Beth Hetland – Professor and Graphic Novelist

Tomes of Terror is coming to Bloomington on October 26th and it’s shaping up to be an incredible event! Beth Hetland, Chicago based cartoonist and educator, will have a table this year, and I couldn’t be more excited! I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting Beth yet, but her graphic novel debut, Tender, sounds amazing. I’ll definitely be making a stop at her table to pick up a copy.

Let’s learn more about her as we creep closer and closer to the event!

Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your career?

A: My parents have been massive supporters of my career. They encouraged me to follow my passions and provided opportunities for me growing up.

Q: What inspires you to write?

A: It really varies per project. Vaguely speaking, I create work to help myself work through questions, thoughts, and feelings I have. Though sometimes for smaller shorter work, it’s about exploring a technique or format in book binding and printing methods.

A: In many ways, there are lots of little surprises about the difference between self-publishing and working with a publisher. Since Tender is my first book that I haven’t self-published, there is a lot of learning throughout the process. Things on the marketing and distribution side that I couldn’t know as an individual were very mysterious and thus came as some surprises. Similarly, the time from when I submitted my files to when the book came out hit me really hard. I felt excited but also a bit sad! I think that took me off guard.

Q: If you could meet with your past self at the beginning of your career, what one thing would you tell yourself?

A: Keep making work, keep finishing projects, and community is just as important as the work.

Q: What has been the hardest part of your career so far?

A: This question is tricky. It has been incredibly rewarding to hear what people have to say about Tender and to promote it. I’m doing this big book tour that started in March 2024, and is planned to go until December 2024. The number of events I’ve done in the past six months has easily eclipsed the amount I typically do in a given year.

It’s been hard to keep up this rigorous schedule and stamina, while also teaching and trying to be a person. It’s hard to imagine myself working on new things right now when I’m in such a heavy promotional period that takes a lot of my energy and brain power. So, I think the hardest thing has been to remind myself that it’s okay not to be back at my desk cranking out a new thing while I’m still promoting the current thing.

Q: If you could go back and change anything in your career, would you? If so, what would it be?

A: No, I don’t think I would. I am very skeptical about time-travel narratives, and I think the unforeseen consequences of messing with my own timeline is too big of a risk.

Q: What do you consider to be your biggest strength as an author? Your kryptonite?

A: I feel very confident about my pacing in my story telling. In comics, pacing is one of those skills that I think takes a lot of time and conscious thought to be able to refine. I spend a lot of time considering the page layouts, panel structure, page turns, and rate at which someone absorbs information.

I’ve been working hard on my kryptonite, though, which is trying to force the work to happen too quickly. Rushing to complete a project on an arbitrary timeline has been hard to unlearn for me. Slowing down and letting the work take the time it needs to take continues to be a muscle I need to strengthen.

Q: Who is on your radar as someone that you’d love to work with?

A: It would be really exciting to see Tender adapted into film and if that were to happen, I’d love to work with Ari Aster, Darren Aronofsky, Rose Glass, or Julia Ducournau.

Q: Dealing with negativity can be challenging, whether that’s from bad reviews, critics, social media, or other sources. What is your strategy for dealing with that side of the industry?

A: I have to say, I’m feeling very grateful while reading and thinking about this question right now. I think my career existing in a larger public space has only just started and at the moment I have not had to deal with much negativity. I have dealt with bad critiques or difficult feedback about my work but that has been more on a one-on-one basis and from people who I could ask directly about it to help me contextualize the feedback. Time will tell how I’m able to deal with the type of negativity you’re talking about, I suppose.

Q: What has been the most impactful piece of advice that you’ve been given, and how have you used that advice in your writing journey?

A: One that sticks out to me right now is to ‘slow down, it takes the time it takes.’ For a long time early in my career, I’ve felt the urge to go as fast as I can, produce as much as I can as fast as I can. A friend of mine, Tyrell Cannon, frequently would encourage me to slow down. Until I started working on Tender, I didn’t really take it to heart. His words echoed in my mind and helped the story take form at the rate it needed to, rather than rushed.

Can’t attend Tomes? Beth will be attending a variety of events over the coming weeks, including Cartoon Crossroads on September 27th and 28th, the Chicago Zine Fest on October 5th, and the Milwaukee Indie Local K(C)omics Fest on October 6th. For a full list of her events and appearances, check out the events page on her website here! And if you want to learn even more cool facts about Beth, keep reading on!

Q: If you were to write a spin-off about a side character in any of your stories (published or not), who would you pick and why?

A: I guess I would pick Chip the cat because it seems like a silly thing to do.

Q: What is your worst reading habit? Are you a dog-earer, a margin-writer, or do you practice some other egregious offense?

A: Oh dear, this is an incriminating question! I’m so sorry, but I have a terrible habit of dog-earing.

Q: Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written and why?

A: Carolanne is far and above the most stressful character I’ve ever created. She is both someone who is relatable and someone who is wildly off the handlebars. Towing this line was tricky and took a lot of revisions to her behaviors to ensure that she was falling into both categories. She’s also someone who I feel bad for, in many ways she’s a victim to the societal pressures around all of us and it was stressful to subject her to such difficult situations.

Q: What is your quirkiest writing habit?

A: I really hate working with shoes on. In my studio, I prefer thick winter socks, and in the summer bare feet. Occasionally, I can tolerate slippers. My studio is in a sunroom, so the temperature fluctuates quite a bit.

Q: If you had to create a slogan for your life, what would it be?

A: “Make work your favorite.”

Q: You have to wear a T-shirt with only one word on it for the rest of your life. What word is on your shirt?

A: Shirt.

Q: If your name was suddenly used as a verb, what would your name be doing?

A: Laughing so hard you pee your pants.

Q: In the story of your life, who (or what) would be your nemesis?

A: Stairs.

Q: If someone were to open your fridge, what is the weirdest thing they’d find?

A: Screen printing emulsion and camera film.

And there you have it, folks! To stay up to date with all of Beth’s events and news, give her a follow on Instagram and X, and check out her website. She is currently working on a kid’s horror story about a dog being tormented by a cat with her long-time collaborator, Kyle O’Connell; you won’t want to miss out on this release!

While you wait, check out Fungirl, a graphic novel by Elizabeth Pich, and Rouge, a seductive beauty industry horror novel by Mona Awad. Both books are highly recommended by Beth, and I can’t wait to check them out myself.