Making A Buck In Comics
For me, this was a rather disheartening look into the creator owned market. There is a lot of factors going into making a book, and one can argue that Allen doesn't have strong numbers about his graphic novel sales, but it seems the dream of the monthly comic may be harder for the up and coming artist to reach. It seems to me that creators will need to find new ways to promote and package their comics. I know there isn't a lot of long form webcomics out there these days but maybe if someone can come up with a great way to view these kinds of comics they will have a better place on the web.
There will always be creator owned comics. I think the article by Allen can serve as a warning that if you don't go about it in a smart way, you can be out of a lot of money and have little to show for it. I think that many of the most successful independent creators are also somewhat savvy business people as well, or at least quick learners. Food for thought.
Comments
Have other Indie comics creators been interviewed? I am curious as to what others may have to say in this regard.
It should be taken into account that a profit equating “beer money” isn’t fantastic, given the work, effort, and money put into creating a self-published book, at least it gets his name and book into the market.
It’s possible someone, perhaps a big name publisher, or a movie producer, may take a liking to the book. Something else could develop. There are additional possibilities.
Also, “beer money”, well, isn’t that still a profit? Regardless of how minimal it may be, it’s more than most can expect.
Beer money. Heck, that’s not too bad.