Screenwriting : Turning Your TV Pilot Into Comic/Graphic Novel by Martin Reese

Were you intending on self-publishing to sell this book or just use it as a pitching tool?

Some years ago, I tried to create a Kickstarter to fund a graphic novel of a feature script, with the idea that I could use it out a pitching tool, even if just a .pdf file vs. a hard copy.

Sadly I fell a little short and didn't re-visit the idea. But if you can commission artists, colorists, letterers etc directly then you might have to weigh the upfront cost.

You're looking at $60-120 per page for art, another cost per page for a color artist, possibly another per page fee for someone to letter your art, etc - not including print runs for hard copies.

Thanks for your thoughts JC Young

@Martin Instead of hard copies, printing and mailing etc consider a comic in E book/Flipbook. Can be arranged online only. There’s websites like fiverr where artists execute projects for a discussed upfront reasonable fee. Also a novelette with different or new story growth at no cost to yourself could go toward a Transmedia project. (Multimedia story is same.)

Max Landis talked about the reverse of your plan, "creating a Comic book spec series to flip for a movie/tv deal". That was the big idea of 2010's, creating "IP's" to get movie studio interest. I guess Mark Millar was a pioneer of this fad?

Anyways, all you need is like $10-$15,000 to professionally print a limited 4-6 comic book series, distribute at comic book stores, rent a booth at Comic Con's.

I'm going to NY Comic Con this weekend. will ask some comic book writers.

I don’t think changing the form is going to help your story unless you think that is where your audience is.

The reason comic books are used for film is that they have a built in audience. I was super excited for the first Iron Man. I remember watching the comic as a kid. Did I see Blade? No. Did I see the Fantastic4? No. I wasn’t part of that audience.

Do you think you will develop an audience with your comic book at that instantly translate into ticket sales. After all that is all the producer is interested in.

Yes, played with this idea, have some stats a pro gave me, can send them if you want to. Peronally I did not have the money when I was looking into the costs of making a comic book that reflects a feature screenplay. When I had the money, I choose to make a few short films.

Good luck Martin. I too looked at turning my pilot Part Time Heroes into a graphic novel, since it is a superhero genre, to establish interest and IP. There are numerous, talented artist out there but cost is what really held me back.

Hey Rutger Oosterhoff I would love to get stats. You can message me. Thanks.

Hey Dan MaxXx thanks for your comments.

There's the rub Craig D Griffiths. I think of the comic/graphic novel as a way to show the story is viable. I would definitely look to fund through a platform like Kickstarter. The real question is the juice worth the squeeze. It's an investment. You want to see results.

You're right about Mark Millar Dan MaxXx . He got huge deals because of the comics he put out.

To build awareness, you could launch a social channel (I think instagram would be the best platform for this) & start sharing a few sketches and post as the voice of your main character. That's a great way of organically finding your audience and then going into an Indiegogo (my preference over Kickstarter).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be an example how an indy project went mainstream quickly >> https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30862/complete-history-teenage-mutan...

Thanks, Shellie Schmals.

Hey Shellie Schmals why do you prefer indiegogo over Kickstarter?

@Shellie Thanks for blog share ABOVE. It's amazing how comic book characters change people's lives EG Real turtle sales booming in pet world and art collectors paying a small fortune for "original" itinerary or memorabilia. @Martin Yes great idea. A comic is a calling card with its own unique stamp, part of an "Eco System" of content since you already have a TV pilot. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one case of a growing "Empire" of toys, film, animation etc that began with comic characters gaining an audience.

Us comic lovers are fickle but always hungry for good stories and art. I really like Shellie's and Debbie's ideas. They are a much lower-cost way of organically building an audience and testing interest. I'm not sure if you're an artist yourself, but there are so many artists, colorists, letterers, inkers, etc out there to work with.

Martin Reese - here's a good article that breaks it down. >> https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/indiegogo-vs-kickstarter - unless things have changed, you can't redeem your donations from Kickstarter unless you 100% make your goal, that doesn't apply with Indiegogo.

For filmmakers, raising money via Seed&Spark has a good rate of success. They work closely with those selected to have campaigns on their platform >> https://seedandspark.com/

Thanks Shellie Schmals