Welcome to Tuesday Debut, everyone!

We have a VERY interesting debut today – a young Graphic Novel from an author we’ve seen a few times on Perfect Picture Book Fridays but for whom this GN is a debut. What sets her apart from the other young GN debut we had here back in January of 2024 (which, incidentally was authored and illustrated by the illustrator of today’s debut GN!) is that she is a writer only, as many of us here are, so we’re going to get to see what it’s like to publish a GN even if you’re not an illustrator!

But first, because I forgot to post Liz Tracy’s giveaway, and then had two subsequent giveaways and was away afterwards, we have THREE! giveaways to announce today!

The winner of Liz Tracy’s giveaway of a signed copy of MYSTERY DRIVER plus a limited-edition bandanna a friend had printed with Anne Aronson’s incredible endpaper designs is. . .

Joyce Uglow!

The winner of Andi Chitty’s giveaway of winner’s choice of a signed copy of BANANAS IN THE BATH or a PB MS Critique or a 30-minute AMA Zoom call is. . .

girlscout72091 (Sharon McCarthy?)

The winner of Jenna Johnson’s giveaway of a signed copy of her forthcoming sing-along picture book EVERY BODY MOVE! is. . .

happilyhiggledy (Jodie Houghton?)

Wow! So many lucky winners!!! Joyce, Sharon, and Jodie please email me so I can connect you with your amazing prizes!!!

Also, for today, AMP Kids is kindly giving away one copy of GROUCHO THE GROUCHY GROUNDHOG (Volume 1) – THE PANCAKE PANIC! to one lucky winner (US mailing addresses only, please.) To qualify for the random drawing, please leave a comment on today’s post by Monday July 7th at 3 PM Eastern!

Now! Let’s get right to hearing from today’s debut-ess about how possible it is to publish a GN even if you’re an author only! (Re-)introducing the lovely and talented Lydia Lukidis along with her debut GN, GROUCHO THE GROUCHY GROUNDHOG (Volume 1) – THE PANCAKE PANIC!

Title: Groucho the Grouchy Groundhog (Volume 1), The Pancake Panic!
Author: Lydia Lukidis
Illustrator: Tara J. Hannon
Publishing House: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Date of Publication: July 15, 2025
Fiction or Nonfiction: fiction, early GN
age range of your book: 6-9

When evil Commander Hare E. Bun Bun swipes every last pancake in Critter Creek, grumpy Groucho is roped into a rescue mission with his glittery, squealing neighbor Blork. It’s a sticky situation—but Groucho will do anything for his pancakes.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Lydia (and Tara, who is chiming in below for one question)! After sharing several of your books on Perfect Picture Book Friday, I’m so excited to be welcoming you back to my blog for a Tuesday Debut this time – and for a Graphic Novel! Not only that, but your illustrator is Tara J. Hannon, who debuted here with her first Graphic Novel – BIRTLE AND THE PURPLE TURTLES, – in January of 2024! It’s like Old Home Week! Where did the idea for this book come from?

LYDIA: Believe it or not, this idea came to me in grade 5! I was editor of the school, newspaper, Pizzazz. And at that time, I was really into Garfield comics. I created my own comic with my own grouchy character. It started as a dog named Squeak. As time went on, he evolved into a grouchy groundhog. This is a great reminder to keep watering ALL your idea seeds, you never know when they will grow and come to fruition!

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

LYDIA: This narrative is character drive. The characters were more important than the plot. It took me about three years to develop the character of Groucho. I had a general idea, but it really took time to get to the specifics. I had subbed an early graphic novel featuring Groucho to one of the big four publishers and gotten rejected. The feedback they gave was very useful in further developing Groucho. The actual graphic novel took about a year to write. The second one took about 8 moths. I encourage you all to listen to the feedback given and if it rings true, revise your work.

Lydia’s favorite snack, which is obviously excellent for spurring creativity! (I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it looks chocolate and therefore is both delicious and brain food! 😊)

SUSANNA: What made you visualize the story and decide to write it as a GN as opposed to a picture book or early reader?

LYDIA: I think I always visualized Groucho as having the space to tell his narrative through a graphic novel because the idea was initially born as a comic strip character. I never once saw this as a picture book or early reader. At that point, I had been writing comics for a long time and understood how panels worked and how to make the story move forward while having funny punch lines at the end of each page.

I will say this: sometimes I struggle with structure. The only way through is to experiment and see what fits best. For Groucho, it was obvious. But for many of my other WIPs, it’s not.

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

LYDIA: Yes, there were many revisions. I went through 10 rounds of revisions myself as I wrote the story and then put it aside to let it breathe. Then I brought it to my critique group. And then to Tara (I’ll explain how I came to work with her on this project in a later answer). She brought a new perspective in terms of illustration and had great comments about what worked or what didn’t. Once the manuscript was bought, our editor at Andrews McMeel Publishing also had further edits, but they were much lighter. She already liked the overall flow. There have been other times my publishing editor asked for bigger edits.

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

LYDIA: I believe it’s an art to know when your manuscript is truly ready for submission. I usually rely on instinct. There comes a point where you have done the best work you can do, have asked others to offer feedback as well, and make the necessary changes. Once you hit that plateau, it may be time to submit. If you have an agent, they will be able to tell you the marketability of your work. My word of advice: it’s not a race. Writing and editing take time.

SUSANNA: That is very sage advice! How did you format your manuscript for GN submission? 

LYDIA: This is a great question. I’ll be honest and confess that I completely obsessed over the formatting of the manuscript because I didn’t want to look unprofessional. I studied formatting and visited all kind pf comic related websites. What I learned is that there wasn’t one standard. And as long as it’s clear, you’re good. Also, different publishers have different preferences.

The main difference is that with PBs, you don’t want too many art notes. But with GNs, it’s all about setting the scene and writing the art notes in. The reader should be able t o visualize the whole scene. Of course, the illustrator may make changes later, but it’s good to have those details set up.

Here’s a snapshot of how I format my graphic novels.

SUSANNA: Was it hard to find a publisher to submit to since you were the writer only for a GN?

LYDIA: I’m going to be honest. YES, it’s hard to submit GNs as an author only. Of course, it’s not impossible. But what I learned is that GNs are difficult and time consuming, so be prepared. For Groucho, I decided that my best shot was to team up with an illustrator and submit with them. I had already met Tara when we worked on the book No Bears Allowed. I thought she was a tremendous illustrator and brought so much to the table. I approached her with this idea. To my surprise, she loved it. She was willing to make character illustrations and samples for free. She really took a chance on this project. In the end, we always take chances when we submit, it’s part of the journey.

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

LYDIA: Tara and I both have respective agents, and they collaborated together when submitting. But, we both got separate contracts. They submitted the project in October 2022. We got some rejections and some no answers, and about 6 months later, we got interest from AMP. We signed our contracts in October, 2023 and it was a two book deal.

Of course, some houses accept unsolicited manuscripts. I did that for a while early in my career. But for me, I wanted the guidance and knowledge of an agent by my side. I had to go through 3 before signing with Miranda, and I’m very happy with her.

SUSANNA: Was there more back and forth than usual before acceptance because you were the writer only and needed to convey your vision?

LYDIA: There wasn’t much back and forth, although we were asked to change the title for marketing purposes. But our submission proposal was comprehensive; it included character sketches and illustrations, a book summary, breakdown of the chapters, as well as sample pages from a few chapters.

SUSANNA: How long after you found out about your book going to acquisitions (if you did) or after you submitted were you told it was a “yes”?

LYDIA: Probably about 6 months. Once Miranda thinks one of my projects is ready for submission, she takes over. She’s great at selecting the right houses and editors, as she studies them. She never sends to a huge list, she curates a specific, small list and then we wait for feedback. I may make suggestions on houses I like but follow her lead. I do think we had a bit of an advantage since Tara already worked with AMP and they already had a great working relationship.

SUSANNA: When did you get your offer, and how did you celebrate? (if you care to share 😊)

LYDIA: I wish I had a glamorous answer here but I’ll be honest. When I got the call, I was at my daughter’s swim meet. But at the time, I was struggling with some health and peri-menopause issues. So, I didn’t really celebrate or have a big reaction at the time. But later as we started working on edits, I started getting really excited and very grateful. My dream was fifth grade was becoming a reality!

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.? Did your offer differ substantially from what a writer receives for a picture book?

LYDIA: I imagined that a novel, even an early reader, would pay a lot more than a PB. I learned that this is not always the case, especially with GNs. If you’re just the author, you will get paid significantly less than the illustrator. But this is fair because believe me when I say, the illustrator will spend way more time illustrating and then making edits.

So yes, my advance was modest, very comparable to other PBs I sold. Of course, my hope is that we get sizeable royalties. In the end, writing and editing a GN is a lot more work than a PB or early reader, and you may not make as much. Of course, this could be radically different for someone else, this is just my experience. I don’t remember how many author copies I get, it was something like a dozen or so. But for me, this was a project of the heart so I have no regrets!

SUSANNA: What was your experience of the illustration process like?

LYDIA: I have so say, it was a fantastic process. I think I just really get along what Tara! She read my art notes but made some changes and also made suggestions. They all made the book better. When we couldn’t decide what we preferred, we left it up to our editor. And when Tara makes sketches, she would send them to the entire team and we were all allowed to give feedback. The final decision would be up to the editor but I was so happy that Tara vibed with what I said.

text copyright Lydia Lukidis 2025, illustration copyright Tara J. Hannon 2025, AMP Kids

My general rule of thumb with editors is this: I follow most of what they say. They know the market better than I as well as their publishing house’s style. However, when I truly feel strongly about something, I will voice my opinion, give reasoning, and stand by it. It has happened a few times. In the end, it’s your PB and you need to love it.

text copyright Lydia Lukidis 2025, illustration copyright Tara J. Hannon 2025, AMP Kids

SUSANNA: And for Tara, what was it like illustrating a GN for someone else?

TARA: I was really excited to work on this project with Lydia. It had such fun characters and loads of silly scenes and antics, I knew it was going to be a blast.

But this was my first time illustrating a graphic novel that I hadn’t written, so I was unsure of how the process would go. Luckily, Lydia and I have worked closely together before, so even though I was unsure of how the process would go, I knew it would be enjoyable.

As you might know, when an author writes a picture book, the general rule of thumb is to add only essential art notes. This leaves room for the illustrator’s creative input. However, graphic novels rely heavily on visual storytelling, so including art notes with a manuscript is necessary. It is for this reason that the biggest difference when illustrating someone else’s graphic novel is that the framework is already in place for the art. Lydia did a great job of incorporating art notes that effectively showed the story’s progression without limiting my input, which made this project really enjoyable. Lydia was very open to my ideas, and we had a lot of fun bouncing ideas back and forth to add humor through fun details.

Overall, it was a great process, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate on this book with Lydia!

SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

LYDIA: We haven’t gotten any trade reviews yet so fingers crossed. I’ll say this: My book Deep, Deep, Down was the book that has consistently sold the best and won the most awards. And it did not receive a single trade review. It is what it is. Some books get a lot of reviews while other don’t. Don’t be disheartened by that, it doesn’t equate to sales.

SUSANNA: What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

LYDIA: AMP has been contacting big trade reviewers and trying to get media attention, so we’ll see how that goes!

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

LYDIA: For every book, I reach out to bloggers and reviewers to organize a blog tour. I also offer stickers and/or a magnet for those who pre-order. Lastly, I often do book launches. To be realistic, none of these really move the needle in terms of sales, its more to celebrate. Miranda once told me, your best marketing by writing your next book!

One last thing I’d like to say about swag; its tempting to buy a whole bunch of cute stuff. But watch your budget and don’t overbuy.

SUSANNA: I know both of you are previously published, but how long was it between the time you seriously considered writing a GN and the time you sold your first one?

LYDIA: For me, I got to be known as a STEM writer, which is great. I’ll always o back to that. But my first PBs were fiction and I’ll always have a space in my heart for creating my own characters and stories. I’m lucky my agent supports any genre Id like to write it.  All in all, it took about 5 years from seriously considering writing a GN to selling my first one. But it’s always different One of my PBs took 10 years to get published. We mist persevere and stay patient!

SUSANNA: What is the most important/helpful thing you learned on your way to publication? (Or what is your most helpful piece of advice for up and coming writers?)

LYDIA: Write from the heart and persevere. But let’s be realistic; you also have to come to understand the market and know when to hang up a project and when to keep going. Rely on your instinct. And trust the process, sometimes it’s simply a matter of timing. YOU GOT THIS!

SUSANNA: Lydia and Tara, thank you both again for taking the time to stop by and share your experience and wisdom with us! We are grateful for the opportunity to learn from you! Here’s wishing you all the best with this joint venture and with all your other current and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Lydia or Tara, please post them in the comments below and if they have time I’m sure they’ll respond! And remember, your comment qualifies you to be in the running to win a copy of GROUCHO (US addresses only please) if you leave it by Monday July 7th at 3 PM Eastern!

Author Lydia Lukidis

Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 60+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere (Capstone, 2025), DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024), and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) which was a Crystal Kite winner for the Canada and North America division, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, a Cybils Award nominee, and winner of the Dogwood Readers Award.

A science enthusiast from a young age, Lydia now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul from Aevitas Creative Management.

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.lydialukidis.com/
Blog: https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis
FB: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLukidis/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lydialukidis.bsky.social

You may purchase Lydia and Tara’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound/Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!