Taking Manga/Comic Submissions

[VonRedwing]

I truly think that good comic artists don't need a middle man. If they want their works published they should do it themselves. No artist wants to do a butt load of planning and work just to have someone else, some stranger dip into their profits.

 

[Dr. Durr]

I truly think that good comic artists don't need a middle man. If they want their works published they should do it themselves. No artist wants to do a butt load of planning and work just to have someone else, some stranger dip into their profits.

Not to mention the Executive Meddling.

 

[Rinz]

I truly think that good comic artists don't need a middle man. If they want their works published they should do it themselves. No artist wants to do a butt load of planning and work just to have someone else, some stranger dip into their profits.

Unfortunately, most artists don't have the money to purchase all of the stuff needed to self-publish something of quality. And at any rate, the middle man also has a tendency to cover distribution costs as well, which is another big money sink, and something a lot of artists may have trouble doing unless they're a big name. Once you figure up the costs it would take to print and distribute it yourself, the amount the publisher takes doesn't seem like it's too terribly much.

 

[Ilayas]

Unfortunately, most artists don't have the money to purchase all of the stuff needed to self-publish something of quality. And at any rate, the middle man also has a tendency to cover distribution costs as well, which is another big money sink, and something a lot of artists may have trouble doing unless they're a big name. Once you figure up the costs it would take to print and distribute it yourself, the amount the publisher takes doesn't seem like it's too terribly much.

What do you have to purchase you can get free page layout programs that can convert your comic into a high quality PDF to send to the printer. There are plenty of print services available that will print a run of books once enough pre-orders have been reached. If there are enough interested people in buying a dead tree version of a comic it's not too terribly hard for a the web comic creator(s) to do it themselves.

 

[Rinz]

What do you have to purchase you can get free page layout programs that can convert your comic into a high quality PDF to send to the printer. There are plenty of print services available that will print a run of books once enough pre-orders have been reached. If there are enough interested people in buying a dead tree version of a comic it's not too terribly hard for a the web comic creator(s) to do it themselves.

Alright, so, say I send to a printer. I'm going to use Ka-Blam.com as reference as they're a fairly well-known print on demand service with quality prints. They specialize in comics, which is a bonus over services like LuLu, which tends to print really terrible-quality comics.

If I want to sell 100 copies of my comic, I'm going to have to purchase 100 copies. I can print a 200 page book for around $5, so in order to make the full run, I'm going to have to pay $500 out of pocket. In order to cover my cost, I'd have to charge $10 per comic, $15 to make a profit if I intend to make a second run. That's in black and white WITH a Ka-Blam ad in the interior cover (which cuts cost by about, eh $0.20 per book).

Oh wait, if I print it myself, I have to distribute it myself as well. Most stores won't take a book that's printed through a print-on-demand service because they have to actually buy the book. Their other publishers compensate them for books not sold, whereas they cannot do that with a print-on-demand book. I have to cover costs of shipping, or if I have a distributor, pay them to do it for me. I also have to have several copies on hand and spend the money in gas to get to conventions to peddle my book. All in all, this could force the price of the book up to $20 or $25, and I may still not be making profit.

If I went with a publisher like FurPlanet, if my calculations are correct, a similar book would cost around $17 from them, which while expensive is still more appealing to buyers. There was no amount of money that came out of my pocket to have these books printed, and they distribute both online and at conventions for me. They would pay quarterly, and I could negotiate with them to set the profit amount for the books. They print several copies to tote to cons and print everything else on demand for their online sales, which means that they can distribute a more exact amount while spending less on a bunch of wasted copies.

In the end, I could potentially make more money going to a small publisher than trying to print on my own, while providing a product with a price that more buyers are willing to spend (which equals more sales, which equals more money to me).

And, just FYI, any printing company is going to charge enough to profit on their prints of your work. That's the same as a publisher who prints your book for you taking the money for supplies and profit for their work out of the sales.

 

[Ilayas]

Alright, so, say I send to a printer. I'm going to use Ka-Blam.com as reference as they're a fairly well-known print on demand service with quality prints. They specialize in comics, which is a bonus over services like LuLu, which tends to print really terrible-quality comics.

If I want to sell 100 copies of my comic, I'm going to have to purchase 100 copies. I can print a 200 page book for around $5, so in order to make the full run, I'm going to have to pay $500 out of pocket. In order to cover my cost, I'd have to charge $10 per comic, $15 to make a profit if I intend to make a second run. That's in black and white WITH a Ka-Blam ad in the interior cover (which cuts cost by about, eh $0.20 per book).

Oh wait, if I print it myself, I have to distribute it myself as well. Most stores won't take a book that's printed through a print-on-demand service because they have to actually buy the book. Their other publishers compensate them for books not sold, whereas they cannot do that with a print-on-demand book. I have to cover costs of shipping, or if I have a distributor, pay them to do it for me. I also have to have several copies on hand and spend the money in gas to get to conventions to peddle my book. All in all, this could force the price of the book up to $20 or $25, and I may still not be making profit.

If I went with a publisher like FurPlanet, if my calculations are correct, a similar book would cost around $17 from them, which while expensive is still more appealing to buyers. There was no amount of money that came out of my pocket to have these books printed, and they distribute both online and at conventions for me. They would pay quarterly, and I could negotiate with them to set the profit amount for the books. They print several copies to tote to cons and print everything else on demand for their online sales, which means that they can distribute a more exact amount while spending less on a bunch of wasted copies.

In the end, I could potentially make more money going to a small publisher than trying to print on my own, while providing a product with a price that more buyers are willing to spend (which equals more sales, which equals more money to me).

And, just FYI, any printing company is going to charge enough to profit on their prints of your work. That's the same as a publisher who prints your book for you taking the money for supplies and profit for their work out of the sales.

Most web comic's that I've followed just do pre-orders (were actual money is paid eliminating the need for a large upfront cost) until they get enough for a run then mail the books out them selves when they are done. I've worked with printers before and bulk mailing it's not rocket science. That's not to say that working with a publisher doesn't have it's upside and depending on your situation it may be a good idea to go through one. But it's not as impossible to do this your self if you really want to you just have to be willing to take the time and have the necessary skills. Something most web comic authors/artists tend to be lacking.

 

[Rinz]

Most web comic's that I've followed just do pre-orders (were actual money is paid eliminating the need for a large upfront cost) until they get enough for a run then mail the books out them selves when they are done. I've worked with printers before and bulk mailing it's not rocket science. That's not to say that working with a publisher doesn't have it's upside and depending on your situation it may be a good idea to go through one. But it's not as impossible to do this your self if you really want to you just have to be willing to take the time and have the necessary skills. Something most web comic authors/artists tend to be lacking.

Skills? Like art skills? If they don't have those, then, I'm sorry to say, but they have no place trying to sell.

 

[Ilayas]

Skills? Like art skills? If they don't have those, then, I'm sorry to say, but they have no place trying to sell.

No like layout and print skills which is an art in it's self but is a good deal different from drawing comics. There is a lot that goes into getting something ready to send off to the printer more that you'd think. I worked for a few graphic design/publishing companies. If you don't have experience in that area and don't understand how the programs like indesign work it's going to be pretty impossible to print the comic your self. So going through a publishing company would be a good idea because you would pay them to do it for you. But if you know what you are doing it's not that hard to do it your self.

 

[Zydala]

Both are perfectly viable options depending on how you want to handle business. It's what you're most comfortable with, like Ilayas said.

ex:

Self-Published: Dead Winter, Rice-Boy

"Third-Party": 4DE (4th Dimension Entertainment); prints Lackadaisy, HINABN, The Meek

Comic that has done self-publishing, professional publishing, then went back to self-publishing: Octopus Pie


So yeah, everyone's kind of right here. It's really not a bad thing to know how to lay out your own comics; a lot of professionals in the industry that work with paperback issues and such have to know the dimensions they have to work with in the first place. That being said, if it's really that over your head, there's plenty of options concerning that too.



That being said, concerning the original topic... the guy has a youtube video to something that isn't even his on the "Anime" page and has a completely different description and studio. So... lol.

 

[Prince Nai]

Thanks for all the honest feedback I'll do my best to make the necessary changes!