Comics and Graphic Novels with Madeleine Holly-Rosing

In this interview, Laura talks with Madeleine Holly-Rosing, writer
and creator of the steampunk comic, Boston Metaphysical Society.
The comic takes place in the late 1800s Boston. Though people may
not think of them that way, comic books are sequential art. There
are artists that are great at pinups and do posters but not have
the skills to tell a story. Madeleineâs suggestions if you are
interested in starting your own comic is to read indie comics. They
key is to find the right artist. Art draws you in but the story
makes you stay with comics. She suggests going to meetups and
connecting others in the industry through friends. Go to comic
cons, meet artist, post on comic Facebook groups connecting comic
artists and creators. Once you connect with an artist, you should
have a contract with a page rate $50 to 300 a page depending on
experience. Madeleine met a colorist through a mutual friend and
she uses Indonesia Color Labs. She raised the funds through a
combination of self-funding and Kickstarter. You will also need an
Inker for the cover and she opted not to internally. In terms of
where to start, go with a premise first and then start with the
characters that work within that premise to create the story with
the characters. Build bios and spend a lot of time on them. Then do
a page breakdown, take a scene and break it down into pages. 22
pages fits in standard comic length; Boston metaphysical is 132
page graphic novel broken into 6 comic books. A full screenplay,
lends itself well into graphic novel. If you are new to comics and
graphic novels, Madeleine suggests familiarizing yourself with
people and creators, get to know comics out there and go to
classes. She started doing reviews for fan-based press and this is
a great way to get to know the medium. She noted that good
lettering is really important. Bad lettering can really bring you
down. Madeleine goes to 10-15 cons a year. She also suggested
different cons to go to and how to make your con a successful
experience. Interestingly, she pointed out that Kickstarter is one
of the main publishers of independent comics. For more information
on Boston Metaphysical Society, you can go to
http://bostonmetaphysicalsociety.com/. You can also find updates on
the podcast by following the Write Hot Podcast on Facebook and
follow laura on twitter @thatlaurapowers. For more information on
Laura, you can go to www.laurapowers.net to find out information on
Lauraâs psychic work, you can find her at www.healingpowers.net.