A (Mostly) Helpful Guide to Getting Your Comic on Store Shelves
So you’re a comic creator. Or a publisher. Whatever you want to call yourself.
You’re independent, self-publishing. You’re not ready to start talking to a distributor like Diamond or Lunar, but you still want your book to get a wider reach. Maybe you’re tired of only selling at conventions and local shops.
How do you reach the next step to get your comic in other shops outside of your reach?
Well I wanted to know, so I asked shops from across the United States, and here’s what I found out. (Just to preface this, I’m a big data-driven person, so I apologize in advance if some of the information provided is boring or obvious)
First, the basics. What do you include in your email? A representative of The Copacetic Comics Company in Pittsburgh said it best: “Email the retailer with a description of the book, sample pages and/or link to PDF, retail price, discount schedule, list of distributors and whether or not it is available direct from the publisher (you, in this case).”
Copacetic Comics Company, Pittsburgh, PA
Of the shops interviewed, 80% will sell books from independent creators. The ones who don’t, can’t primarily for financial reasons. It’s a lot of work and a lot of money to maintain accounts with multiple creators. Those that DO sell books from indie creators, almost always sell books from local writers and artists, so wherever you are, if you haven’t already, get in touch with your local shop! They’re likely to work with you and to push your book to their customers.
Everyone who does sell independent books told us that you need to either sell them at a retailer discount that’s 40% off or more (industry standard is 50%), with three of those shops selling books on consignment, meaning the store doesn’t buy the books outright, but the creator gets an agreed-upon share of the profits if/when the book sells. $4 or $5 is the average retail price for a 20-30 page indie comic.
Just because you’ve sent out a few emails in the past that haven’t worked, don’t stop. Obviously you don’t want to annoy retailers and send them weekly emails asking them again and again to buy your book, but in moderation, be consistent in your communication with shops. And in that communication, don’t send out a mass email. Personalize it! Find shops that you think would be a good fit for your book, and tell them that.
Always send a preview copy of the book, preferably the whole book. A cover and a few lettered pages is great, but unless you’re someone with a big following, it’s usually simply not enough. This can be a digital copy through email or a print copy through the mail (for more information about the best ways to communicate with shops, keep reading).
Invest in yourself and in your book. A well-known cover artist (or at least high quality cover art) is a HUGE factor in how new customers will pick up your book. Many shoppers tend to ignore books that don’t come from any of the mainstream publishers, so by giving it a visually appealing cover, more people are likely to be interested in what you have to offer. (Also a helpful hint from Mill Geek Comics: look into comic creators that you are a fan of for covers. They may not be as expensive as you think.)
Mill Geek Comics, Bothell, WA
To add to the previous point, when you do reach out to retailers, whether you’re in Previews or not, make sure your pitch/logline is enticing! Retailers receive a lot of solicitations and emails asking them to buy your book, so stand out on the pitch as well as the cover.
As far as methods of communication go, email was agreed as the best way to let retailers know about your book, as well as in-person contact (whenever possible). This was followed by a physical copy of the book with a note, although I’d like to interject here and say that this is definitely cost-prohibitive, as you’re getting rid of precious copies of the book and paying for shipping to multiple places. As far as other methods of communication like postcards and print media, the reactions were… mixed. One shop (who shall not be named) HATES them, purely because they’re flooded by so many on top of the mainstream books that they have to purchase and keep track of, that it’s just too much, while other shops love receiving postcards and letters about your newest release because it shows that you’re willing to put in the extra effort. If nothing else, this opens their eyes to who you are, so they can suggest you to their customers!
If you want the numbers, 91% of the shops interviewed are open to you cold-contacting them in some way, with 81% of those supporting print media like postcards and posters as promotional material. Only two of the shops I talked to were open to phone calls, so probably best to avoid those, especially on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
A question that I’ve seen asked on Twitter several times is whether a retailer tier on your Kickstarter campaign is worth it. Well I’m here with the numbers, and well… it’s 50/50. Literally. 50% of the shops we interviewed said they’ll take a look at your Kickstarter campaign and might back it depending on the quality of the book and if they think it will sell, while 50% said they won’t even look, because of the afore-mentioned hassle of dealing with too many distribution points, and a few just because they’ve been burned before.
In summary:
Be interesting! The cover and pitch of your comic need to be enticing enough to make a retailer, and more importantly, a customer, want to invest in you.
Communicate. Send personal emails that aren’t over the top, that contain at MINIMUM a pitch, link to a pdf copy, prices, and where they can buy it. Retailers receive a lot of these, so again, be interesting.
Talk to local shops. There’s a good chance they’ll sell your book, and they may even let you set up shop inside the store to sell your products yourself!
Comics Unlimited, Cleveland, TN
The most important thing, that was consistently in EVERY response that we received, was to make good comics. If you make a quality product, then it will sell. It may be a bit of a challenge to get it to the store, but if you get to the store, and you have a great comic, it will sell. I think the representative from Comics Unlimited in Cleveland, Tennessee said it best:
“Make good comics, with good stories. We will do the rest.”
Make good comics and do what you can to get it on the shelves. The shop and their employees want you to succeed. The customers want you to succeed. There are QUALITY stories in indie comics, stories that rival (and sometimes surpass) those in the mainstream. Not to be cliche, but it’s the line in Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” Make great comics, and it will sell. So go out and write, draw, color, letter, whatever it is you do. Go tell an awesome story!
