Part of my decision to self-publish was the knowledge that there was a grant out there that could potentially give me up to $5000 toward getting my book out. A rejection letter from Fantagraphics recommended I try applying. I strongly felt that the quality of my work would be high enough that I had a real shot at getting it. So by the time I was growing tired of waiting in portfolio reviews, I had enough artwork to basically put a book out. I started imagining applying for the Xeric Grant.
I recommend that anyone who plans to self-publish should apply to this very generous Grant. I think it’s a great experience, and teaches you a lot, even if you don’t win it. It throws you into the process of self-publishing. It forces you to sit down and write a comic, and then to draw it. But on top of that, it asks for your strategy, your game plan. So you have to know or learn how to make a comic out of these pages of art you’ve drawn, and how to get it out into the world. You have to learn how the comics market works. You have to figure out a way to scan your images, and clean all those blemishes and smudges, and then load all the pages, in the right order, onto a disc. Those pages have to be ready for the printer. Then you have to find a printer, and figure out how much the printer will charge, and how many copies you will get. You have to figure out how many issues to print (or what the printing minimum is, in which case you’ll wind up with extras), and where and how you’re going to store all those extra issues. Then you have to try and get a distributor, and get your books from the printer to the distributor. You have to figure out if you’re going to try and advertise, and if so, where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. Who is your audience, and what are they reading, and how much is it to get an ad there? Do you want to try and call as many stores as you can, or go into stores, or send flyers or posters to the stores? And how much will posters or flyers cost, and how many do you need?
I was not awarded with the Xeric Grant. You may apply twice per year, and I applied for it three times in a row, and I never got the grant. But just the same it was invaluable.
I applied with my first issue of Tabloia. Then, for that year’s second semester, I applied with my first two issues of Tabloia. Then the next semester, I submitted the first three issues of Tabloia. I wanted to show them I was working hard, and consistently. I wanted to show them I was getting work done. I was progressing. And that I had lead time now, so that when I began publishing the comic, I’d be ready a few issues in advance.
Each time, I submitted the completely finished books. I had the covers, I had the pin-ups, I had the letters pages, I had the editor’s comments. I had the pages numbered. Everything. It was ready for the printer each time. I forced myself, with the pressure of applying to the grant, to have finished books, ready to send to the printer and be distributed.
It forced me to understand the entire process. What you need to do to get a book self-published. What you need to do, who you need to get in touch with, how you need to do it. And it forced me to do it on a schedule. Very important lessons.
While going through this process, another very important, helpful source for me was Diamond Comics. Whenever I asked comics people about Diamond Distributors, they said the same thing. If there’s any way you can, get distribution from Diamond. They will deliver you better sales numbers (I would learn they were better by ten times – seriously, ten times!) than any other distributor you find.
I spoke with Diamond at the San Diego Con, and they mailed me a packet full of great information. All that info I had, and more, can be accessed at their website, www.diamondcomics.com . This is their “vendors” page, with a goldmine of thorough info. Click on every link they list at the left. You’ll learn about the market, what you need to do as a publisher, how to put together a submissions packet to try and get distribution through them, and it even has a list of printers that specialize in comics printing. It has a list of comics magazines that write about comics, and may be able to review your books or interview you. It has a list of marketing strategies they can offer to help you get your book known out in the industry, and how much the different strategies would cost, and what you will get out of it. The packets explain that Diamond is always getting submissions, and they accept about a third of the applicants for distribution. Those aren’t great odds. They explain their expectations of you, as your distributor. They expect you to deliver your books on time, in decent quality. They will pay you a month after they receive your books. They were always very kind and helpful on the phone to me.
Another great resource of information for self-publishers, which I didn’t become aware of until after I had started publishing (unfortunately) is http://www.coldcut.com. This is the “info for publishers” page, where they have a lot of the same stuff, but also their own distribution guidelines, as well as links to info for self-publishing, distributing zines, indie-friendly stores, and printers that will do runs of only 20-100 copies, versus the five hundred to a thousand minimums a lot of printers require.
Okay, beginners and aspiring comics self-publishers. How does a distributor work? They pay you 40% of your cover price. You may think, what a rip-off. But here’s why. You get forty, and Diamond only gets ten percent. The store buys the books at 50% off, and can make double their money back. So you think, that’s such a rip-off. But here’s why. You will make your money whether your book sells in stores or not. However many books get ordered, you are guaranteed you’ll make that money. The distributor makes their money no matter what, because they are distributing the book, whether it sells or not. The store is the only one taking a real chance, because if that book doesn’t sell, they’re stuck with your shitty, useless book. They’re the ones who suffer the risk, not you. If they don’t order enough, they won’t make money they could have made that month. If they order too many, they’ll never sell it, and they basically threw away their money. All you – the publisher – have to do is get a store to take a chance on it, and you’re covered. A store can go out of business if they buy too many of a particular book that doesn’t sell. I know store owners who have misguessed what books would sell, and it’s practically ruined them. Well, it’s hurt them pretty good, anyways.
With bookstores selling actual books (and not this trashy, junk medium called comics), the stores get a very small discount, but if a book doesn’t sell, the store can send it back and get a refund. So if you write novels, you may think you’ve made all these sales, but six months later, you have to pay the stores back for all your books they didn’t sell. So that’s the difference. In my opinion, it’s actually a very fair system. The one who takes the risks should be potentially rewarded the most.
With comics, the self-publisher has another advantage. You don’t have to go to the printer until you know exactly how many copies you’ve sold. That means you don’t have to pay money to print until you know how much money you’ve made selling your book. That’s a hell of a nice advantage. You can figure out exactly how many you can afford to print, and make a decision as to how many extras you think you can sell.
So if you want to take the route I tried, you apply to Diamond with your book, and if it’s accepted, it will be listed in Diamond’s Previews catalogue a couple months later. All the comics shops around the nation get Diamond’s catalogue, and they have a month to go through it and decide what books they want to buy. They’ll order twenty copies of Batman, and fifteen X-books, two copies of the latest Vertigo comic, and if you’re lucky, they’ll see your book and give it a try with maybe one copy. There are maybe a few thousand comics shops out there, but only maybe six hundred actually buy indie (or non-Spider/Bat/X) -books. So then Diamond gets all these order sheets in from all the stores, and they tally up how many of your issue sold, and then they tell you, and you have a month to get them printed and sent to Diamond.
These are some of the things I learned through the process of submitting to the Xeric Grant, when I was naive and hopeful and excited, and hadn’t lost my positive attitude and hope. Give it a try, potential self-publishers!