This actually started over on FaceBook as an answer to a fan who mentioned having his local comic shop order his copy of Orion the Hunter Part 1. Since it’s apparently not clear, let me make it so. with the exception of a handful of comic shops that are purchasing directly from us, you are about as likely to see Orion the Hunter or any of our future products in a comic shop as you are likely to see Elvis (the real Elvis — the dead one) there.
So let me get this out there, right off the bat. I love comic shops. My friend Brian Kelly runs a terrific shop in Detroit, and we have a great one called FanFare here in Kalamazoo. I frequent comic shops, I buy most of my comics in comic shops. I LOVE comic shops.
So why aren’t my books going to comic shops?
Well, we are and we aren’t… but I’ll get to that in a minute. First let me answer the crux of the question. Why aren’t we chasing tradition retail (what is in our industry called “Direct”) distribution.
Let’s start by looking at distributors, taking Diamond as an example of how direct distribution works. To start with, I have to give them 60% discount to get them to carry my book at all. Another 2% or more if I want to encourage them to pay in less than 30 days. Another 2% to pick up my product if I’m using a printer they pick up from, or I have to pay to ship to them.
Because neither Joe or I are “names” in the business, I ‘d also likely need to include a few hundred finished books in Previews so I can convince the retailers that we’re not creating crap. This is just about the only way I’ll make the minimums required to even get a purchase order. So after I’ve paid the printer and paid for promotional materials, I’m already deep in the hole.
Another issue (if you’ll pardon the expression) I face is that retailers make money by clearing shelf space and rotating in new product. That’s what keeps most comics being treated like a periodicals. Most don’t reorder and if they do they’ll likely have problems getting those reorders filled. After the first month or so, they’ll sell of the remainders at a loss just to clear the shelf space. We’ll see a precipitous drop off in orders down to zero within a few weeks.
Moreover, we need to expand our market beyond comic shops and comic fans. There are broader markets out there that might find Orion the Hunter appealing. There’s the international market (about 1/3 of Orion the Hunter’s readers are outside the U.S.). There’s Science Fiction fandom, anime fans, and a number of other cross-over niches that are bypassed entirely by too much focus on retail distribution.
Now all that may sound like a criticism, but it really isn’t. It’s just reality, the reality of how direct distribution works in our current day and age. It just is. If I want to play that game, those are the rules I have to play by.
Or I can try to make a new game, change the rules. Not break them, but certainly bend them in my favor. I can sell them direct from my website. Not treat my titles as periodicals and continue to sell them for as long as there is a market. The difference comes down to this. I sell hundreds or thousands of copies quickly and make pennies on each individual copy, or I sell them a few at a time, but make more per book but accumulate sales more slowly. Instead of selling thousands all at once, we sell a couple of thousand over a year’s time. I (and my collaborators) make a lot more money, but take longer to get paid.
Look at the chart. The blue bars represent distribution to comic shops. The green bars represent projected sales from our website. Assuming we were in Previews in March, we actually see our sales (and get paid) in June. One big burst, then trailing off to nothing.
On the other hand, web sales can continue to grow as the comic and website build. audience. The bigger the audience, the bigger the potential sales growth. Given the nature of the web it is possible to continue to build audience almost indefinitely. We don’t need tens of thousands, we just need a couple of thousand true fans. That model allows us to actually make a living doing what we love to do and what we are good at.
So there’s the rub, for me at least, with direct distribution in the 21st century. I’m convinced that we have to create alternatives if we as small publishers are going to thrive, not just scrape along. The new paradigm is about building audience, not just pumping out product. Creating fans by telling compelling graphic stories. The new paradigm is also about patience. The hare has had his day, it’s time for the tortoise to take a turn. I’d rather have three works I’m proud of, than publish a hundred mediocre comics a month.
The small press company I work for has studied all these “issues” as well and it’s tricky trying to get around these things. More power to you, and, wish us luck.
Love the comic, bytheway. Ordered two copies. So far.
Good luck, Cliff. I myself am waiting for the trade, so I can read the complete story. I know that will be a ways off, but I think it will be worth it. Tell Joe to keep up the great artwork!
Good for you. As a comics creator and novelist, I value the direct connection with readers. It’s a new era–and should expand exponentially as digital comics platforms mature.
Scott nicholson
http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/comics.htm
Good luck with it, Cliff!
Why not both? Why not distribute through distributors and also from your website. The initial push from the distributors not only brings in money, (sure, it’s less per book, but it’s a big order, right?) but it also gets your book out there to the comic shop customers. That would broaden the base you build up from with your green bars scenario . I would think of it like advertising.
The reason is purely economics. Spending thousands to get a print run big enough to satisfy Distributor’s orders is not in the picture right now. Also, making 35-40% at the required price point for Diamond isn’t practical. I’ve looked into the cost of producing the book in color and the best price I’m getting for 2000 books (a practical number for Diamond and Haven to move in a reasonable time) is about $1.10 per book, not including shipping and marketing costs, my gross from Diamond is $1.58 (not including any extra fees the decide to hit me with). My best case net then becomes 48¢ per book. I can go to Ka-Blam/Indy Planet where I can get the book done at $2.64, then sell it at $3.95 and make $1.31 (almost 3-times the profit). Even selling to dealers through Comics Monkey (which we’ll be doing starting next week), I make 59¢ per book.That’s called ROI (return on investment). No shipping costs, not returns or over runs to deal with, no warehousing.
To your second argument about viewing it as a marketing tool. If I have a couple of thousand lying around to spend on marketing, I could find much better and much more effective ways of spending it. Again, ROI. Marketing dollars should get at least a 2 for 1 return. I don’t see that coming from direct market distribution. The web gives me the opportunity to reach millions of potential customers, but comic shops (as much as I love them) are about as narrow a niche market as it gets. I wouldn’t be broadening my market, I’d be narrowing it.
You make a good point, the main advantage a comic store gives is the perusal factor, hundreds and perhaps thousands of people will pass by those racks and all of them are possible fans, I am always looking for new things to check out when I go to the store. I would at least try to get them into all of your local shops since a lot of the time they are cool and will give a nice space on the racks.