A group for fans of British Comics
New Distribution Model
As some of you will know I'm shortly to self publish a print version
of my online comic Psychodialetical. Obviously a major consideration
for me was how its going to be distributed. At the level I'm
operating I thought it might be enough to send out samples to comic
shops and small print retailers/distributors hoping they might take
copies on a sale or return basis. However, my printers Ka-Blam have
just announced a fairly radical new distribution service in response
to Diamonds amended criteria.
I'd appreciate any feedback from the pros/smallpress people and
publishers on here.
Here is the press release from Ka-blam:
Ka-Blam Digital Printing to Launch Direct Market Comics Distribution
System
February 1st, 2009
First things first, we really appreciate all the well-wishing and
kind words directed our way since our cryptic little announcement a
few days back.
Distribution into the direct comics market system is something we've
had on the drawing board almost since we launched in 2005. It's a
daunting prospect and we've spent a lot of time over the last couple
of years puzzling through how we wanted to approach it. We had
planned to roll out a brief pilot program of sorts – offering a
limited catalog of items available only to a handful of volunteer
retailers – by summer of this year. And then take what we learned
from that program, retool a bit, add the full catalog, and launch the
actual service sometime this fall.
The best laid schemes of mice and men …
With news of the developments in the direct market in January and
their impact on independent publishers, we began getting pummeled
with messages and emails all asking a variance of the same
thing "When are you guys going to start distributing to comics
shops?"
We realized that a multi-month pilot program, an indeterminate
retooling period, and an official launch 9 months or so from now were
off the table for good. Circumstances were dictating the pace. We
couldn't wait any longer.
We've got to go now.
This is less than ideal, but unavoidable. We know that just as with
the launch of Ka-Blam and then again with IndyPlanet, there will be
unforeseen complications, fits and starts, and hiccups aplenty along
the way. Things will not always go smoothly. We'll make mistakes, but
we'll correct them. It'll certainly take us a while to get our legs
under us and to fully hit our stride. We beg your indulgence during
this time and promise you that your patience will be rewarded.
There will be a lot more information in the coming days, but for now
here are the basics –
Ka-Blam Digital Printing is launching a print-on-demand distribution
service to direct market comics shops.
To avoid confusion with our existing business model at Ka-Blam.com
the direct market distribution system will be its own entity with its
own unique site and url.
ComicsMonkey is the entity and comicsmonkey.com is the url. Other
than this blog, there's not much to see here just yet. We're putting
the site together behind the curtain.
As in the current distribution system ComicsMonkey will sell products
to retail outlets on a non-returnable basis at a discount off of
cover price. And that's pretty much were the similarities with the
current system end.
This is true print-on-demand … so the entire ordering process will be
very different for both suppliers and retailers. But particularly for
suppliers (publishers and creators).
How so? No benchmarks. No thresholds. No minimum orders. No prejudice
against offering items again … as matter of fact your items once
listed will always be available. ALWAYS.
For those of you familiar with our online shop IndyPlanet.com you'll
find a lot of similarities between the way IndyPlanet operates and
the way ComicsMonkey will operate. The primary difference of course
being that IndyPlanet is a retail site that will accept orders from
anyone and ComicsMonkey will accept orders only from registered,
verified comics retailers.
Like, I mentioned there will be a lot more in the way of specifics in
the coming days.
I know that this information probably excited many of you and at the
same time I'm sure there are a few reading this who had hoped for
more or are disappointed by parts of our plan. There are aspects of
the plan we're not happy with, but in all cases we've made an effort
to create the best program that the circumstances allow. Do we wish
the retailer discounts could be steeper? Absolutely. Would we like
to be able to pay publishers a higher percentage of cover price?
Goes without saying. But we're subscribers to the economic theory
of enlightened self-interest. So while our goal is to create a
system that not only preserves independent comics and allows their
publishers and creators to prosper in a way that they haven't for
almost a generation, we recognize that we can't help anybody if we
can't first stay a profitable business.
There's no road to follow here. No one's tried anything exactly like
this before. But we're excited to be blazing the trail.
So what's next?
Right now the shopping cart system is installed and we're working on
the custom code and modifications to the system that will integrate
with the software at Ka-Blam and track the sales and earnings. Once
we're convinced that's functional and working properly, we'll begin
the process of building the catalog and registering retailers.
We'll announce here whenever the ComicsMonkey listing editor is in
place at the Ka-Blam User Control Panel. We're working on a mechanism
that will allow those of you with IndyPlanet listings to create a
similar ComicsMonkey listing with a few simple clicks.
OK … so this has already run on much longer than I had intended it to
but I've got just a couple of more things …
Earlier I asked for your patience while we get our infrastructure in
place. I'm also going to ask that you not deluge me with messages and
emails. I know you've got questions and I want to give you answers.
That's why we've started this blog. Things will go a lot more
smoothly if I answer those questions publicly once rather than having
to answer them over and over again privately. Please keep in mind
that at the same time we're building this new system, we're also
cranking out orders at Ka-Blam for convention season and IndyPlanet
orders are absolutely exploding!
So feel free to ask your questions here if you'd like. But please
check and make sure someone else hasn't already asked and received an
answer to the same or a similar question.
Lastly, I want to ask your help.
This is a huge undertaking and we've got a small staff and only so
many hours in a day. A print-on-demand distribution system has
enormous potential for growing the independent press. Many creators
could benefit greatly from this, but only if we work together.
What we need is for creators to voluntarily act as liaisons between
us and their local retailers.
If you're an independent creator or publisher then it's very likely
that you've got a good relationship with your local comics shop owner
or manager. You know them a lot better than we do or ever could. Let
them know what we're doing. Tell me them who we are and why you're
excited about it all. Show them the site once it goes live. Show them
your books on the site. Show them some of the other great titles at
the site. Tell them why they should register and why they should
place an order. Tell them that if they support us, then we'll support
them. We'll build a section here showcasing our retail partners.
We'll post a picture of their store, their location, their store
hours, etc. And we'll encourage our customers at Ka-Blam – and even
at IndyPlanet – to shop there.
We can do this, but we can't do it without your help.
I'll stop here for now. If you have questions … fire away.
Barry Gregory
Retailer Information
February 1st, 2009
Retailers must be registered and verified to place orders at
ComicsMonkey.com.
– Please NOTE: Retail order registration is not yet open. We'll
announce here as soon as it is. –
Both processes are far less painful than they sound. Registration is
simply a matter of creating a username, password, and profile –
basically telling us who you are and where you want your products
shipped. Verification is about providing us with a valid resell
certificate from whatever state or states (or country if outside the
US) in which you do business. We'll sell to brick and mortar stores
as well as to online shops (however online shops must have an active,
functioning comics-based site already in place).
At the time you register you can request a free sample packet. The
sample packet will contain a few items from our catalog – some
comics, a trade paperback, and a t-shirt, etc.
No cost to you. We want you to see the type of comics we offer and
the quality of the printing.
As to ordering from us … it couldn't be easier. There's no phonebook-
sized monthly catalog for you to slog through, no advance ordering,
no new-book-Wednesday. With print-on-demand there's no need for
advance ordering at all.
Our entire catalog will be online and available 24-7-365. If it's
listed on our site it is available immediately. You can order today
and have it on your shelves in about a week. We're anticipating a few
dozen products available at launch and (if our growth rate at
IndyPlanet.com is any indicator) hundreds and hundreds more to follow
in very short order. The catalog will be categorized by genre,
product type, and rating, as well as by status — "New"`, "Featured",
etc. Browsing will be easy to the point of almost effortless.
If you think the only great comics out there are found in that
phonebook-sized catalog mentioned earlier, then you're in for an
enormous surprise. Just hop on over to IndyPlanet.com and take a look
around if you don't believe me. There's some absolutely TERRIFIC
stuff there. Many (hopefully ALL) of the comics you see there will
also be available at ComicsMonkey in relatively short order.
At ComicsMonkey.com there will be detailed descriptions of each
product and large sample graphics. The ordering process will be
driven by an OS Commerce based shopping cart system. Powerful, but
very simple to use. Find an item or items you want, put it in your
cart, adjust the quantity, and checkout. Your discount will be
calculated at checkout and you'll receive an invoice.
Our beginning discount will be 35%. Yes, we'd like to be able to
increase that over time and after building working relationships with
retailers, but for now that's what it will be. All sales must also be
prepaid at least for the foreseeable future.
All sales are final and non-returnable (except for damages of
course). Retailer pays all shipping costs, though we'll use the
lowest cost shipping on a given order. USPS flat rate will be used
whenever possible, unless the retailer requests otherwise.
There's no minimum order, no order fees of any kind.
Supplier (Publisher) information
February 1st, 2009
So for suppliers (publishers) here's how it will work –
1) You must be a registered
user at Ka-Blam.com. It's free and easy so don't worry about that.
2) For anything you want to
offer for sale at ComicsMonkey you must first place an order at Ka-
Blam. You don't have to actually buy anything if you don't want. Your
order can have a quantity of "0" and there's no setup fee. The
purpose of the order is to get you and your items into the Ka-Blam
system. Each user is assigned a user number and each item has an item
number – this is how we track and manage everything. If you're
already a registered Ka-Blam user and have placed orders in the past
for the same items you'd now like to sell them you're already
covered.
3) Once you and your items are
in our system you'll be able to be to access the ComicsMonkey listing
editor. Publishers are responsible for creating and maintaining their
own listings and sample graphics (within our guidelines of course).
Publishers will set their own prices as well (although again this
MUST be within our guidelines).
4) Once your listing has been
approved, it'll go live in the catalog.
5) With each order of your
item … from the very FIRST item sold … you'll accumulate earnings.
Everything so far is virtually the same as at IndyPlanet, but here's
where things vary. At IndyPlanet you set your price and then receive
the difference between that price and your printing costs. It can't
work that way here because ComicsMonkey is selling to retailers who
in turn have to resell the item at an increased price to make a
profit. So instead you'll get a percentage of the cover price,
probably 10% but we haven't set this in stone yet. I know that sounds
like a low number, but it's really not. If your cover price is $3.99
(which will be a common cover price) then your earnings on each sale
will be $0.40. If you have a trade paperback priced at say $19.99
then you'll earn $2 on each sale.
Yes, those numbers are lower than what you would make on a similar
sale at IndyPlanet. However, IndyPlanet is just one outlet.
ComicsMonkey has the potential to get your products into many, many
outlets worldwide. So while your earnings per item will be lower, the
volume could potentially be much higher.
Keep in mind that you as publisher at ComicsMonkey have NO out of
pocket costs. None. You have no printing costs, no shipping costs. We
sell your book, we print your book, we ship your book, we pay you.
And — as we do with IndyPlanet listings — you'll be able to monitor
your sales and earnings from your Ka-Blam User Control Panel and
request a payout via Paypal at ANY time and for ANY amount that
you've earned.
And at ComicsMonkey (as at IndyPlanet) you'll be able to list comics,
trade paperbacks, posters, and t-shirts
of my online comic Psychodialetical. Obviously a major consideration
for me was how its going to be distributed. At the level I'm
operating I thought it might be enough to send out samples to comic
shops and small print retailers/distributors hoping they might take
copies on a sale or return basis. However, my printers Ka-Blam have
just announced a fairly radical new distribution service in response
to Diamonds amended criteria.
I'd appreciate any feedback from the pros/smallpress people and
publishers on here.
Here is the press release from Ka-blam:
Ka-Blam Digital Printing to Launch Direct Market Comics Distribution
System
February 1st, 2009
First things first, we really appreciate all the well-wishing and
kind words directed our way since our cryptic little announcement a
few days back.
Distribution into the direct comics market system is something we've
had on the drawing board almost since we launched in 2005. It's a
daunting prospect and we've spent a lot of time over the last couple
of years puzzling through how we wanted to approach it. We had
planned to roll out a brief pilot program of sorts – offering a
limited catalog of items available only to a handful of volunteer
retailers – by summer of this year. And then take what we learned
from that program, retool a bit, add the full catalog, and launch the
actual service sometime this fall.
The best laid schemes of mice and men …
With news of the developments in the direct market in January and
their impact on independent publishers, we began getting pummeled
with messages and emails all asking a variance of the same
thing "When are you guys going to start distributing to comics
shops?"
We realized that a multi-month pilot program, an indeterminate
retooling period, and an official launch 9 months or so from now were
off the table for good. Circumstances were dictating the pace. We
couldn't wait any longer.
We've got to go now.
This is less than ideal, but unavoidable. We know that just as with
the launch of Ka-Blam and then again with IndyPlanet, there will be
unforeseen complications, fits and starts, and hiccups aplenty along
the way. Things will not always go smoothly. We'll make mistakes, but
we'll correct them. It'll certainly take us a while to get our legs
under us and to fully hit our stride. We beg your indulgence during
this time and promise you that your patience will be rewarded.
There will be a lot more information in the coming days, but for now
here are the basics –
Ka-Blam Digital Printing is launching a print-on-demand distribution
service to direct market comics shops.
To avoid confusion with our existing business model at Ka-Blam.com
the direct market distribution system will be its own entity with its
own unique site and url.
ComicsMonkey is the entity and comicsmonkey.com is the url. Other
than this blog, there's not much to see here just yet. We're putting
the site together behind the curtain.
As in the current distribution system ComicsMonkey will sell products
to retail outlets on a non-returnable basis at a discount off of
cover price. And that's pretty much were the similarities with the
current system end.
This is true print-on-demand … so the entire ordering process will be
very different for both suppliers and retailers. But particularly for
suppliers (publishers and creators).
How so? No benchmarks. No thresholds. No minimum orders. No prejudice
against offering items again … as matter of fact your items once
listed will always be available. ALWAYS.
For those of you familiar with our online shop IndyPlanet.com you'll
find a lot of similarities between the way IndyPlanet operates and
the way ComicsMonkey will operate. The primary difference of course
being that IndyPlanet is a retail site that will accept orders from
anyone and ComicsMonkey will accept orders only from registered,
verified comics retailers.
Like, I mentioned there will be a lot more in the way of specifics in
the coming days.
I know that this information probably excited many of you and at the
same time I'm sure there are a few reading this who had hoped for
more or are disappointed by parts of our plan. There are aspects of
the plan we're not happy with, but in all cases we've made an effort
to create the best program that the circumstances allow. Do we wish
the retailer discounts could be steeper? Absolutely. Would we like
to be able to pay publishers a higher percentage of cover price?
Goes without saying. But we're subscribers to the economic theory
of enlightened self-interest. So while our goal is to create a
system that not only preserves independent comics and allows their
publishers and creators to prosper in a way that they haven't for
almost a generation, we recognize that we can't help anybody if we
can't first stay a profitable business.
There's no road to follow here. No one's tried anything exactly like
this before. But we're excited to be blazing the trail.
So what's next?
Right now the shopping cart system is installed and we're working on
the custom code and modifications to the system that will integrate
with the software at Ka-Blam and track the sales and earnings. Once
we're convinced that's functional and working properly, we'll begin
the process of building the catalog and registering retailers.
We'll announce here whenever the ComicsMonkey listing editor is in
place at the Ka-Blam User Control Panel. We're working on a mechanism
that will allow those of you with IndyPlanet listings to create a
similar ComicsMonkey listing with a few simple clicks.
OK … so this has already run on much longer than I had intended it to
but I've got just a couple of more things …
Earlier I asked for your patience while we get our infrastructure in
place. I'm also going to ask that you not deluge me with messages and
emails. I know you've got questions and I want to give you answers.
That's why we've started this blog. Things will go a lot more
smoothly if I answer those questions publicly once rather than having
to answer them over and over again privately. Please keep in mind
that at the same time we're building this new system, we're also
cranking out orders at Ka-Blam for convention season and IndyPlanet
orders are absolutely exploding!
So feel free to ask your questions here if you'd like. But please
check and make sure someone else hasn't already asked and received an
answer to the same or a similar question.
Lastly, I want to ask your help.
This is a huge undertaking and we've got a small staff and only so
many hours in a day. A print-on-demand distribution system has
enormous potential for growing the independent press. Many creators
could benefit greatly from this, but only if we work together.
What we need is for creators to voluntarily act as liaisons between
us and their local retailers.
If you're an independent creator or publisher then it's very likely
that you've got a good relationship with your local comics shop owner
or manager. You know them a lot better than we do or ever could. Let
them know what we're doing. Tell me them who we are and why you're
excited about it all. Show them the site once it goes live. Show them
your books on the site. Show them some of the other great titles at
the site. Tell them why they should register and why they should
place an order. Tell them that if they support us, then we'll support
them. We'll build a section here showcasing our retail partners.
We'll post a picture of their store, their location, their store
hours, etc. And we'll encourage our customers at Ka-Blam – and even
at IndyPlanet – to shop there.
We can do this, but we can't do it without your help.
I'll stop here for now. If you have questions … fire away.
Barry Gregory
Retailer Information
February 1st, 2009
Retailers must be registered and verified to place orders at
ComicsMonkey.com.
– Please NOTE: Retail order registration is not yet open. We'll
announce here as soon as it is. –
Both processes are far less painful than they sound. Registration is
simply a matter of creating a username, password, and profile –
basically telling us who you are and where you want your products
shipped. Verification is about providing us with a valid resell
certificate from whatever state or states (or country if outside the
US) in which you do business. We'll sell to brick and mortar stores
as well as to online shops (however online shops must have an active,
functioning comics-based site already in place).
At the time you register you can request a free sample packet. The
sample packet will contain a few items from our catalog – some
comics, a trade paperback, and a t-shirt, etc.
No cost to you. We want you to see the type of comics we offer and
the quality of the printing.
As to ordering from us … it couldn't be easier. There's no phonebook-
sized monthly catalog for you to slog through, no advance ordering,
no new-book-Wednesday. With print-on-demand there's no need for
advance ordering at all.
Our entire catalog will be online and available 24-7-365. If it's
listed on our site it is available immediately. You can order today
and have it on your shelves in about a week. We're anticipating a few
dozen products available at launch and (if our growth rate at
IndyPlanet.com is any indicator) hundreds and hundreds more to follow
in very short order. The catalog will be categorized by genre,
product type, and rating, as well as by status — "New"`, "Featured",
etc. Browsing will be easy to the point of almost effortless.
If you think the only great comics out there are found in that
phonebook-sized catalog mentioned earlier, then you're in for an
enormous surprise. Just hop on over to IndyPlanet.com and take a look
around if you don't believe me. There's some absolutely TERRIFIC
stuff there. Many (hopefully ALL) of the comics you see there will
also be available at ComicsMonkey in relatively short order.
At ComicsMonkey.com there will be detailed descriptions of each
product and large sample graphics. The ordering process will be
driven by an OS Commerce based shopping cart system. Powerful, but
very simple to use. Find an item or items you want, put it in your
cart, adjust the quantity, and checkout. Your discount will be
calculated at checkout and you'll receive an invoice.
Our beginning discount will be 35%. Yes, we'd like to be able to
increase that over time and after building working relationships with
retailers, but for now that's what it will be. All sales must also be
prepaid at least for the foreseeable future.
All sales are final and non-returnable (except for damages of
course). Retailer pays all shipping costs, though we'll use the
lowest cost shipping on a given order. USPS flat rate will be used
whenever possible, unless the retailer requests otherwise.
There's no minimum order, no order fees of any kind.
Supplier (Publisher) information
February 1st, 2009
So for suppliers (publishers) here's how it will work –
1) You must be a registered
user at Ka-Blam.com. It's free and easy so don't worry about that.
2) For anything you want to
offer for sale at ComicsMonkey you must first place an order at Ka-
Blam. You don't have to actually buy anything if you don't want. Your
order can have a quantity of "0" and there's no setup fee. The
purpose of the order is to get you and your items into the Ka-Blam
system. Each user is assigned a user number and each item has an item
number – this is how we track and manage everything. If you're
already a registered Ka-Blam user and have placed orders in the past
for the same items you'd now like to sell them you're already
covered.
3) Once you and your items are
in our system you'll be able to be to access the ComicsMonkey listing
editor. Publishers are responsible for creating and maintaining their
own listings and sample graphics (within our guidelines of course).
Publishers will set their own prices as well (although again this
MUST be within our guidelines).
4) Once your listing has been
approved, it'll go live in the catalog.
5) With each order of your
item … from the very FIRST item sold … you'll accumulate earnings.
Everything so far is virtually the same as at IndyPlanet, but here's
where things vary. At IndyPlanet you set your price and then receive
the difference between that price and your printing costs. It can't
work that way here because ComicsMonkey is selling to retailers who
in turn have to resell the item at an increased price to make a
profit. So instead you'll get a percentage of the cover price,
probably 10% but we haven't set this in stone yet. I know that sounds
like a low number, but it's really not. If your cover price is $3.99
(which will be a common cover price) then your earnings on each sale
will be $0.40. If you have a trade paperback priced at say $19.99
then you'll earn $2 on each sale.
Yes, those numbers are lower than what you would make on a similar
sale at IndyPlanet. However, IndyPlanet is just one outlet.
ComicsMonkey has the potential to get your products into many, many
outlets worldwide. So while your earnings per item will be lower, the
volume could potentially be much higher.
Keep in mind that you as publisher at ComicsMonkey have NO out of
pocket costs. None. You have no printing costs, no shipping costs. We
sell your book, we print your book, we ship your book, we pay you.
And — as we do with IndyPlanet listings — you'll be able to monitor
your sales and earnings from your Ka-Blam User Control Panel and
request a payout via Paypal at ANY time and for ANY amount that
you've earned.
And at ComicsMonkey (as at IndyPlanet) you'll be able to list comics,
trade paperbacks, posters, and t-shirts
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by andrew wildman on -
Wow. That was long one. :-|
I dont have much experience in on demand printing of comics etc as such but...
Ka-blam is US based as are other similar outlets. Nothing wrong with that other than to ask, is there a UK equivalent?
I wonder how different what they are proposing is from the way IMAGE operate. Would like to hear from someone who knows more about that.
The other thing that I am not quite getting here, given that its POD, How are they going to make the model work if they supply to Comic stores on a non returnable basis. I wouldnt imagine that stores would buy on a non returnable basis. I know that's how they were set up in the first place and what made comics viable when the direct market was set up but its going to be a hard sell to get them to stock independent titles I would have thought.
The POD system is great and has opened up what is possible for creators. These days getting 'published' is no longer an issue. The big issue that still remains even with this model is marketing. Making people aware of a product and getting them to want to buy it, whether thats a retail store or a single buyer, is still the uncrackable nut.
Or is it?
Anyone else?
A
-
Permalink Reply by Andrew John Standish on -
"The big issue that still remains even with this model is marketing. Making people aware of a product and getting them to want to buy it, whether thats a retail store or a single buyer, is still the uncrackable nut."
Yep, that's a real problem and it doesn't seem like its tackled by this 'new model'. Also I gather from this excerpt from the press release:
All sales are final and non-returnable (except for damages of
course). Retailer pays all shipping costs, though we'll use the
lowest cost shipping on a given order. USPS flat rate will be used
whenever possible, unless the retailer requests otherwise.
that retailers are not offered sale or return, just the previously mentioned 35% trade discount. Both the creator and retailer discounts seem on the low side to me. It'll be interesting to see how this develops though.
-
Permalink Reply by Harry Markos on -
I have to agree with Andrew's comment regarding the discount. In order for them to have any reasonable interest in this I believe that retailers will expect discounts of 50% or so. Also, quality will play a big factor in this, as I'm not sure that their books will be of the same quality that is expected nowadays. I hope I'm wrong on both counts because anything that helps the smaller publishers is of interest to me!
The important thing here is that since Diamond's announcements a couple of weeks ago we have seen plenty of press about alternatives in both distribution and POD, which can only be good.
Wouldn't it be marvelous if they were successful?
Harry
-
Permalink Reply by Steve Causer on -
I am glad that marketing has been mentioned in replies as what has been offered like many other ideas that have been mooted over the past months still to me relies on the retailer in making it work.
I wear two hats, well maybe three. As someone who used to publish and through Diamond anything that allows indie books to get more widespread distribution and easier is a good thing. Having switched from publishing to printing comics for other publishers there is still a gap that I have not been able to get my ideas formulated to bridge between printing and distributing. We have plans for online selling, helping to distribute books as part of the printing package.
This is where it ties in with the third hat as a comic retailer. Using our shops to sell the books we print.
It is the retailer hat that the marketing issue raises its head the most. In all of these ideas it is the customer that is the key. Now retailers are customers to the distributors and publishers, but we are dictated by our customers..and to be honest the whole come retail model is very dependant on ensuring selling the products that are bought in (just like any other retailer).
What to me this comes down to that creators should not be asked to go an persuade retailers to adopt any new distribution scheme, there needs to be a way to provide better marketing of the books that they are distributing. With Diamond they have the big publishers so there is not only an abundance of online and print information on all books they produce (they obviously have their heritage and characters) and they are established. With self published and even bigger indie books it is not an easy sell to customers. I had this exact conservation with a local self publisher who we stock their comic.....we can increase sales on a main publisher titles or a new hot title is easier to sell in large volumes then it is to sell 3 or 4 of a new indie title. Most indie titles need to be read before customers will buy and so the risk is much higher. Now we in our stores are indie friendly but at the end of the day a comic shop is a business and there has to be a balance between supporting self publishers and ensuring that there are sales being made, After all is it really good for a self publisher to have their books sat on a comic shop shelf but not actually sell.
I know there were discussions started on here (elsewhere) and on other forums about looking at new online resources and ideas, I am yet to find one that really bridges the gap it needs to or addresses the marketing issue.
Every time I sit and try and work through the model there is just a gap missing that I cannot focus...
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