Thanks to the Golden Apple staff!

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Sarah

Well, I had my first outing with the new book, at Golden Apple’s After Con Party last night.

I really want to thank Ryan Liebowitz and the rest of the staff at Golden Apple. I was one of a number of creators with special books to show and sell to the folks. The staff did a great job giving us space, and making sure all ran well.

Admittedly, my “how to” book wasn’t as immediately grabbing to most of the customers coming by, but a good number did check it out for future consideration. And we even sold a couple of copies!

Ryan is an enthusiastic supporter, and he believes that in the long run, the book will do well as more people become aware of it. That’s an encouraging thing to hear!

Go to the MICHAEL WIESE PRODUCTIONS page right now! They’re offering a 25% discount when you order the book directly from them! Check it out (and their many other fine titles)!

Come Party at Golden Apple Comics!

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Sarah

For everyone who has gotten over their Comic Con fatigue and are now ready to talk-talk-talk about all the stuff they saw in San Diego, come to Golden Apple Comics on Wednesday evening.

More importantly (from my point of view), come because I’ll be signing copies of my book!

The great folks at Golden Apple have been very supportive. Here’s a chance for all aspiring writers of graphic novels get the book fresh off the printing presses. Be the first to learn all the “secrets” of how to write, publish, and distribute your graphic novel!

Golden Apple Comics is located at
7018 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 658-6047

STORE HOURS:
11AM-7PM DAILY EXCEPT:
TUESDAY: 11AM-5PM
WEDNESDAY: 10AM-9PM

PARTY TIME IS 6 TO 9 P.M. Come and enjoy the friendly people. Maybe even buy some books! Buy MY book, and I’ll sign it for you!

Showing off Creating Graphic Novels at Comic Con International

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Sarah

I only had one day for activities at Comic Con International at San Diego this year. I hoped to connect with a number of people I knew, but when you have only one day and you’re in the midst of 100,000 plus people, you will miss them. However, I did stop by to see my friend Sergio Cariello at his spot in Artists Alley.

Sergio is a great comic book artist. He’s the artist for The Action Bible. He was also the artist for the graphic novel Iron Ghost. I’d used some of the art and script in Creating Graphic Novels.

So he showed off pages that have some of his The Iron Ghost: Geist Reich
artwork on it.

I was very thankful to be able to use material from Iron Ghost in the book. I really have to thank Sergio and writer Chuck Dixon for their support on the project!

Signing at Golden Apple

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Sarah

I’ll be joining the fun at Golden Apple Comics’ After-Con Party on July 30, the first Wednesday after the San Diego Comic Con.

The shop is at 7018 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038, and the party runs 6 to 9 pm.

I’m going to be signing copies of Creating Graphic Novels during the party.

The Books Have Arrived!

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Sarah

My author copies of the book arrived! They go out from Amazon this week, with the official publication date of August 1. I have a list of folks to send complementary copies and review copies. It means things have moved to the next stage in spreading the word.

My personal mascot, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, had to check out the books.

I spent some time looking through it myself. It’s gratifying to see that it works the way I wanted it to work, particularly in certain two page spreads.

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Praise from Geoff Thorne

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Sarah

“Comprehensive, conversational and, dare I say it, hopeful and optimistic. This is the book I wished I’d had when I was starting out. It would have saved my head a lot of bumps. Sarah knows what she’s talking about and she’s talking to you. Yes, you! Be smart and listen.”
— Geoff Thorne, staff writer on Leverage; writer/co-creator of the comic Prodigal: Egg of First Light

What are the differences between screenwriting and comics (graphic novels) scripting? This book will explain the important differences, as well as introduce the readers to the basics of putting a graphic novel together and getting it published.

A Preview of Some Content

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Sarah

We’re getting closer to the release date for the book! So I figured it was about time to start giving you some idea of the cool stuff inside the volume.

This page is the initial version of the explanation of “sequential art.” It may seem fairly obvious, but for people, especially writers, coming to the craft of scripting a graphic novel, it’s something that they don’t always “get” right away.

“Sequential art” actually moves things along

Sequential art isn’t just a series of images that represent action happening. Each succeeding image needs to build on the information of the previous panel. The reader has to feel that something is progressing.

This is one of the reasons why it is important to see sequential work when the writer is hunting for the primary artist. Pin-up pictures on DeviantArt may be gorgeous. But if you haven’t seen sequential work – and several pages of it – you really won’t know if the artist can handle the storytelling.

There’s much more about this in the book, of course.

Pre-order now!

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The page from the graphic novel shown is from Chuck Dixon’s Iron Ghost, art by Sergio Cariello, and used in Creating Graphic Novels by permission.

Early Review of the Book

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Sarah

As we prepare for the release of the book this summer, my editor and I have been sending out review copies to various people. It’s been very gratifying to read the comments coming in.

THIS REVIEW has already been posted online, and I have to say pleased me a great deal. I don’t know the reviewer, and so it’s good to hear that the work does just what I meant it to do. My thanks to Tom Farr for his enthusiastic support!

The official publication date is August 1, 2014 – so keep your eyes open for early availability!

Speaking at the West Coast Writers Conference

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Sarah

On February 8 and 9, I’ll be speaking at the Genre-LA writers conference that will be held at the Los Angeles Valley College campus. During the course of the Conference, I’ll be taking part on a panel about writing graphic novels and marketing them.

The Graphic Novel panel will be on Sunday afternoon. I’m likely to have an advance review copy of the book with me.

Coming Soon!

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Sarah

Coming August 1, 2014, from Michael Wiese Productions (publisher of some great books on writing!), Creating Graphic Novels, by Sarah Beach.