BB's top 10 professional disappointments of 2025!
(and why it was still somehow a pretty good year??)
It’s nearly the end of the year which means everyone is making their “best of” lists and “top 10” lists and so on. So, in the spirit of annual summarization I have a list to share as well!
My top 10 professional disappointments of 2025. Ready for this??
In January I officially accepted defeat on an early reader comic I had pitched the previous summer. After two rounds of submissions, no publisher was interested in this silly and sweet decodable book (with series potential!) Wah.
No cake will be eaten, it turns out! In February I learned that my next middle grade graphic novel (the one I’ve been working on since 2022) was getting pushed back two years (!!!) from a 2026 release to 2028. Oof.
Jessica is always bumming us out. In an attempt to bounce back, I started to get some other projects lined up. I dove excitedly into developing a pitch for a YA graphic novel adapted from my Covid-era passion project MAYDAY76. My agent didn’t think the artwork was quite working, and then it fizzled out before it went anywhere.
“This project is about to CRAAAASH” I pivoted to a middle grade illustrated prose novel that I was excited about, finished that pitch before summer break, and we took it out on submission to publishers in June. It’s been 6 months now, and although it’s still out there with a fighting chance, I’m not holding my breath.
Can’t really share any preview images but here’s a watercolor spot from the pitch lol Over the summer I published my 5th book (my 3rd self-published) Claudia Claws, and while this is technically a win, it’s still always a little bit of a bummer to see how few people read these compared to books that are traditionally published. What can you do, that’s self-publishing for ya.
boo hoo I quietly cancelled my P.O. Box because I couldn’t justify the monthly fee for the buckets and buckets of junk mail I was getting. All told, I think I got 2 or 3 pieces of actual reader mail sent there in 2 years, and I’ll treasure those!
Just sharing random doodles off my ipad at this point This fall I attempted to get back to inking the final artwork for my current book (the one that was pushed back) but it’s been slow going. It’s getting there, but it’s definitely been a struggle. It’s my longest book yet, and there are so many pages to draw! I thought I’d be finished with this book by now, or at least by the end of 2025, but it’s not looking like it.
work in progress… we COULD be here for a while. The last two disappointments are the biggest ones, though. In October I found out that my agent of five years was leaving his job as an agent and…
…a few weeks later I learned my editor was also leaving her job. Talk about a one-two punch! These two amazing humans have been my professional team since 2020 and I thought we’d have many more years working together, but… life! Ain’t it full of surprises, both fun ones and not so fun. Oh, and for the record, I wish both of them all the best! They are amazing people who make publishing a far better place, and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without both of them! But I’m still sad!
Okay guess what, I can’t think of a #10, although I guess there are still a couple weeks left of 2025 so who knows. The point is, it’s a pretty robust list of bummers!!
So, all said and done, why was this not actually a terrible year, and maybe even a really good one? Okay, twist my arm and have another list.
Top 5 reasons why a thoroughly disappointing year in publishing has actually been really good for me. READY?
FREE TIME. When my deadlines fell away, so did the pressure to, well, crush deadlines. I have zero regrets that I got to spend the summer hanging out with my kids instead of scrambling to figure out childcare so I could lock myself away somewhere with my ipad drawing endless speech balloons. I am fully aware what a privilege this was on so many levels and I am so grateful. Before I ever wanted to be an author I wanted to be a mom, so to do that full time for a bit was a gift.
EGO CHECK. I know that “egotistical monster” probably isn’t the first thing that pops into your head when you think of me, but I’m only human. You get a few book deals and you start to envision a world where you grow into a beloved author (if not a famous one). Your imagination can get a little carried away, and it’s easy to start feeling like making books is WHO YOU ARE, not just something that you DO. I’m not immune to it. So I’ve come to think that seasons like this one—the dry spells, the slumps, whatever you want to call them—are actually a really important time of realignment for me. I am so many other things besides, and before, an author, and each of those things is just as important.
I GOT TO BE A FAN! This year I fell back in love with the graphic novel section at our library, and have been reading so many good books that I might not have otherwise had time for. Not to mention, so many of my friends have had fantastic books released or announced this year, and it’s nice to be able to just be psyched for them them!
I GOT BETTER AT DRAWING! Something about everything shifting underneath your feet really frees you up to get loose and experiment! Massive hours of practice don’t hurt either. Penciling my latest book was essentially the world’s longest warmup, and now that I’m inking the final artwork of what could be my final book ever (I KNOW IM BEING DRAMATIC, ITS OK!) I have never felt more freedom with my linework. Plus there are things I’ve learned about drawing in the last year that I’m kinda surprised I never figured out sooner. Still don’t know how to draw shoes though. Anyway, we’re getting there, and by the time I’m 90 I just might be happy to call myself a true artiste :D
I STILL GOT TO BE PART OF THE BOOK COMMUNITY. Despite it all, or maybe because of it, I still have a seat at this wonderful table of creators. I’ve been invited to do school presentations, to teach library workshops, to host and participate in illustrator draw-offs, to join cartoonist pals for Zoom drawing dates, to make comics at coffee shops and meet for drinks with the amazing kid lit community. No one is checking publishing contracts at the door, nobody cares! Except to say, “Hey, we get it. We’ve been there. Sometimes publishing is a desert. Things will pick up sometime…”
Comics and art buds, all year long! (L to R - me, Jonathan Hill, Aron Nels Steinke, Zoey Abbott, Jonathan Hill, Nidhi Chanani, Rachel Michelle Wilson, me, Jen de Oliveira and once again ME)
All that to say, this year I feel like I got to just BE ME, Breena the human, not Breena Bard the author. Don’t get me wrong, I hope 2026 brings exciting book news, but even if it doesn’t, the stories goes on. Thanks for reading this part of mine.
<3 BB
“By golly, I’ll show ‘em. I’ll show ‘em I’m good at something!” - Charlie Brown (thanks Jen!!! Who assures me I am NOT a failure :D)
P.S. An obligatory list of book links if you are doing some holiday shopping…
Wildfire
Trespassers
Claudia Claws
Hey Baby
Lastpunch (this one isn’t a book, but it’s free to download if you name your price as $0! Please do!)
Sis, you are amazing. This post is a work of art in itself. Breena the human <3
Thanks for sharing this! I've had a lot of setbacks this year and it made me feel a little lost. I really appreciate when others share their experiences, and it's nice seeing the positive takeaways too. Cant wait to read what 2026 has in store for you!