name withheld because I can't remember it). They seemed legit to a 20 year old from Idaho so I signed a contract.
(WARNING: VENTING SPREE)
They never got me any work. Wait, they got me work but never paid me. Let me explain.
They set up a gig with (a famous rock star, seriously) to do half an issue of one of his stupid comics. The rock star called me and gave me a sentence to describe each page he wanted me to draw. I spent the next 2 weeks working the best 11 pages I ever penciled (at the time) and returned copies to my agent by mail.
Never heard back from the agent. Never heard back from the rock star.
I called the rock star and he kept playing hard to get, I mean what is he, some famous rock star or something? I didn't care, I worked hard for him and wanted answers and money. I kept calling and finally he picked up. The conversation went something like this:
The Rock Star – Hmmm yeah. I got your pages.
Me – Oh good. What did you think?
The Rock Star - Well, they aren't dynamic enough. All my comics are really dynamic.
Me – Oh okay. Can you explain what panels might need to be more dynamic? And how I can make them more so.
The Rock Star – Have you ever seen one of my books?
Me - Yeah.
The Rock Star - They have blood and sex and, you know, their more DYNAMIC!
Me – So if I add more blood and sex then it's more DYNAMIC?
The Rock Star - Yeah.
Me - Okay I'll make the changes.
Obviously "dynamic" meant a different thing to me then it did to the rock star. But I tried to add more blood and chunks and whatever he was looking for. I sent the pages to my agent and never heard back. I was ignorant of what to do, trusting everyone was honest in the business world. About a month later after hearing noting, I decided to call my agent again and get to the bottom of it all. When I called, my agent was long gone. He quit or got fired or something. Nobody knew I existed. Nobody knew I drew pages for a rock star either. I never got a call back from the agency. I never got a new agent to take over the last looser. And I was still under contract with them to give them a percent of everything I made. The rock star never paid me or returned a phone call from that point on.
Months later I found the issue of the comic I worked on in the comic store and my art was nowhere to be seen. I don't think the art was more dynamic either, unless you count more blood and pointless shots of female anatomy dynamic. The rock star didn't even tell me he wanted a female in it. I guess I'm just suppose to assume I have to draw naked women hiding in the bushes to add to the story arc. Later I saw this (short) rock star in a comic book store in LA and I wanted to kick him.
The moral to this story is: A famous rock star still owes me $2200 dollars for 11 penciled pages and a pin-up. That's $3,184.02 with inflation.
(VENTING SPREE OVER)
A good agency story:
Later on in 1996, I ran into another agency called Famous Frames. I moved out to Los Angeles to become a storyboard artist represented by Famous Frames and let me tell you, they got me solid work for about 6 years. If anyone wants to be a storyboard artist for commercials, music videos, film or TV for directors or ad agencies then this agency is legit! It's pretty hard to get in though. I was just in the right place at the right time. If I'd let them, they would've had a new job for me every day of the week. My main problem with storyboarding is how mentally demanding it is. I would be hired to go to a random company at 9AM to draw 50 frames for a taco bell commercial that was shooting the next day. I'd get home at 7 and have a message on my answering machine for the next job in the morning that was 2 hours away for an ad agency or something. My record for the amount of boards I did in one day was around 140. It was a draining job but a good start to a professional career as an artist. To this day I'm still grateful to them for having faith in a 21 year old from Idaho. I'd probably still be a starving artist if it wasn't for Famous Frames.
I've moved on since then but I definitely learned the value of a good agent. I can't tell you how many posers I've been approached by claiming they could be my agent. Random people who never even worked in the film, animation, comics, or artist industries. Shoot, I could be THEIR agent!
"So why do I want to get an agent now?", you might be thinking.
Simple. I want to get a contract with a major book publisher like Scholastic or Random House. You need to have a literary agent to submit anything to them.
To sum up my thoughts, I want a good agent who will take a cut of everything I make so that they will want to get me the best contract they can. I want a good agent so I can approach big book publishers and not just comic publishers. I want a good agent because all the people who I respect in the comic world have a good agent backing them.
I'd really love tons of opinions and advice here. This is one of the parts to all this graphic novel stuff that I'm still having trouble with. Part of me thinks I just need to publish reMIND first before I worry about an agent. But wouldn't it be great if an agent could help make reMIND a homerun instead of a bunt? Oh, what to do!!!
Read more at Graphic Novel / Literary Agents – Part 2
Spread the Love:
Getting someone to represent you is a total crapshoot. Granted, I’m not in the best frame of mind to be discussing professional/client relationships at the moment (for reasons that are not germane to this comment) but still, it’s just that – a crapshoot. Some people will take you at face value and really go to bat for you, some people will have daggers in their smiles. In my experience, you never know the difference until the subpoena arrives.
–M
I can relate to your frustration. I think the best way to ensure you find a good agent is from finding the agents that represent the best people out there and just focusing on them. But it’s very hard to turn their heads. I’ve read that the best way to get a good agent is to FIRST sell your book (get an offer) and then call your first 3 choices in agents to see if they are interested. You are basically offering them free money and most likely the first one you call will want to rep you.
Who knows.
I’m not a fan of agents and agencies. I’ve always been more of a DIY guy myself, using the networking I’ve done prior as leverage for other things.
I’d consider finishing the GN first, and worrying less about the representation/production/distribution of your work until later. The first step is to have a completed work to shop around. And remember this – before you sell your soul just to see your work in print, ask yourself this question: What are you (representative) going to do for me (Jason Brubaker) ?
Agents and agencies are very quick to shift the balance of power towards themselves by treating you as unimportant. If you have a hot property and the backing to show it (testimonials and a large cult following through the internet) they’ll be tripping over themselves to get in on your action. You have to turn the tables on these guys. It’s the only way you can stay ahead – get the best deal out of them or threaten to walk. And stand by your decision.
Personally, I wouldn’t bother. I’d hit the source. I know a lot of companies don’t bother with submissions because literally hundreds come in every day and they don’t have time to go through each one. But if you’re persistent and committed, they’ll remember you. Stay on the top of their minds often, and they’ll get to you quicker than submitting your work and walking away hoping for a response.
I believe quality work, with fan support and growing an online community, inviting everyone to share in your work and have their opinion, will earn you a quick following. From there, gauge the interest in a published book, and set a goal for publishing costs. Do a limited run, save your samples and pitch it to a larger publisher (Dark Horse, Oni Press, etc) and the ball will continue rolling from there. Release another few titles, and eventually your name recognition will grow.
The comics industry has changed dramatically with the internet – you used to have to pound the pavement and hit every con and show your work and get shot down by your heroes and countless other jaded artists who think they’re doing you a favor, or are jealous of your work. Now, you can get noticed a lot faster and develop a lot quicker – instead of being stuck inking a few issues of a 2nd tier title for 10 years before getting the chance to do something original.
Take advantage of your FREE AGENT status, man. The options are limitless! Don’t worry about getting to the big time. The big time will come to you, so long as you keep moving towards it in smaller increments.
Drezz, I really hear what you are saying here. I appreciate your thoughtful opinion and it makes total sense. I mean, your right about the internet completely changing the way we can promote ourselves and get noticed. It’s funny how much has changed in the last 5 to 10 years. It’s hard to force myself to accept that the old approach is nearly obsolete.
The idea of being a free agent is pretty good and it’s completely freeing for the artist. In fact some of the webcomics out there seem to have a bigger following then most of the print books from what I can see.
I’m not really that keen on the idea of shopping around to some of these comic publishers though. I’ve had some mixed opinions of them for a long time. I would almost want to self publish before I sign anything with one of them but who knows. That’s another thing I’m still battling in my mind.
As far as agents go, I think I will take your advice and not worry about it anymore. Getting the book finished and growing an online community is a much better use of my free time and thought. Good stuff man!
I think Drezz said it best. If an agent sees your work and comes to you that’s one thing, but if you go knocking on doors I think you’ll get more smooth talkers letting you in rather than people with integrity.
To make a splash in the comic market I don’t think you need an agent. Once you’ve made a splash there you can use that leverage to get a good agent and conquer the book store market.
…I think, anyway. Of course I have no idea.
Dreaming about an agent seems like a trap. ‘If I just had the right agent all the doors would open up for me.’ This might be true but it’s also true that, ‘if I win the lottery I could quit my day job and just concentrate on drawing my book full time…’ Hell, if I really won the lottery maybe I could publish the book myself with a national advertising campaign…
…Oops, sorry. I got way off topic.
I just woke up and I’m already rambling…
sam
Yeah, true. I feel like I’ve been slipping into the trap of dreaming about what an agent can do for me instead of just working on things I CAN control. Very good point about the lottery, we have to make due with what we have otherwise we will never finish because we are waiting for a miracle to assist us.
Thanks you guys!!! This is really helping.
Haha, you could be their agent, laughed at that bit. Good points, you need to have a healthy skepticism. I have only had a couple years messing about in the comics industry, so I’m no expert. But, I do find that people like to say “Yes.” You meet people, they say they can do things for you, heck, they want to do things for you – but then a week later when you email/call them, you never get one word back. Don’t know why, but it’s happened to me a few times. That’s the end of my rant. Never had any experiences with agents but now if it comes up i’ll make sure to take care
Thanks for chiming in. Your stuff is just so amazing looking man. I can see a line of agents knocking on your door in the near future. Whenever someone sees talent they want to be apart of it. All they can see is dollar signs.
I can’t wait to see more of your pages soon!
Hey Jason, I like your blog. Sorry, it took me so long to check it out. It’s really good, I’m going back and reading everything. I cannot add anything to the agent discussion, but I wanted to make sure you knew that there is youtube video of “rock star” getting knocked out. Some times it’s the little things in life…
After going back and read older entries I have to say you are doing just great. Being a consumer, not a producer of creative goods like this, it is absolutely fascinating to get a peak into not only the creative process but also the business side of production. Keep it up man.
JOHN!!!! Wow man, thanks for reading my gibberish. I totally looked up the video on Youtube and it made all things right in the world. That’s what I needed to see all these years. hahaha! I no longer need $3,184.02 to feel justified.
I’m glad you liked reading this stuff and found it entertaining. When I started blogging about it last year I noticed how enjoyable it was for me to talk about this kind of stuff. I worried that I’d run out of things to say but now I’m having trouble figuring out what NOT to say.
Man, when are we going to be able to hang out again! It’s been too long. Anyway, thanks for letting me know your here. Please keep commenting too. If you have an opinion, I’d love to hear it!
Have you checked out this site for agents?
http://niki-smith.com/about/graphic-novel-agents/
Yes I have! It’s a great list. I’m planning on putting together a list of links to articles like this in the near future and this is definitely on of them! Thanks buddy!
One of the best methods of finding a decent agent is word-of-mouth. You’ll have to network writing and comic conventions in your area (or that you’re willing to travel to), but you often can get the names of agents who are looking or who might be willing to accept someone new. Even better, if you can utilize those contacts as a reference, it can get your foot in the door of a good agent who might not be actively looking but wouldn’t mind taking on another customer who actually has something viable.
Sadly, I was not in a position to take advantage of the one instance I had of this; the work in question needed (and still needs – sadly, I’ve been busy and having writer’s block concerning the novel in question) a rewrite of specific scenes to help two varied storylines mesh coherently. But I was able to get a name and address just by talking to a published writer and asking a few questions on getting published and on finding agents.
Rob H.
Thanks for the insight Robert. I have been trying to go about this method myself only trying to talk to agents of friends of mine who are recommended. It’s hard for me to prove to anyone of them that I am worth looking into as of now. I think I’m going to slow down trying to find one for the moment and just focus on getting this thing finished. Once I do start looking, I think you have a great approach.
wow..reading this post reminded me of my own unfortunate thing..well surprisingly, im thankful it happened to me because in a way it gave me an idea on how these people would con you into working for them…gives you that “spider sense” the next time they’re around..
Agreed!
First of all, GREAT BLOG. This is literally exactly what I needed to see as I start the illustration process of my graphic novel.
I also have been tinkering with this literary agent question for almost 2 years now. Actually my graphic novel idea turned into a novel, then back to being a graphic novel.
I think it depends on your goal and what you want out of your work. See, I believe my graphic novel will be on par with watchmen, though not related at all and no way can an agent fully see that. Even if they think your work is fantastic, they will never give it the full attention it deserves. So the question is… are you willing to put in the blood, sweat, and tears to make your project as big as it could be? As Drezz stated, having a good following is crucial and having some street cred when you talk to a publisher makes all the difference in the contract.
Yeah, I’ve also read a few places that the best way to get a good agent is to sell your book first. Tell the publisher that you will get back to them and then call the agent of your choice. You will be handing them free money and most likely they will say yes. My friend did it that way and I’ve read that this is the best way too. It’s kinda a catch-22 though but I can see it making sense.
You are right though that if you can put in the blood sweat and tears to make your book the best it can be then you have more of a shot to sell it and then more of a shot to get a GOOD agent and then more of a shot to get better deals in the future.
For now I’m just focusing on finishing my book the best I can. I look forward to seeing you GN/novel someday.
It will be sooner than later. I finished the script and I’m already into illustrating the pages. In about a month, the full website will be up. Here’s the link: junegemini.com
i’m so glad to stumble upon this blog.. thx for bring up this topic. right now i’m debating whether to submit my work to an agent or not. it’s tricky b/c It’s a children’s comic and the only publishers publishing children’ comics and know how to market them well are the traditional book pubslihers(many of them only deal with agents.) Comic book publishers often don’t publish children’s comics or know how to market it well. And for children’s stuff you can’t go the online or con route.
it’s tricky..
Yeah that is a tricky one. One of my good friends had a GOOOOOD graphic novel agent and he was trying to do childrens books but his agent was really against it. He finally dropped this agent and had to find another who specialized in childrens books only. It seems like you will either find an agent good for one or the other.
But if you look at Bone by Jeff Smith, his stuff is very children friendly but it’s still a comic. It’s really hard for me to understand this whole agent thing yet. It seems like you need to find one who has interest in what you are trying to do otherwise you will just be fighting an uphill battle.
I also highly suggest not starting by looking for a agent. I think if you are starting out then it’s better to try to get something published first. There are book publishers who will take open submissions I am told like Tor Books. But it’s all a matter of finding a worthy publisher like Tor who will also want to publish what you are trying to focus on. I’ve decided to self publish this first graphic novel so I can do it the way I want and then if it’s any success I can use that success to find a real publisher or agent for my next one.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you around here more.
by the way i love your art style!
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this blog! I was just recently contacted by a literary agent in regards to publishing my webcomic and I was completely overwhelmed because I had never even though about an agent before. My opinions on the matter were neatly summed up in the first paragraph; I thought that I could do this all on my own, what do I need an agent for?
But your explanations and reasoning in favor of one has helped me a lot on the issue. I’m still unsure of what I want to do, but at least I understand what I’m considering now. I’d love to read more opinions on this subject.
Famous Rock Star… short… comics around 1995…. I’m guessing it was that Danzig guy.
You can’t forget the comment about him getting knocked out on YouTube.
But I’m not saying anything. Good guess.