Should a story be a novel or perhaps a comic book?

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Aj Johnson

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I was just wondering if anyone here has ever had the problem where they thought they had a good idea for a novel, but then decided that perhaps making it into a graphic novel or even trying to make it into a monthly comic book series would be better? or the other way around?

I've had an idea in my head for the past five to six years or so and I finally started brain storming more and the more I think about it, I get to thinking. "Man, this would work as a comic series I think."

What are some of your thoughts? What are the pros and cons of going either way in your opinion? And what does the comic series have to offer if it were made into a comic rather than a novel?
 

Bicyclefish

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What are the pros and cons of going either way in your opinion? And what does the comic series have to offer if it were made into a comic rather than a novel?

Can you draw sequential art well enough to create an entire comic others will want to read or buy? If you can, ignore the rest of this post. If you can't...

Do you know anyone who can draw sequential art and is willing to work on your project? If you don't, it's time to do some searching.

While you can find people to work back end, especially if you have past writing credits, you're more likely to find success offering a page rate. Rates can start at $20/page[SUP]*[/SUP] -- which a lot of folk will view as insulting -- and up. Keep in mind few comic publishers offer an advance, so this initial investment will come out of your own pocket. Even at that low rate, a 200 page graphic novel will run you $4000. You may even run into a bad egg[SUP]**[/SUP], and find your artist abandoning your project.

Do you want to work on something that relies upon working back and forth with another person? Do you have the patience? Depending on the speed of your artist/inker/colorist/letterer/formatter, completing your project can take a while. For example, a friend is on team of professional artists -- penciller/inker, colorist, and letterer/layout work -- and writers releasing a miniseries this spring. They started work winter of last year. If you only have one artist working part time, it can easily take years to finish a GN.

It can be rewarding, but it can also be frustrating.


*I've seen offers for $9/page on Craigslist. Makes me want to throw a flounder at them. More often I see rates between $40 to $60, though I remember one recent post offering $100/page. Depends on a lot of factors: rights, royalties, etc.
** Experience and references can trump lowest price.
 
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Aj Johnson

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Can you draw sequential art well enough to create an entire comic others will want to read or buy? If you can, ignore the rest of this post. If you can't...

Do you know anyone who can draw sequential art and is willing to work on your project? If you don't, it's time to do some searching.

While you can find people to work back end, especially if you have past writing credits, you're more likely to find success offering a page rate. Rates can start at $20/page[SUP]*[/SUP] -- which a lot of folk will view as insulting -- and up. Keep in mind few comic publishers offer an advance, so this initial investment will come out of your own pocket. Even at that low rate, a 200 page graphic novel will run you $4000. You may even run into a bad egg[SUP]**[/SUP], and find your artist abandoning your project.

Do you want to work on something that relies upon working back and forth with another person? Do you have the patience? Depending on the speed of your artist/inker/colorist/letterer/formatter, completing your project can take a while. For example, a friend is on team of professional artists -- penciller/inker, colorist, and letterer/layout work -- and writers releasing a miniseries this spring. They started work winter of last year. If you only have one artist working part time, it can easily take years to finish a GN.

It can be rewarding, but it can also be frustrating.


*I've seen offers for $9/page on Craigslist. Makes me want to throw a flounder at them.
** Experience and references can trump lowest price.

Thanks alot for the insight of the actual business of making a graphic novel. It is definitely something I need to consider.
 

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And artists can and do flake. Even actual comics publishers have creators just disappear on them.

If you can't draw it yourself, I suggest putting together a short list of artists and then if your first choice flakes (disappears, gets mono and can't work for weeks, has to go take care of their elderly mother, etc) you can go right to the second choice.

Oh, and I recommend learning the basics of art yourself...even if you're no good at it...so you have a little more of an understanding of how it works. (It's also a handy exercise for showing not telling).
 

BigWords

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If the story breaks naturally, then writing it as a four or six issue mini (with the intention of collecting it later) might be something to consider. If you are in the process of deciding on format, then it is too early to really help, other than saying that creating a graphic novel (or, for that matter, a comic) gets very expensive very quickly the more people who are involved in the creation.
 

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I've been told by a couple of people that my novel has hints of manga. I was influenced mainly by Japanese Anime so I would be surprised if it didn't but this really got me thinking of the possibilities. It's a bit late now considering I'm just about done but it'd be awesome to eventually get around to a comic version of the story.

I can't draw at all though lol.
 

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Is it possible to go to a publisher with just a script? I hear they sometimes take it on if the idea is good. How likely is it to get a "yes" from a publisher and get them to pay for the artist and publishing? Thanks.
 

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Is it possible to go to a publisher with just a script? I hear they sometimes take it on if the idea is good. How likely is it to get a "yes" from a publisher and get them to pay for the artist and publishing? Thanks.

I believe the answer is very little chance of a publisher picking up a story from an unknown writer, especially if they don't have an illustrator/draw it themselves.

From what I've seen, from my own experience as well as my illustrator-writer friends is that the only way to break into comics specifically as a writer is to write already established stories. Look at what Marvel and DC are publishing. If you want to write their characters in their world you have a much better chance then if you're writing something original.

As has already been mentioned, finding the right artist/writer combination is very difficult, and it's a huge investment of time and money from all parties. Publishers don't take a ton of risks when it comes to graphic novels, even still.

Take a look at your local bookstore and you'll see exactly what I mean. Most of the books published by Image or other companies who focus on non superhero stories are by people who have written and illustrated the book. Often even those people had to prove themselves first by either finding a huge following on the internet or by having at least one successful novel published.

I don't mean to sound discouraging. I think graphic novels are definitely growing and as they become more popular, publishers are more likely to take chances on them. Hopefully soon there will be a lot more being published for writers, illustrators and readers sakes.
 

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Just a thought from me, and keep in mind I read a lot but my experience into the producing aspect of those industry is minimal at best.

I'm not sure if your artistry skills are amateur, moderate, or hot-damn (I'm assuming the former since you didn't speak up when suggestions about getting your pages illustrated came up. Have you considered giving the art a go around?

It probably is rare, but a good friend of mine picked up a simple book about drawing manga and in less then a year was being commissioned from people for her work.

I'm not saying she became Rembrandt of the manga world, but she discovered a skill she didn't know she possessed.

It would cause you a lot less overhead, plus I'm assuming the graphic novel/comic industry is much like the literary world and the more polished your work is, and the less overhead you have, the more money and sales you'll have access to.
 

Rob Lefebvre

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Either medium takes a lot of time and dedication. From a story telling standpoint both have significant advantages and disadvantages. If you think it is a story that is worth telling you should focus on the best way to tell it.

If you think you can tell it better in the form of a comic book do it that way.

To be realistic, unless you think you have a chance of making significant money I would focus on telling the story and worry about the fine details later. It is not like if you write it as a novel you can't write it as a comic book and vice versa. Either way you will have to do a lot of story character and plot development. All of those developments will go from one medium to the other.
 

colebooks

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i think what ever you feel would be the best for the story
 

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Just bear in mind that a graphic novel is NOT just your novel/screenplay with pictures added. You'd better understand the rules of the medium and adapt your story to fit it or you might end up with something unwieldy and unpublishable.

In the case of comics, "adapting" generally means lots of shaving down and streamlining, since you have a lot less room to work with than in a movie or a novel. Read a comic book adaptation of a movie youre familiar with. You'll be able to see how comic writers condense actions and scenes.

Telling a story in comic form is like telling a story with photographs. You can't capture every second of the action like a movie can or your comic will be 5,000 pages long. You have to pic your images carefully and know how to make them flow fluidly.
 

xYinxx

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I was just wondering if anyone here has ever had the problem where they thought they had a good idea for a novel, but then decided that perhaps making it into a graphic novel or even trying to make it into a monthly comic book series would be better? or the other way around?

I've had an idea in my head for the past five to six years or so and I finally started brain storming more and the more I think about it, I get to thinking. "Man, this would work as a comic series I think."

What are some of your thoughts? What are the pros and cons of going either way in your opinion? And what does the comic series have to offer if it were made into a comic rather than a novel?

A comic book can be more visually appeasing, obviously, but you'd also need to possess the artistic ability to put out one. But, you could always have someone else draw the art while you write the story.
 

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depends on if you can draw or have a friend who would be willing to draw for you, besides that, comics are so cool and appeal to a lot of tastes :D
 

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A friend of mine did a kickstarter for his graphic novel. He paid for the first 3 pages out of pocket, then used that to rally the cash needed to pay himself and th eartist for about 9 months. Not only did they get the money, but he actually was able to raise another 25% over the top.

Hope this helps, if you decide to go down this path.
 

small axe

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You know, though, that it is possible to blend prose with comix. It's a hybrid form, but if you have a story to tell, tell it in prose ... and heighten the action or visually excited parts by shifting into comix illustration. That might help lessen the burden of 100 pages of ARTWORK (and unless you LUV doing the art, for its own sake, it will become a burden, imo)

Whoever's doing the art, you're asking them to do a majority of the work (not necessarily the CREATIVITY, the WRITING is equally important, but trying writing a page full of words versus DRAWING a page of comix. How long did doing each take? There. That's an answer of some sort)

But prose and comix, each does some things BETTER than the other. Maybe use the strengths of each, and avoid the weakness of the other, by switching on or off each at the proper time?
 

EMaree

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I do both. I write full novels in prose, but break it into a script and illustrate it when I need a break or need to see the story from another perspective.

I'm a much better writer than I am an artist, but hey, it's just for fun.

If I wanted to seriously write a full graphic novel or a large amount of pages I would hire an artist to do it. There's a few whose work I know and admire, who work at good rates, and I'd trust them not to get frustrated or burnt out (I, on the other hand, would).
 
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