This month we will get to know Stan Yan, an award-winning American-born Chinese writer, illustrator, caricature artist, and instructor. He is also currently the Co-Regional Advisor of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Stan, what did you do before becoming an author/illustrator? How has that experience helped you become published?
SY: I was a stock broker for 13 years right out of college, although I was drawing comics after work and on weekends that whole time, and finished my first 3 comic books and my first graphic novel during that time. I even started taking my books to comic book conventions to build my fanbase beginning in 2001, and did the convention circuit for 21 years (minus the pandemic lock down years).
I think being a stock broker helped me in many ways. The first few years of my career involved me doing a lot of unsolicited cold calling, so I experienced a lot of rejection. One of the toughest parts of breaking into publishing is all of the rejection. I feel like I’ve become desensitized to it, and really look at it in a pragmatic and positive way.
I also feel like selling a product I have no personal connection really helped me when it came to selling my own work. It made it so much easier.
As sad as it is to say, authors still have to do a lot of their own legwork when it comes to promoting their work even when they’re traditionally published. I think all of the years as a stockbroker and doing comic book conventions has made me way less bashful about promoting myself than most other authors. But, I think my experience helps me plan my sales approach, which helps me not to be bashful.
JS: You may not be bashful, but many writers like myself struggle with marketing and rejections. It took me a long time before I submitted more often because I was so scared of getting rejected. Now I just think of it as a numbers game. The more submissions I send out, the higher my chance of getting accepted for publication.
It is important to learn some marketing skills. But the most important thing is to share with everyone you know that you are a writer. It took me 20 years before I shared with everyone at my school that I wrote stories. Take that first step and marketing will get easier.
How many books have you published?
SY: The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang is technically my debut traditionally published book. Some of the places I’ve had books published by are small comic book publishers that don’t rise to the level of being considered “traditional publishers” by the industry. So, between these and my self-published books, my Amazon Author Central page says I’ve published 18 books, but that’s a gross undercount, since not all of the books I’ve printed have ISBN numbers.
JS: Wow! That is a lot of books. You must have worked hard to publish and promote all those books. Congratulations on getting traditionally published.
SY: Ha. Not always. But, thank you for the congratulations. It was a culmination of years of hard work.
I heard that the American Library Association Conference is the place to be for authors. You were so lucky to go to ALA. What was your favorite part of the event?
SY: My favorite part of ALA was an event called the Graphic Novel Round Table Comic Tea. It was essentially an author “speed dating” event. We had 8 minutes to tell a round table full of librarians about our book and take questions, and there were 16 tables (although we didn’t get to the last table in the allotted time). I felt like this was the most engagement I got with very interested librarians all conference long.
JS: Librarians and teachers are the perfect people to help promote your book and get them into the hands of kids. Conferences are also great places for meeting other writers. Promoting your book with other authors can be fun.
You are also a teacher at Cuddlefish Academy. How and when did you get involved?
SY: I’m one of the co-founding professors at the CuddlefishAcademy.com. The other professors are either in my critique group and/or in our local SCBWI chapter. Almost all of them have experience teaching their craft at the university level, including myself. The thing that the founding members began to notice is how high the tuition was getting at these for-profit art schools, and how little practical experience or knowledge the graduates seemed to be getting to actually sign with an agent or get that book deal. So, we wanted to fill that gap.
Which is your favorite class to teach? Why?
SY: For me, my Graphic Novel Boot Camp is my favorite class I’ve created, simply because comics have been my muse from my earliest memories of being able to hold a pencil. So, I’m extremely passionate about the medium.
Which class would you recommend for beginners? Intermediate author/illustrators?
SY: While most of our classes aren’t really designed for beginners (we don’t really teach foundational art like anatomy or perspective that you can learn anywhere online), I do feel like my classes are the exception, mostly because I’m teaching process or reinventing approaches to drawing expressions and actions through gameplay, which I developed by teaching children in summer art camps for many years.
JS: Your classes sound so fun that I’m considering becoming an author/illustrator. Maybe when I retire from teaching and have a bit more time. I used to draw and paint a lot. Now I just teach my students to paint T-shirts, totes, and a mural.
What was the longest period where you stopped drawing? How did you get back to drawing?
SY: When I think back, probably only 1 month, and that was probably because I was on vacation or because of school or something. So, I’ve never had difficulty getting back to drawing. It’s harder to stop me from drawing.
JS: I understand what you mean. I’m a writer because I can’t stop writing. There are so many characters and stories in my head trying to get out.
Do you prefer drawing by hand or with technology (Procreate)? Why?
SY: At this juncture of my life, I do prefer drawing digitally on my iPad for a couple different reasons: 1) Layers. Being able to create art in layers makes revising my work so much easier, and when you work with an editorial team which asks for changes during the process, being able to be time-efficient with changes is invaluable. 2) The 2-finger zoom. My eyes aren’t getting any better as I get older, and when I work traditionally, I often find myself trying to zoom in on my paper because I can’t see something. So, digital wins.
JS: I totally agree with why digital is better. I prefer drawing by hand, but I hate making a tiny mistake and having to start all over again.
SY: As a caricature artist, I make mistakes all the time that I just have to integrate into the drawing or start over. If there’s a long line of people waiting to get drawn, I’d rather integrate the mistake into my drawing. It’s nice to get paid to essentially practice my craft.
Which method would you recommend for beginning illustrators?
SY: I would recommend traditional media for beginners. Why? First, it’s easily accessible, so the cost for entry is much easier, while you’re trying to figure out what your topical interests are as well as your preferred media. Secondly, digital often tries to replicate traditional media, so it’s good to know how traditional media is supposed to look and how it’s supposed to react so you know what you’re trying to emulate. Just because a brush tool is CALLED watercolor, doesn’t mean it’ll look authentically like watercolor without a little modification to the settings.
JS: Thank you, Stan, for sharing about your author/illustrator experiences. Continue to read part 2 of the interview where we talk to Stan about his upcoming graphic novel: The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang.