Success Story Interview - Joshua Timothy

An Interview with Joshua Timothy (j_tart87 on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Tali Shammas of Storm Literary Agency.

09/10/2026

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

Joshua Timothy:
It’s an adult graphic novel that’s a mashup of memoir and dark fantasy, depicting three defining experiences of my adolescence with sombre but intense introspection. It’s inspired by other graphic novels like BLANKETS and THE SCULPTOR, as well as some of my favorite anime and manga like WHEN THEY CRY: SOTSU and BLACK BUTLER.

I’ve wanted to transition to a more mainstream market with my work for a while and this story felt like the best way to do that. I’ve always thought it would help those who face similar struggles in their lives and I really do believe it will make a significant contribution to society.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Joshua Timothy:
I’ve been making and selling comics independently for about 10 years.

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

Joshua Timothy:
I started on it in earnest about 5 years ago, but I actually designed the most distinctive characters alongside the story’s premise for a college illustration assignment back in 2011.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Joshua Timothy:
I got really frustrated and deleted all the artwork off my computer after a nasty response from a Fantagraphics editor in 2022. Luckily, the dummy book’s PDF was still stored on Mixam last year when my desire to work on the story was rekindled. I think what kept me going is wanting to make something more meaningful as a comic artist. Admittedly, the work I do right now is starting to feel pretty stagnant, which is negatively affecting its quality and my overall output (in my opinion).

QT: Is this your first book?

Joshua Timothy:
Yes, I am a debut author/illustrator.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Joshua Timothy:
I have a BFA in illustration and freelanced on children’s books for two years before switching to comics. For writing exclusively, my only experience comes from the handful of courses I took in college.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Joshua Timothy:
For writing, no. I am an artist first and an author second, but I work on my own comics full time each day—mostly drawing and painting, but text is often present in that process.

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

Joshua Timothy:
You normally cannot submit a finished graphic novel to a publisher, as the creative process is much more collaborative than prose. However, I did add additional scenes to my synopsis at least one time before querying.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Joshua Timothy:
I had two other independent comic artists read my script (which wasn’t a good idea to write before a full synopsis). I also printed the first chapter of the story as a floppy for a zine fest earlier this year and got very positive responses from the folks who bought it.

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

Joshua Timothy:
I’ve had the complete story in my mind since I first started drafting it in earnest, but I did write an outline for one of my queries, since the agent specifically asked for one.

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

Joshua Timothy:
I queried it for about a month. It’s the only book I’m pitching at this time, but I’m hoping to find KidLit projects through Storm.

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

Joshua Timothy:
It was around 25, I think.

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

Joshua Timothy:
I tried to make sure the agents accepted graphic novels as well as the genre of my story. This was the most frustrating part of the process because so many agents have graphic novels listed in their “looking for” sections but (in my opinion) are only willing to consider middle grade since that’s the easiest sell.

Some of them did explain what they’re looking for with graphic novels in more detail but many didn’t, which meant spending a lot of time putting together a query that was probably rejected the moment they read the words “adult graphic novel” in the first line of my letter.

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

Joshua Timothy:
Not at first. The more queries I sent, however, the more I realized I needed to personalize them, at least a little. Eventually I started adding a few sentences at the end of my letters to respond to the information in the agent’s online profile so I could show that I did try to be thoughtful in querying them.

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

Joshua Timothy:
I guess the most I can say is keep going. This was a very bruising process that drove me to the brink of giving up again, but the one success I had made the dozens of rejections and failures worth slogging through. Almost every rejection I got said something to the effect of “keep going so you can find the right place your work”. And I really do think that’s the most any author or artist can do when they’re facing the immense amount of disappointment and pain that comes with such a daunting task as this: just keep going.

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

Joshua Timothy:
Sure, here are the first two paragraphs of my letter:

Query Letter:

Thank you for taking this time to review my adult graphic novel submission. TRACING THE SILENT SPECTRUM is incredibly important to me, because it is very much my own story—a memoir of the quiet but overwhelming stresses of growing up as a closeted gay teenager while at the mercy of Mormonism's impossible expectations. At the same time, however, it is a story about a malevolent otherworldly-being’s manipulation of a vulnerable human, brimming with deceit and a horrific consequence awaiting both of them at the end of their Faustian bargain. These things intertwine to create a tale that is very human and emotionally raw, but also a captivating macabre-fantasy.

The question this story starts with is a common one: If you could have the one thing you desire most in life, what would it be? For many folks out there, I think the answer would be very typical—fame, money, sex, superpowers... But for me and my awful nihilism, I would want to be able undo the most mentally damaging moments in my life, because l've never been able to escape the renewed torrent of humiliation, anxiety and regret when those memories bubble back up to the surface. The climax this story works to, changing the most pivotal moment in my (and my mother's) life is the resolution to this problem at which often arrive: simply wishing I wasn't born into this world. Of course,this is a foolish want, and the resulting scene works though that dark desire in a way that will make a heavy, lasting impact in the literary zeitgeist.