I formed my own comic book company in 1994. Catfish Comics published 14 issues before fading from view. After a six-year hiatus, I've returned to the self-publishing game with SINNAMON: GRRL VS. WORLD #1.
A few people have asked why this comic is only available via ComiXpress. They ask because in the past, SINNAMON comics were available at comic book stores. Those fourteen issues were published through what I call the "traditional system".
Let me outline the basic steps behind the "traditional system":
1. Get the comic book listed in a distributor's catalogue. Since the late 1990s, the catalogue with the widest market penetration is Diamond Previews.
2. Take note of when the book will be listed in the catalogue. Normally, the book is listed three months before it's available for sale. For example, if SINNAMON #13 was coming out in December, it would be listed in the September Previews.
3. Wait for the orders to come in. Keeping with the example above, orders for SINNAMON #13 will arrive sometime in November
4. Send the comic off to the printers.
5. Sometime in January, receive payment from Diamond for the books.
Other than keeping track of various deadlines, the system isn't very complicated. All things considered, it's probably the only way a publisher can get his or her book out to comic shops all across North America. But is it effective for smaller publishers like yours truly? I would say not.
This isn't a diatribe against Diamond Distributing. There are small publishers who have complaints, but the reality is that the overwhelming bulk of Diamond's sales come from five or six publishers. There's going to be an obvious imbalance in the treatment of someone who might produce sales of 1,000 books compared to someone doing thirty or more times that amount.
I stayed in the publishing game until 1999. When I encountered problems getting SINNAMON SAGA #2 completed, I threw in the towel. I had been considering this for a while, because I had the gut feeling the "traditional system" was not in my best benefit. It took a few years away from the business to gain perspective and figure out why my gut was probably right all along.
Why? Let's look at what I consider to be the major weaknesses of this "traditional system".
Start with Diamond Previews. Each month's issue is the size of a small city's telephone book. How exactly do you make your book stand out from the many hundreds of books listed? You could advertise. How much money do you have set aside for advertising? Now if you're reading this article, odds are very good you have nowhere near the advertising budget of companies like DC, Marvel, or Image.
Fine, you say. You'll be creative and find other ways to get people to notice your book. Go for it! Every small publisher should embrace the principles of guerilla marketing.
Now you'll come up against the second major weakness.
Suppose you get your book noticed. Perhaps you get a favorable mention in a newspaper article, or become an Internet darling. Great! So now people want to buy your book.
Where will they buy it? Under this system, the only place is a comic shop. And how are books sold at a comic shop? The new comics come in on a Wednesday.
And that's it. Generally speaking, your book has one week on the main shelves. All your marketing must be targeted to get people in the shop that week. Otherwise, your book will be fighting for space among all the other back issues, assuming it hasn't sold out.
That's not the only fly in the ointment.
Remember my description of the "traditional method"? Remember the part where store owners do their ordering? That means your marketing must hit during that ordering period. You need to get shop owners to order your book. If they