I have been wanting to get into the graphic novel business for a long time. But when I tried to write a graphic novel, I discovered that writing one was more like writing a screenplay than writing a novel. My experience and training ran counter to what I needed to be successful with a graphic novel.
Then, just a little over a week ago, I ran into Storieta.com. An ad on Facebook claimed that for just $99.00 you could turn your novel into a comic book. The more I researched it, the more I was intrigued. And so I took the plunge, sent them my $99 and uploaded my guinea-pig manuscript, Infinity’s Reach.
It wasn’t a journey without hiccups. I actually started off by sending my first chapter (a free trial) and was impressed by how it looked. Then, when I tried to send the rest, it said that was the entire manuscript. So I started over. When I did that, it took my $99 and applied it to the sample chapter. Eeek. I bit my lip and tried again, sending another $99 and the entire manuscript this time. And it told me that it would only publish 40 pages at a time, asking me to pay another $99 for the second 40 pages.
I wrote two short but upset emails to Storieta.com, stating that (1) I didn’t intend to pay for the free trial chapter, that it was a mistake, and that (2) there was some confusion as to how many pages $99 would pay for.
The next morning, I got a very nice email from Tariq at Storieta.com apologizing for the confusion. He refunded me the first $99, and told me that was a production issue with the pages, and that it would now publish all the pages. And it did. I ended up with a 174-page graphic novel for $99. I did have to go through it several times, editing to make sure the AI didn’t switch characters in scenes (it loved to do that), switch clothes on the characters, or switch how characters looked. I also had one scene where the protagonist had six fingers. But Tariq bent over backwards to help me with the project and we got it done in just about a week. In the end, you have the option of having it sent to you as a ebook, or as a PDF. Since I want to print mine, I opted for the PDF, and I added a title page, and a copyright page. The AI will even create a cover and back cover for you if you want.
As I said, this is a guinea-pig manuscript, and I have submitted it to Amazon, and I’m waiting for my paper proof. When I get it, I am going to take it to my local bookstore and see if they are interested in selling it alongside my other books. I also have plans to turn other books I’ve written into graphic novels.
Who knows where this will lead? I will keep you posted.
