[...] my waning days as a comic store clerk two years ago, changes by the main comics distributor in order minimums lead to tougher times for small press and self published works.  Incredibly inspiring work like [...]

[...] Certain manga publishers — DMP, Seven Seas — may not be using Diamond to distribute their products. (Remember the flap over Diamond’s decision to impose minimum orders?) [...]

[...] that all comic retailers have to order from, since they exclusively carry DC, Marvel, and Image, raised their order minimums. In short, if a publication that was offered for sale through the Diamond Previews catalog did not [...]

[...] purely my speculation, but at a time when Diamond Comic/Book Distributors is looking for reasons to cut product and reduce the services they offer, it makes sense to me that a growing publisher would look for [...]

[...] means the average $3 comic would have to sell more than 2,100 copies — a rare feat for many small publishers. (The number of copies varies depending on the [...]

[...] Humans! please read this, is important and serious. As many of you know, Diamond Distributors has changed their order policy increasing the dollar amount of copies needed to be pre-ordered for them to send out a publishers books. A lot of merchandise and comic books are ordered via Previews (Diamond catalog) including Moonstone comics. Basically, if you dont order your favorite Moonstone comic via Previews maybe never appearing at your LCS (Local Comic Shop). Theres 3 articles that you can read to know more about this [1] [2] [3] [...]

[...] it interesting, now that more comics are getting cancelled for not meeting order minimums, that Diamond stopped putting the monthly cancellation list in the Previews customer order booklet? [...]

[...] Matt High points out, lost in the news of Diamond Comic Distributors raising its minimum order level for publishers was this little tidbit: For comic book periodicals and magazines, retailers can [...]

But it doesn’t look like anyone is interested in starting up a little distro company that’s only gonna focus on the bottom 300. although the opportunity is right there. hopefully this means more good business for indy distributor, Tony Shenton.

[...] all the discussion recently about the need for changing sales models now that the only new comic distributor is changing policies, I did some thinking about reasons customers (whether readers or retailers) may not want to buy [...]

“How many translators would the average indy creator need to hire to access all of the 1,463,632,361 people worldwide on the internet right now? According to the Internet World Stats site,

“…How many people can actually use the global language? David Graddol estimated a total of 750 million L1 (first or native language) plus L2 (second or nth language) speakers of English in his Future of English Report…”

Point taken. But that still leaves 750 million people, or 7,500,000 potential reader’s using Johanna’s 1% estimate. Getting the unique visitors to your site is the thing effective marketing programs are made of.

In response to Johanna’s comment, my research shows that there is a market for digital media. According to Teleread.org:

A recession rages, but tell that to the e-book business.

In the U.S., wholesale revenue zoomed from $8 million in Q3 of 2007 to $14 million for the same quarter of ’08.

Granted, that’s just a speck of the billions in p-book sales and involves only 12-15 publishers participating in a stat collection program.

But it’s still impressive, given the miserable economy, which has harmed p-book sales. I suspect things are the same in many other countries: P hurtin’, E growin’. New platforms, ranging from the Kindle and Sony Reader to the improved iPhone, have helped. Long term, more people are accustoming themselves to reading off screens.”

Can you imagine 12 to 15 indy publishers generating 8 to 14 million? I can.

Which option would you prefer? To be pioneers in a growing business, or continuing to be pushed to the side in a dying format. The 22 page pamphlet is on it’s way out. Given the economic outlook in this country for the next 4 years or so,does anyone really think 3.99 comics are going to help the long term prospects of this insular medium?

Whatever revenue model you put together
(subscription based, ad based, ancillary product (t-shirts, models, etc.) based, or any combo of these) it’s got to be better than what you’re dealing with now.

Digital distribution is a viable option for indy creators that don’t have the numbers to dole out middleman money.

There are reasonably priced independent translators available for people who want to explore that option.

http://translate.ms/info.php/eng/price

The above link is to just give people an idea of what’s out there.

The tools are available. You just have to decide if you want to use them.

And Johanna raises a good question. Exactly how many people read Previews?
I get it for free as part of my store subscription, but I don’t know if this is standard practice industry wide. Anyone have solid numbers?

One of the problems is going to be the publishers that are borderline. Are they going to push their titles to other distributors with the possibility that if retailers order from there and not Diamond, will it bump them below the threshold? I can see a lot of attempts via Diamond and then if can’t make it, then move to someone else (if there is someone else).

Dealing directly with stores is problematic. I’ve been stiffed by some stores (and some fairly big names)so I think there is a security in using a distributor. I deal now with stores but use Paypal and ship after payment.

[...] Following up the story on Diamond Comic Distributors raising its minimum order level: [...]

Infolad Says:

“Digital comics is THE way to go
for the average indy creator who wants to get his product out there. The question is do you want it out there
to the 250,000 or so hardcore fans who consume direct market comics? Or do you want to access the
1,463,632,361 people worldwide on the internet right now (ref: Internet World Stats).”

How many translators would the average indy creator need to hire to access all of the 1,463,632,361 people worldwide on the internet right now? According to the Internet World Stats site,

“…How many people can actually use the global language? David Graddol estimated a total of 750 million L1 (first or native language) plus L2 (second or nth language) speakers of English in his Future of English Report…”

Stuff like WorldLingo is handy for getting the gist of something :) but not for translating writing into something still worth buying.

Your overall message – try new things – is a good one, though. And then again, how many readers does Previews have, anyway?

I am now losing feeling on my left siiiideeeerrrrgh……

Digital comics is THE way to go
for the average indy creator who wants to get his product out there. The question is do you want it out there
to the 250,000 or so hardcore fans who consume direct market comics? Or do you want to access the
1,463,632,361 people worldwide on the internet right now (ref: Internet World Stats).

Selling a secure PDF or browser based subscription to your product of 2.00 an issue will generate more profit to the struggling creator than dealing with Diamond ( avg. comic is 2.99 a copy = 1.20 gross profit to you after Diamond gets their cut) After a per unit printing cost of around .50 a copy for a 22 to 28 page color book, you’re left with around 70 cents on a 2.99 book (and we still haven’t factored in taxes, materials, rent, utilities, etc.)

Just selling comics over your computer RIGHT NOW will be better for the average creator’s bottom line than what they have to put up with now. No jumping through distributor’s hoops, no ever increasing printing costs to deal with.

if you sold 2,000 copies of your book digitally at 2.00 a download, you’re talking 4,000 dollars gross profit. Even after paying for bandwith, you still end up with more money in your pocket than doing a hard copy.

Diamond’s a business. Corporations are about the bottom line and cutting excess fat that’s not helping that bottom line, nothing personal. The corporate entity itself is psychopathic
in nature and behavior. Don’t expect it to care about you. Unless you’re a major shareholder. So stop considering the needs of a psychopathic entity in charting a pathway to get your creation out to the public at large

The name of the game is cutting the middleman loose. Be proactive, not passive. As a creator, I’ve been at conventions with indy creators griping about Diamond as they sit on 3-5,000 fan mailing lists! Learn to market your product using real world techniques, they’re out there. Stop sitting back, passively hoping and praying to make it into Previews. The internet is here NOW. You’re using it right NOW. Utilize it to realize your dreams NOW. They’re thousands, tens of thousands, possibly millions of potential readers out there for you, for all of us. Go get them.

Not really. Having worked through the long, slow decline of one of the last, small-press distributors (which finally closed its doors almost exactly a year ago), I gotta say that there appeared to be very little interest among most indy-friendly retailers for another comics distributor.

If any such entity is going to come along and fill in the void, it’s going to come about because retailers out there demand it. It will have to be a demand-driven business rather than a supply-driven one. And I don’t see a clamoring at the retailer for such a distributor at this point. Hope I’m proven wrong.

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