Welcome to Graphic Novel Insider

For the past fifteen or so years, I’ve worked as a graphic novel and comics editor. This trajectory has—luckily—coincided with the rise of graphic novels in bookstores and the explosion of interest from “traditional” book publishers in publishing graphic novels. For many of those years, graphic novels were the fastest growing segment of publishing, and in 2021 they became a billion-dollar market (that’s just book-length graphic novels; comic books hit about half a billion that year).

So, yeah, they are a pretty big deal. But what is a “graphic novel” exactly? How are they made? What kinds of comics are book publishers looking for? What about comics publishers (like DC and Marvel)? And can you make any money as a graphic novel creator?

I started this newsletter to cover these and other topics, and also because the mechanics of the publishing industry, graphic novels, and illustrated books in general are one of my absolute favorite topics of conversation. I’ll start out answering questions I’m commonly asked, but if there are topics you want to see covered, please ask!