Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dav Yendler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dav, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?
I signed with my literary agent in a roundabout way. Typically an agent will help you score a interest in a project, but I was able to entice my agent because someone was interested in me! I was pitching out my graphic novel TSILYA- about my Soviet mathematician sniper grandmother- to various publishers across the country. A friend of mine put me in touch with an editor at an established publishing house while I was simultaneously trying to convince my agent to sign me. After a few back and forths with the editor, I was able to secure definitive interest from the publisher, and leveraged that interest into signing with my agency.
Of course once I signed my agent, the publisher went belly-up and lost most of its business. We ended up walking away from that publisher and, after some more searching and pitching, the book landed somewhere new. Keep your eyes peeled for TSILYA in 2025!
Dav, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have my degree in theatre, of all things. I started off thinking I wanted to be an actor, then a director, and while working on theatre in Chicago, I started developing an illustration career. I’ve been drawing my whole life, but all my training is in performance. When I’m lucky, my illustration work takes on theatrical qualities and acts as a bridge between my two backgrounds.
I use my performance background in all facets of my illustration career, both in the art and in dealing with clients. On the artistic side, I often look for drama: does the drawing tell a story? does it take your eye on a journey as you look at it? I often make visual essays and comics, combining captions and illustrations to tell a personal story– do these pieces move you through an experience?
Then on the business side of things, I find myself using my theatrical background to establish healthy professional relationships. Theatre is all about relationships: what are their boundaries? Who’s in charge at any given moment and how often does it switch? One of the big breakthroughs of my professional career was establishing a consistent workflow with every client, no matter how big or small. Developing that workflow took many iterations– rehearsals if you will– and I lean on that process for every new collaboration.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Make something, publish something- always. This rule goes for every creative out there, no matter the medium. Don’t hide your work! Make it and show it consistently. I currently have a small illustration series called “Babe” that’s running on my Instagram. It’s simple, black and white line drawings illustrating humorous interactions in romantic relationships. I make Babe because my audience– all audiences– is/are hungry; feed them! Make it simple, repeatable, and consistent.
Also, surprise your audience. I now run Babe Caption Contests, where I post a simple illustration and compel my viewers to provide captions, a la the New Yorker cartoon contests. I pick my favorite two and, using an Instagram poll, ask my viewers which of the two is their favorite. The winning caption gets bragging rights and a hand-drawn reproduction of that Babe! I put out a caption contest about once a month and it’s fun for me and my audience to work together this way.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Pay them more, credit them for their work, and ask them to do the things you can’t do yourself. It’s like any client work out there, whether it’s installing new flooring in your house or hiring a firm to go over your business practices. Creatives offer a product that you- the client- can’t make yourself. So value that product! Value that process! One of the ways our society provides value is via cold hard cash- dish it out fairly and consistently. You’ll get fair and consistent work in return.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.davyendler.com
- Instagram: @davyendler
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davyendler/