I love hearing from fans and other creators who are interested in learning more about making comics, the publishing industry, and me. I have a resource page and some frequently asked questions below:

When did you start reading comics?

I started reading comics when I was a kid. I didn’t have a lot of access to places where comics were sold but my parents would pick up the Archie Comics Digests for me when we went to the grocery store. I loved reading them, and especially loved the Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

From there, I got into manga via my friend who would go to cool places that had big comic shops and bring books home with her. We’d read those and then also watched a lot of Sailor Moon, Escaflowne, and other anime that was airing on YTV at the time.

Will you come speak at my school/library/convention/etc.?

Maybe! Please reach out to ask about my rates and availability. I have a page on what sort of presentations I offer here but I also am happy to speak on panels and Q&As.

How do I get published?

It can be a bit of a journey! Lots of people want to be professionally published and depending on the route you want to take, there’s so many others trying to get onto editors radar and publication schedules.

How can I find an agent?

I get a lot of folks asking this and it depends on what kind of work you want to do.

If you’ve got your own ideas for books, graphic novels, children’s illustrated books, etc., then an agent would likely be very helpful for you. You have to query an agent with your project and then find someone that will be a good fit for your work and what you want to do in your career. It’s not just about finding an agent…it’s about finding the agent that understands what you’re trying to do and helps you achieve those goals. Like making comics, it’s a partnership and you want to be teamed up with the folks who are going to make the collaboration process a positive one. This is a great article on what to include in a graphic novel pitch package and this is a great resource for querying your graphic novel.

If you want to write or draw comics for Marvel or DC, you’re going to have trouble finding an agent to represent you solely for that kind of work. Not to say that you shouldn’t have an agent, but rates are typically pretty low for those publishers and it’s all work-for-hire with non-negotiable contracts, so there’s not a lot for an agent to do for you to earn their cut of the profits. But if you’re an artist and want to do direct market (comics publishers) work, and perhaps some editorial illustration, you can check out the Agents for Illustrators database to see what’s available, and see if you can find someone who might be a good match.

How do I query a graphic novel?

You want to have an outstanding pitch ready to go, and you need to understand not just your own project but the market around it. I have a basic pitch template available here. It goes through what you need for a pitch, as well as what everything is and a little bit about why it’s important.

And then from my agent, Maria, this is a great article on what to include in a graphic novel pitch package and this is a great resource for querying your graphic novel.

Thank you so much for reading!

If there’s something you think I should add or if you still have questions, please reach out and I’ll do my best to help out. Please do your best to ask specific questions, as general HOW DO I GET PUBLISHED queries aren’t feasible for me to answer regularly.