Jan began to submit sets of strips to the syndicate every six months, and in the last few submissions added the positive words "This is my year". After four years of promoting "Sister City," Jan was offered a seven-month development contract from Universal Press. They gave minor suggestions for improvement of the strip, but the major issue they found was the name; the title "Sister City" did not sit well with certain groups. Jan and her family brainstormed, coming up with Stone Soup. Jan used the development time to come up with new characters, such as the Grandma, and to learn how to create 20 strips a month, rather than the four she was used to drawing. Stone Soup involves several different family structures with a feminist flavour and is often praised for being "so real" by its fans.
Stone Soup made its entrance into 25 newspapers in 1995 and is now read in 175 newspapers, with slow but steady growth. Jan's sixteen years of trying were definitely worth the effort.
Using Jan's own life, her kids and "unsuspecting friends," Stone Soup's strength and humour lies in the relationships and troubles of daily life. The comic touches the hearts of fans who see their lives mirrored in the strip.
Mondays, for this admired cartoonist, are spent writing, with the plan to come up with several more ideas than she needs for the week. The next day, she draws the pencil sketches, getting critiques from her husband on which are best or which don't quite make the grade. Another day is spent inking the six dailies and Jan uses the fourth day of the week to create the larger colour Sunday strip. *(3)
On the speaker's circuit, Jan is available to speak to groups on a number of topics, such as "Surviving Criticism and Rejection", "Publishing and Syndication" and more. Stone Soup is now published in several book collections through publisher Four Panel Press, and assorted merchandise is ready for purchase at Café Press. (See address below.)
Her daughters now grown, Jan and Ted live in Eugene, Oregon with their two pooches, Lily and Sydney.
Develop a new daily friendship with Stone Soup: http://www.ucomics.com/stonesoup/
Read a delightful interview of Jan with Tom Heintjes of Hogan's Alley: *(1) http://www.cagle.com/hogan/interviews/el...
Home site of Stone Soup: *(2) http://www.stonesoupcartoons.com/meet.php
Jan Eliot as part of the Illustrator Showcase at the Norman Rockwell Museum: *(3) http://www.nrm.org/illustration/eliot/
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