Graphic Novel / Literary Agents – Part 2
on April 15, 2010 at 6:00 amFinding a GOOD agent.
“A bad agent is worse than no agent at all. A really bad agent is worse than not being a writer.”
“The easiest time to get an agent is when you’ve just gotten an offer on a book. The editor phones you and says, ‘I want to buy your book.’”
“If you’ve got an offer, you can get an agent. If you don’t have an offer, you don’t want the kind of agent you’re likely to get.”
“Don’t start by looking for an agent.”
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So there you have it. I’m just going to keep focused on finishing the best graphic novel I can. When the time comes for me to find a good agent I will know because I will have an offer from a publisher first. If I don’t get an offer then, who knows. But that’s another story.
For those of you who want all the info you can find on agents, here are some good links. Niki Smith has made a great list of graphic novel agents that she keeps updated on her blog here:
LITERARY AGENTS WHO REPRESENT GRAPHIC NOVELS
If you have an agent in question then make sure they don’t have any bad marks on this list:
Another great resource with extensive articles and links is Colleen Doran’s website:
Graphic Novel Agents: Cartoonist/Comic Books/Creator Resources
You can find links to these articles on Colleen’s site as well. I found these particular ones very informative:
How to spot a bad agent by Teresa Nielsen Hayden:
nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/part1
nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/part2
And one of the best articles is on Neil Gaimen’s blog here with almost to much to dig through:
NeilGaiman.com/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about
Let me know if you have any other useful links, bad agents to avoid, good agents to recommend or encouraging success stories on the subject.
If you're not getting the biggest piece of the pie, something's wrong. Especially when its your blood, sweat and tears you've poured into it.
Let the agents come courting you.
Good stuff. An artist/writer published thru Tokyo Pop recently posted on her blog that she's not going that route this time around, she'd rather self publish. It seems that for our breed it's best to go solo, or get the best of the best.
Thanks for the link! I hope your readers find it useful.
I'm on the other side of the fence regarding agents. I know that editors will always have edits (because I know no writer or artist is perfect, least of all me), and to me it seems a waste of energy to finish a book that will later get plot tweaks that cause 2/3 to be redrawn. I'd rather have my agent pitching my one-drawn-chapter-with-full-script proposal while I work on getting more project proposals together, so I always have possibilities.
This is a good point. But from my research, this rarely happens. Most agents will want to see a finished book. Also, a publisher may not print your book for 2 or more years. Imagine working almost a year or 2 to finish your book, then another 8 months to a year to get and finalize a deal, then another possible 6 months to 2 years before your book actually gets printed?! Not to mention the fact that the publisher owns all rights? No thanks.
I'd rather go on my own, prove myself, then get an agent the second time around that is willing to work more on my terms. Sure, it's really cool to have an agent and a respected publisher interested in your work, but the costs as a new writer/artist are way too great for me. But I guess it all depends on what your goal is. For some, like myself, it's about bringing my work to the masses. I'm sure Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, and other well known graphic novelists have more say so when it come to their work. But for us no names, we'll get eaten alive.
Maybe 10 years ago this conversation would be completely different. But in 2010, you have so many options to publish your work. Now with a new platforms like the Kindle, ipad, and mobile phones becoming more advanced, you have the tools to bring your story to the masses, without much expense. Printing's still an arm and a leg, but it's affordable.
But one thing you said that I totally agree on is working on several proposals. I really like that idea. I've been babying this one plot in my mind for years. And who knows if it's the one that will catch on? Either way, ultimately I think we all want the same thing. To be a respected artist/writer and have the world know our name and our stories. One way or another, we each will find our won way. But the question will be… what did we sacrifice to get there?
There are a couple misconceptions in your comment–
1) Most agents *don't* want finished books, for precisely the reason I listed. They are happy to look at queries for projects that are completely scripted and have a chapter or two of finished art. That way edits can be made without a huge loss of time. I queried this way and got multiple offers of representation; none of the agents I spoke with had any problem with
2) Publishers do not own all the rights. Or ANY rights. This is completely false. Agents pitch projects to the big book publishers, Hachette and Random House and Simon & Schuster. NONE of these publishers take your rights.
3) Agents are always "willing to work on your terms"– that's their job. They represent you. They argue your contracts to make sure you get the best possible deal and best protection of your rights. They gain nothing from taking advantage of you, except for ruining their professional reputation.
That's not to say traditional publishing & its channels are for everyone– especially with the iPad and all its possibilities! But for those who *are* considering it, I don't want them to be misled.
Niki, I really appreciate you coming here and talking about this stuff. Especially since you actually have a literary agent! Your first comment got me thinking quite a bit. I also realize that I still don't fully understand the way it works with major publishers. Do the publishers always re-edit graphic novels from artists? I ask because I am working with a professional editor/writer who has worked for Darkhorse for many years. I'd hate to think another editor will want to re-edit what was already edited if my book eventually gets picked up by someone else.
Also, did you already have a graphic novel published before you went looking for an agent? Anyway, thanks again for the great agent list! How could I not link to it.
No problem!
Edits are a part of publishing, so I wouldn't ever assume your book will be left untouched (if you go to one of the major publishers, at least. Indie graphic novel publishers may work differently, but I'd still expect some edits). Editors are there to make your work the strongest it can be, so even if it seems tiresome, it's for the sake of clarity and connecting to readers. And that's not to say that what an editor says is final– you always are able to argue your case to keep things as they are.
And for your last question– no, I'd never had a graphic novel published (and still haven't; one is still out on submission with editors, while I work on a new one) when I queried agents. I just listed my publication history (anthologies and competitions) and let the work speak for itself!
I see. I've never put my stuff in an anthologie either. I just have the worst time making a short story whether it's an animation for comic. But I can see how that would help in proving that you can tell sequential art.
Oh yeah, I need to clarify my earlier comment. I have an editor but he has not edited my book yet. haha I don't want anyone to see my messed up grammatical shortcomings and blame it on my editor.
Nikki thank you for taking the time to respond. Id have to say what you're saying is a lot different from the advice i've received from published authors. Using common sense, i would assume most agents would want to only see a script and a chapter or two of edits because of all the time it takes to illustrate a whole book.
Now what about the other points i made? Because i know that sometimes publishers can take almost 2 years before your book is even printed. I know of a specific writer this happened to.
I'll be checking out your blog from now on and diving deeper into the agent route.
I'm not denying that publishing is slow– but it's slow for very specific reasons.
You sign a contract. If you did it off a pitch, you still have to draw the rest of the book! Then edits take time. Parts of your book may need reworking. Then you get copyedits– checking continuity errors and spelling, etc. Covers have to be designed, you have to get blurbs. ARCs have to be printed and sent out for reviews. The final books have to be printed. And most importantly, the marketing and publicity has to click into gear. They have to start advertising 3 months in advance to build up to your release date. They have to talk to book seller representatives, convincing them that your book is worth stocking at Borders.
So yes, publishing your book can take 2 years. You can't just turn it in and expect a release next month– how will anyone know it's coming out?
But once you start having multiple books coming out, you realize that it's not "1-2 years from last publication". It's 1-2 years from when you finished the book. So while the publisher is working on your cover and ARCs and getting you reviews, you're already half done drawing your next book, and so on.
Niki, That makes a lot of sense. And I think almost everyone can agree that the end goal is to have our work seen by as many people as possible and potentially make a living off it.. Things are changing quickly with the internet but having the support of a knowledgeable agent and being published through a major publisher is kinda the end goal of all these new evolving platforms. Even though the ipad is cool, I'd never expect it to do what a major publisher could do with my work.
Misterkofa – Thanks for getting a great conversation going here. I've learned quite a few things from all that was said here.
I'm always up for a good making-graphic-novels conversation. :) And I agree– the end goal in all cases is to find an audience and get your work read. I think you're definitely off to a great start with your blog, steady update schedule, and GORGEOUS art. If you do ever go the agent route, I'm sure you'll have interest.
Er. Neil published the article you're quoting, but he didn't write it.
Wow, thanks for stopping by. Yeah, I'm kinda new to the formalities of how to quote someone on the internet. I assumed that since Neil linked to these (your) articles in his article written by you, I was fine. I'll fix the quotes right away. Now that you brought it up it seems obvious and I feel kinda dumb.
I've really found your articles fascinating and greatly appreciate the knowledge you are passing along to all us new at this.
There we go. Updated! Once again, my apologies.