What to Include in a Graphic Novel Pitch Package
Nothing is more disappointing to me than when I read a great pitch, request to see more material, and the creator(s) have little to share about the project. Most publishing professionals asking to see your work (I’m speaking from my point of view as an agent here, but this would apply to editors as well) don’t expect you to have a fully illustrated book to share upfront (fun fact: those writing prose novels often do have to write a full manuscript before pitching the project). But what we do expect from graphic novel creators is enough material in a proposal (also referred to as a pitch package) to evaluate whether the project is right for us.
For most graphic novel projects, a publishing team is committing to a book that has just barely started being put together. This is scary for everyone involved! As an agent, I need to put trust in a new client that they will deliver a final product of certain quality—essentially, whatever you’ve promised in your graphic novel proposal. So as the creator, it’s your job to manage my expectations of that finished book with a thorough and accurate pitch package.
Creating a proposal might feel overwhelming. After all, this document you’re putting together needs to convince the reader (whether it’s an agent or an editor) that your (eventual) book is a risk worth taking. Even though creating a pitch package for your graphic novel is a big time commitment, it’s the best way to show your book’s potential (and, let’s be honest, nowhere near as time consuming as actually writing and illustrating an entire book).
Here’s what to include in your graphic novel proposal:
Title Page
Your document should begin with a title page. Simple, right? A catchy title is one way to make a great first impression. And make sure to name all creators on the title page, especially if you need to credit someone else for the art, letters, etc. It’s important to be upfront about who is doing what. I also recommend including a preview image on the title page if you can, maybe the main character or an important setting in the book.
Overview
This section is extremely important. If you were casually discussing your book with someone, this is probably the stuff you would mention first. Start with a short one or two sentence pitch of the overall concept (sometimes referred to as an “elevator pitch”). After that, move on to a longer description of what the story is about. Model this paragraph (or two) off of the back cover copy on published books. You don’t want to give away everything about the plot here, just provide a description that makes people want to read the book. This entire section of your graphic novel proposal is a marketing tool.
You should include important format and delivery information in this section: the estimated number of pages, the suggested trim size, your intended audience, and what exactly you will be delivering to the publisher (need someone else to do lettering? be clear about your skillsets).
Comparison titles are also helpful in this section, to show where your book belongs in the market. Stick with recently published graphic novels (the last few years) in a similar genre as your own.
About the Creator(s)
Tell us about yourself! Include a photo, short bio, website and/or portfolio link(s), social media links, and any previous publications. If you’re an illustrator, consider using a drawing of yourself instead of a photo (a small detail that allows you to show off even more of your art).
Character Sketches
Focus on the main cast of characters and provide an illustration (yet another place to show off your art) and a short written introduction to the character’s personality and role in the story. If you’re submitting a proposal without an artist attached, make sure to include physical descriptions of each character in place of a character sketch.
If the setting is really important in your book (like if you’ve written a science fiction or fantasy story), maybe include some of that information in this section too.
Sample Pages
You knew this part was coming! Sample pages are a necessity when pitching your graphic novel. It’s the only way to show us what you can do (and what the final book will look like)! I recommend including at least ten 100% complete pages (including colours, if that’s the style you’re going for) to show off your work in a variety of panels. You can choose any scene from your book to illustrate, just make sure the pages are in sequential order—we want to see how you use panels and page turns to your advantage when telling a story. Show us that you understand the comics format.
As the graphic novel market grows increasingly competitive, you should consider including additional sample pages at the inks or pencils stage. I’ve heard editors say they want to see 25% of the graphic novel in a submission, so use that as a guideline.
Sample Script
When it comes to sample pages, more is always better. This is especially true if you’re new to the comics format. If you don’t have past experience to boast about, we need to know that you can write a script!
If you’re putting together a text-only graphic novel proposal, a sample script is crucial. It’s likely an editor will want to see the full script before acquiring your project. Aim for at least 50 comic pages, the script broken into panels for each page. We want to imagine the story in the way it will appear in the printed book.
And a sample script can be helpful even if you’re submitting illustrated sample pages. A book needs to be read by many people on a publishing team, go through copy editing, etc., so learning how to write a proper script is a great skill, even if you’re the only creator working on the book.
Synopsis
The final section is a synopsis: an outline of the entire story. Your synopsis should be written in paragraph form (not bullet points), and it is usually 1-3 pages long (but if you don’t have a full script to share with your submission, this synopsis can be much longer so the reader is made aware of all the story’s intricacies).
Tell us what happens in the book! We need to know where the story is going and how it’s going to get there. This is the place where you can spoil the ending. If a plot point is missing in the synopsis, then we’re simply not going to know about it, so don’t leave anything out.
Everyone’s graphic novel projects and process will look different, and that’s okay. Take these sections and remove/alter/add whatever you need to for your particular book. This is meant to be a guideline. For example, are you pitching a text-only script for a graphic novel? You can ignore the parts about including art. Working on a nonfiction graphic novel? You might not need character descriptions, and your synopsis might work better as an annotated table of contents.
Once you have a pitch package you’re proud of, save and send it as a pdf document, that way you’ll know the formatting stays the same no matter who is looking at it. And remember to read submission guidelines before sending unsolicited documents (sometimes spam filters won’t allow attachments). In most cases, you’ll want to start by emailing a written pitch (often referred to as a query letter) to an editor or agent, and then send the full pitch package when it’s requested.
If you want to know more about writing a query letter for your graphic novel, check out A Literary Agent’s Guide to Querying Your Graphic Novel.
