Broken Frontier

“Man this makin’ comics stuff is easy!” I said to myself.  You see, I come from a TV and Film production background. That means 20 hour days, 7 days a week, some of the most grueling, intense work you can even imagine.  Making comics, in comparison, is like going shopping.

But, I soon found out it’s not all fun and games.  Aside from getting the art in on time, lettered, and turned around for printing, there’s all kinds of technical fun, which brings me to yet another First Impression Tip.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS TIP #2: DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!

You have no idea how many times I’ve been shown other independent comics which look like garbage, and the creator blames the printer.  There are most definitely things a printer can screw up.  But, the vast majority of times, it’s due to the person doing the book layout not knowing what they’re doing, which leads me to another point.

If you don’t know how to do something, ASK.  We are one of the most open, kind, and talkative professionals in any business.  And I’ve never met a comic pro who wouldn’t offer up help or advise on any technical question that they might know the answer to (and a few that they just bullshit their way through, too!)  We all want comics to have the best presentation possible because good comics help further the industry. Bad comics just reinforce negative stereotypes.    The best investment you can make as a self-publisher, is in an experienced someone to help guide you, be it a more seasoned letterer, or an editor, or even just a friend.  Taking the time to show the files, pages, or even your proof to someone who, well, has done all of this before, will help to make sure there’s nothing you’re missing.

Oh, and if something looks ‘pixelly’ on your screen, on your proof, or, well anywhere, you can bet it’ll be ‘pixelly’ on your final product.  That’s some golden wisdom you can keep with you from me.

So, now that you have your book together, now what?

The first option we’ll discuss is Self-Publishing, as I know that best.
Let’s take a second to look at the “Diamond” process.  Diamond is of course the number one distributor of comics.  There are also companies like FM international, Cold Cut and others that are more specialty based and are not ordered from by every store.  So, Diamond is your main point of attack.  Diamond will only look at finished products, unless you’re a proven talent.  Proven talent means being known by name by a good chunk of the industry with a track record of national distribution. 

So, when you have your book together (and generally before you print any) you fill out a submission packet with Diamond. It can be found on their website, under “Vendor information.”  Now, again, not to pound a nail into your head with a sign on it saying “READ IT FIRST!”, do read it first. Fill it out completely. Do EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS.

Diamond is a giant company with thousands of books going in and out at all times.  Don’t give them a reason to say “No” to you.  They have plenty already.  A lot of people don’t understand why Diamond “selects” the books to be in the catalog, instead of just listing whatever’s sent in.

To be frank, it’s because a lot of comics that they receive suck – be it content, production value, professionalism of the creators, there’s a lot of garbage out there. Obviously, it’s in Diamond’s best interests to make sure that retailers don’t get stuck with a lot of stock of crap, but it’s equally important that when a retailer actually takes a chance on an independent book, it’s not going to put them off independent comics forever. Trust me, I’ve read some comics that would do just that  That being said, their screening process, while stringent, is hardly the most strict and thorough you’ll experience as a creator. If your book is a) good and b) has sale potential, then you’re in.  The sales potential bit gets missed a lot by creators, who think that their $54.95 oversized hardcover will do great business, despite not having any reputation or recognizability.

In fact, next time, let’s talk about that. Sales Potential and Getting Published by someone not named you, in the next FI.

See you then.