The world of publishing is a vast and difficult maze for the debut author/illustrator to traverse. It requires a lot of time for research, perfecting query letters, and potentially years of waiting for literary agents and publishers to reply to submissions. While getting published traditionally is not impossible, it is incredibly difficult, and with writer and illustrator royalties continuing to shrink, the endeavor doesn’t always pay off. Additionally, traditional publishers prefer books that appeal to the mass market, so authors with books that venture too far from the norm have an even harder time convincing a publisher to take a risk on their project.

 

Lorelei and Alyssa spent the majority of 2022 and 2023 pitching the YA graphic novel Verge to a myriad of literary agents in an attempt to get the book traditionally published. While Verge was very well received and received much praise, the long awaited “yes” didn't come. After two years of pitching, eight manuscript reviews, and one agent that initially said “yes” and then inexplicably left her profession, Lorelei and Alyssa put pitching on hold to consider other options. The graphic novel was clearly in great shape, but no agent was willing to take it on. What now?

 

After participating in a 9 week online self-publishing class hosted by the School of Visual Storytelling, Lorelei and Alyssa discovered that not only is self publishing a valid route to take, but that it is also perfectly plausible for debut creators to find success on this path. It is going to be a lot of work, but the rewards will be endless. We hope you will join us on this journey to bring these amazing illustrated works to your bookshelves!

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