QueryTracker Sucks for Graphic Novelists, But Here’s How We Can Make It Work

You’ve done it!  You finished your graphic novel pitch!  You’re so excited to send your precious little baby out to the agent of your dreams. 

There’s one problem: the agent of your dreams is using QueryTracker.

QueryTracker is the one of the most reliable platforms for pitching any written work since 2007. And in some ways, it’s still stuck in 2007. 

While their submission form, QueryManager, is great for prose and picture books… it’s not the best for graphic novels.  In QueryTracker’s defense, we didn’t even know what a graphic novel pitch SHOULD look like up until a few years ago.  Unfortunately, many of those requirements don’t fit nicely in the text boxes of a QueryManager form.

So what can you do?  That’s what this guide is for. 

I’m going to walk you through some common roadblocks on QueryManager and how you can work within its limitations without sacrificing important material.

Make sure you check the submission guidelines of each agent you query to!  You can usually find their guidelines on their agency’s website, manuscript wishlist profile, or directly in their query tracker form.

SOMETIMES THEIR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES WILL NOT MATCH THE QUERYMANAGER FORM. FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES AS BEST AS POSSIBLE.

Word Count Estimate

Every QueryManager form requires you to submit a word count.  No, you cannot submit a page count in this field.  QueryManager does this because a word count is the most accurate measure of the length of prose works. 

But that doesn’t really work for a graphic novel.  I suggest looking at the word counts of prose novels in the same age group and genre as your graphic novel. Just submit an estimate for the word count of your book. Unless your graphic novel is VERY wordy, you’ll likely be submitting an estimate below 30,000.

You CAN include your page count in your query letter!

Genre

Be sure to select “Graphic Novel” in the genre tab.  There may be more than one if the agent is open to graphic novels for multiple age groups, so select the one that matches the age of your story. 

You can supplement additional information about your graphic novel’s genre and audience in your query letter.

First 10(+) Pages of Manuscript

Your first impulse may be to place your sample pages here, but it’s a text box.  So instead, include an excerpt from your graphic novel script.  This section gives the agent a preview of your writing/storytelling style, so a summary of your graphic novel would not be appropriate.

There are many different ways to write a graphic novel script, and as long as your writing and formatting is clear, you’ll have nothing to worry about.  I’d recommend preparing at minimum your first chapter or 30 pages of manuscript. Yes, I’m not joking. I have seen agents requesting 30 pages before.

When copy and pasting text into QueryManager, it will convert everything into plain text.  You will likely have to go back and reformat using their text editor.  Be sure to reread these sections before submitting!

Brief Summary

If asked to submit a brief summary, I’d recommend making a shortened story summary that’s about 2,000 words max.  Not only is this considerate of the agent’s time, it also is small enough to fit in QueryManager’s character limit. I’d give you an exact number if I had it, but QueryManager doesn’t provide one. 

Don’t forget to double check your formatting!

Now that you’ve figured out how to submit all of your written material, now we can tackle the big question:

How do I submit my sample art without it looking awful?

We have to address the elephant in the room: The sample artwork file size limit is 2 MB.  I understand this is likely to keep the website functional, but it can do a disservice to your artwork.  

According to QueryTracker’s FAQ page: “Usually, during querying, the agents and publishers will only want to see one or two example images to begin with. So you can remove all but a few sample images from your upload. Later, if interested, the agent/publisher will request the rest.”

While this may be true for picture books, this is not the case for graphic novels.

In order to get a good feel for your visual storytelling, an agent needs to see consecutive spreads of finished art work.  Some even require pencils or additional character art and visual development.

While you could upload a PDF including all of these images that fits the 2 MB size constraint, it’s likely your images will be so compressed that they won’t be worth looking at.  You can still try it out, especially if you have a simpler style.

But, at BARE MINIMUM your text should be legible.

If your sample pages pdf looks terrible when compressed below 2 MB, here’s what you’re going to do instead.

In QueryManager, you should have the option to either upload your sample art as a file, or provide a link.  If you have the option to provide a link, DO IT.

Your first instinct may be to upload your sample pages to a file sharing platform like Google Drive or Dropbox.  But many agents do not accept links from these platforms because it makes them vulnerable to computer viruses.  So why not host your sample art on your portfolio website?

I made a pitch page on my portfolio website that included all of my sample art for my graphic novel.  I recommend it for a few reasons:

• You can upload all of your images in high quality
• It’s easy to share with others
• This project can bolster your portfolio

And most importantly:

• If an agent is interested, they will click other links on your website.

You can check out mine as an example:

I start my pitch pages with a cover image and written details about my graphic novel to provide context to all my images

You can look at my full pitch page here.

I follow my blurb with a gallery of all of the images I’d like to share about my project. I always put my sample pages up first because I don’t want to make an agent wait to get to the good stuff. After my sample pages are up, I add in any exploration illustrations and character art that will bolster the sample pages.

Think of this page like a mini portfolio inside your portfolio website!

If you want to share this page publicly on your website, I’d be sure to add additional context about your pitch just in case an agent or editor happens upon it.  I always include a cover image, book blurb, age group, and genre at the very top in a header.  

If you prefer to keep this work private, make sure your page is unlisted on your website.  Do not add a password.

Trust me, the harder your art is to access, the less likely an agent will actually look at it.

You can use your pitch page for email queries as well!  If your sample art PDF is too large to attach to an email, link to your pitch page instead.

Don’t have an author/illustrator website yet? Check out our guide.

You Got This

Querytracker will remain a necessary evil for the foreseeable future.  But hopefully these tips and tricks can make your querying process go a lot smoother.  Good luck and happy pitching!