Success Story Interview - Chryssa Hartsa

An Interview with Chryssa Hartsa (ChryssaH on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Saffron Dodd of ASH Literary.

02/04/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Chryssa Hartsa:
The book is actually a Graphic Novel, titled "Beel". It is a YA story about Beel, the half-human, half-son of the devil, who makes a deal with an influencer in order to help him get followers and activate his divine power. It includes fantasy elements, comedy, queer romance, daddy issues and social media critique. It is a previously self-published story that came as a random inspiration to create something centered around the son of the Devil, which slowly developed and got shaped into what it is today.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I have been creating comics for almost a decade, but focused more on it after graduating in 2020.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I have been working on Beel for many years, mostly as a background concept that started in college, and started self-publishing it in chapters in 2024.

QT: Is this your first book?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I have completed two more self-published comics alongside other short stories, but this is the first one on the higher page count.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I have completed a Bachelor's degree at Sketch-Comics-Cartoon, which included script writing classes, but was more Illustration focused. However, I have been writing stories since I was a child, and have had some creative writing courses during my English Language and Literature studies at University.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Chryssa Hartsa:
At its earliest stage, "Beel" took place in an American High School setting, and I had already started creating it, when 10 pages later, I found something was missing and stopped. I am glad I did, because when I decided to scrap the High School setting and bring the story to my country, Greece, as well as introduce a new important character, everything clicked and the story became more personal and took the right direction.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I always have my colleague friends and non-comic savvy friends beta read my books, to get a review from both professionals and the common audience.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Chryssa Hartsa:
Yes, I always have a rough outline, and storyboard thumbnails, but I tend to change things along the way.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I have been querying for "Beel" for about 6 months, with some breaks in between.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I think I sent roughly about 20 Queries and got to pitch "Beel" face to face to some publishers in comic conventions.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I only looked for agents looking to represent graphic novels, and then checked out their detailed wishlists and their favourite works to see if my story was a fit. I also only looked for agents with open submissions at the time.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I did some light tailoring, in order to highlight the elements they were most likely to find interesting, according to their wishlist.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Chryssa Hartsa:
I can't say much about authors, but for comic/graphic novel creators, I would advise to have a detailed and clear summary of the story and a decent amount of polished pages and artwork as well as knowledge of the market. Be kind and respectful of agents' wishlists and their time. Thankfully, I think the graphic novel genre might have a bit smaller competition, but it is still hard and can be discouraging. Keep querying and improving your work as needed, and don't become discouraged if things don't work out, as it does not mean that your work isn't good, rather that it still hasn't reached the right person at the right time.