Part 2/ 15th Jan 15: The Revelations of Karrie Fransman: A Guardian Affair.
So, on Tuesday I decided to blow off those January Blues and get my creative juices flowing by attending an inspiring sounding Guardian Masterclass called, ‘How to create successful Comics and Graphic Novels’. This event was hosted by the Uber-talented Karrie Fransman (See examples of her work below).
For starters, you’ve got to admire someone who personally greets all 80 something people who attended. Karrie was so welcoming and had such a glow of confidence about her that there was an immediate awed calmness that filled the room as we waited for her to begin.
And she didn’t disappoint! The event was masterfully delivered, well paced with the help of the brilliant Guardian managers and staff, whilst not detracting from the excellent structure and thought that Karrie must have put into her preparation.
She divided the event into three sessions.
First Karrie gave advice about how to pitch your idea to Publishers. She delivered a comprehensive breakdown of the whole process, spanning from the seed of an idea, all the way through to the published end. She used her own experience as a model, to excellent effect. Karrie even supported this by actually laying out all the different stages of what she had submitted to the publishers, relating to her fabulous ‘The House that Groaned’ book.
The next step was a practical exercise, where Karrie set us the challenge of creating a 15minute comic. This is the part where I always cringe and get mini-panic attacks as I just don’t like having to draw/think on the spot. I enjoyed it slightly more than I thought I would, but though I put my comic down on the communal table, I did not stand by it or collect it afterwards! (I so admire people who can do this, I just have to accept I’m not one of them, sorry Karrie!).
And finally, in the last section, Karrie got us to write down our goals, addressing our aspirations, what we’re good at and what we feel could do better. She then skilfully guided us through the route we need to take in order to best sell our work, rounding off with her top ten tips.
All in all Karrie was an absolute inspiration. She had wonderful pearls of wisdom, such as her advice not to set off to complete a whole Graphic Novel from the outset, but rather just the amount needed to first attract the Publisher.
Karrie was honest about the realities of the industry, whilst still having an optimistic passion and enthusiasm about the possibilities available.
I would thoroughly recommend this event if Karrie were to give it again and I congratulate her on having achieved yet another string to her talented bow!
