I posted the following up on The Engine, Warren Ellis’ non-superhero comic community. The question was posed whether the decision by Diamond (the biggest distributor of comics in North America) to stop fulfilling orders on comics selling less then $1500 a month would change small publisher’s plans on distribution. I have been thinking about this for a while now, and this was what I came up with.

Now, I have a regular well-paying day job as a software developer, so please don’t jump on me for saying the following: I am more interested in people reading my work then I am in making money from it … for now. As well, I don’t want to make singles/floppies, I want to release 48 to 128 page OGNs.

With all that in mind, here is the “game plan” as I see it.

First off, get the company site/blog up. Use it to document the entire process of producing the comics. Not just your press releases, I am talking the entire thing. The best bit about Bad Signal is the “behind scenes” moments as Warren takes ideas and crafts them into tools or new projects. The growing DIY movement, the love of reality-based content, let it help build an audience. And hey, whether it fails or succeeds, it can serve as a resource to other creators.

Publish it first on the web. Don’t worry about securing the content. You can’t - someone will always find a way to get it. Instead, make it easily available as web pages, PDF, CBR, and downloads for PSP and iPod photo. Tag it all with copyright, web address, and request for donations. Promote the hell out of the site. Send preview bundles out. Like the man said, think of every person who would be interested.

All this can be done for “free”. Only real costs are web-space (and even then you can get something going under Blogger and the like), the costs of producing the work itself (paper, paints, etc. … or in my case, as I have no artistic talent, paying/partnering with an artist) and of course time. If you’re not technically inclined, get a friend to help you out with the techie bits (or bug me ).

We start talking serious money when it comes time to print on paper. Take a look at web stats to decide how much to print, or better yet, ASK the audience. Also decide HOW to distribute; Diamond and other DM distributors provide access to only one market. Anyone can sell anything on Amazon, and through it you have access to bookstores. Or simply link from your website. Contact retailers directly.

Price out the cost of a print run.

Don’t print.

Take orders and THEN print a batch of them. This minimizes the time between money has gone out and you are destitute and money comes roaring back in.

Repeat as necessary, with long term goal of cultivating a library of work which reach a money generating threshold that allows the quitting of day-job.

Nothing I have said here is new; I am just mapping out what my road ahead looks like.