Tegan & Sara
In my early days as an editorial assistant, my manager had the opportunity to bring popular musicans Tegan & Sara onto our author roster—the duo wanted to adapt their hit adult memoir High School for a younger audience. I was an early advocate that Tegan & Sara’s distinct voices would shine brightest as a graphic novel, that we call upon beloved illustrator Tillie Walden to draw it, and that the star power behind our creators was matched by the top-tier storytelling of which they were capable. Sure enough, Junior High grew into a sure-footed exploration of sisterhood, queerness, and growing up.
Date: 2018 || Role: Assistant Editor || Performed for: Macmillan Publishers
Business Goal: Work with prominent musical duo to adapt their adult memoir for the children’s landscape, and establish the duo as authoritative and commercial voices in a new arena
Results: We acquired Tegan & Sara’s debut middle-grade graphic novels in a two-book deal at auction—and beat out higher financial offers due to the strength of our vision. After orchestrating a partnership between the authors and a prominent children’s graphic novel illustrator, the creative process and storytelling quality reached new heights. Junior High sold nearly 50,000 copies, was an indie bestseller and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, and earned glowing industry reviews, placing Tegan & Sara squarely as not-to-miss voices in a popular genre.
Project Tasks and Scope:
Strong creative vision—Alongside my colleague acquiring the project, I created supplemental materials and buzzy praise pages to explain our project vision and entice Tegan & Sara to join our team; doing so was compelling enough to outshine higher financial offers on their work
Editorial mentorship—I stayed in frequent communication with the authors, who had never written a graphic novel before, to encourage them in the process and offer guidance on creative decisions
Strategic visual thinking—I suggested pairing Tegan & Sara’s work with illustrations by acclaimed graphic novelist Tillie Walden, and the partnership led to countless creative breakthroughs and a top-quality final product. I also offered editorial guidance on artwork, illustration placement, and visual storytelling
Schedule management—Between the authors’ celebrity status and concert tour schedule, the illustrator’s packed roster of projects, and the long procedural tail of graphic novel production, I kept on top of conflicting deadlines, and ensured the project stayed on task even when schedules had to be adjusted to support the creators
