CALEB SEELING

 

 

The World of Publishing: How It Works and the Role of the Author

The book publishing industry has experienced a sea change over the last 30 years; the last eight have been particularly transformative. It has shifted from a “gentlemanly profession” dominated by a few wealthy sons to a new frontier where the process is democratized and anyone with an idea and an internet connection can publish a book. But just because anyone can do it doesn’t mean that anyone can do it. Publishing can seem deceptively simple on the surface, but is full of complexity and challenge once you dive in. Consequently, it is critical for authors to have a solid working knowledge of how the publishing process works in order to form helpful expectations for their projects and good working relationships with their agents, editors, designers, and marketing professionals. This workshop will give you a crash course in how a book moves from concept to being taken out-of-print. We will also discuss the role of the author throughout the process, whether they are independently or traditionally publishing their books, and how to prepare yourself for success.

 

Writing a Graphic Novel

Since the success of Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus, the popularity and critical acceptance of graphic novels as a literary genre, distinct from but sometimes including comic books, has skyrocketed. But there is much more to the graphic novel than drawing pretty pictures and filling in word bubbles. As with any other story-telling medium, content remains king, which means it still all starts with the writer. In this workshop, we’ll talk about how a graphic novel script is written and what is the relationship between the writer and the illustrator. Then we’ll set pen to paper and work on a few pages of your very own graphic novel.