Dear Haven Distributors (and, subsequently, Enemi Entertainment):
Surely you have heard about Diamond's recent decision to raise sales benchmark from $1500 to $2500. As an independent comic book creator and publisher, I am very concerned how this change – however slight it may seem – will affect the comic book industry. It's hard enough for independent publishers to find an audience, much less get accepted into the PREVIEWS catalog given Diamond's rigid standards. By raising benchmark, Diamond has assured that even fewer small publishers will get distribution to the thousands of retailers nationwide.
This affects indie comics – and the very industry – greatly. Given the current global economic crisis, I predict certain factors that will become truths within the next year:
1) The 32-page "floppy," or single issue edition, will become a thing of the past. With the new benchmark in place, only the Big Three-type companies will be able to secure the orders necessary needed to hold their place in PREVIEWS. Not that they need to worry about ever losing it. The indies, however, will have to move to a new model – the Trade Paperback. Gone will be the days of single, serialized issues. The independent publisher will be forced to collect complete stories in a larger format. The reason is simple: better pricepoint and profit. Also, if the indie hopes to have a chance to be carried by Diamond, this is the format they will eventually have to adhere to in order to play ball with them.
2) If any kind of serialized story is to take place in independent comics, it will happen online in the form of a Webcomic. Webcomics are quickly becoming the wave of the future, with several independent creators already taking their fate into their own hands – opting to find a new audience online. The smarter ones use webcomics, published on a consistent and reliable schedule, to generate buzz for their stories. They then collect the story arcs into the aforementioned Trade Paperback and then sell those independently. If they're lucky and have some pull, they get the book distributed through Diamond.
3) The Big Three will eventually completely take over the comic book direct retail market. There will be a few hangers-on (IDW, Devil's Due, Oni, etc.), but the smaller, one-man publishers will be forced out of the market. Capes and spandex will be the only kind of books that can be found at a comic book store, prevailing the existing perception that Graphic Literature is a medium for children and the socially inept.
Many companies have tried to compete with Diamond and failed. The reason for this is that they are trying to play by the same rules and paradigms that distributors have attempted for years. The truth is that Diamond is a huge, unruly powerhouse of a monopoly. Let's just be honest. Most retailers aren't even aware that there are any other options. The reason is that too many potential competitors are trying the same old method to get their message to the retailers – the printed catalog. But this is a new era in technology. And what I propose is a completely new model that would allow a very smart and resourceful company to go toe to toe with the behemoth that is Diamond Distributors.
We live in a time where nearly everyone is tuned into the internet. I sincerely doubt that any comic book retailer is working without a computer these days. If any are, they probably don't even order indie comics, and this model wouldn't be for them. However, most are very web savvy, and I think that affords potential distributors an opportunity to generate a serious revenue stream while simultaneously giving publishers a new outlet for their work and retailers fresh new inventory to put in their shops.
There needs to be a new distribution model, and here's a few suggestions on what I think it needs to be:
Abandon the print catalog.
By publishing a print catalog for retailers, you are in fact becoming part of the overlying problem while at the same time throwing money away on a venture that will yield little – if any – return. What is the logic in spending thousands of dollars to create and print a monthly, quarterly or yearly catalog that most retailers will probably throw in the trash anyway? It's been tried several times before, and it's failed every time.
PREVIEWS is PREVIEWS. Let Diamond have it. Your future is online. By creating the catalog online, you're eliminating a definite financial risk. You're also combatting the problem of frequency issues of when the catalog becomes available, avoiding lag times between when retailers receive new content.
Take it online. Wordpress is your friend.
The problem with Haven, Enemi and other small press distros is that their websites are clunky, unattractive, and impenetrable to the end user. And while Enemi's "catalog" does an adequate job of showing which publishers are represented, there are no clickable links for DIRECT ordering on the initial page of their catalog. Websites nowadays, especially with the advent of Wordpress templates, are both easy to create and visually pleasing. They give the consumer clear, concise information on what's available and how to get to it.
By updating the content on a weekly (or steady) basis, you give retailers a steady stream of new material for them to stock their shops. By making the content available online, you sidestep the problematic and costly device of a printed catalog. Publishers are also free to solicit their content on their own schedule, not one pre-determined from an unruly distributor threatening to pull their books if solicitation deadlines are not met.
Also, the beauty of Wordpress and having online content is that people interested in your product can subscribe to RSS feeds of your catalog, which will circulate to your subscribers whenever you update your product listings. In terms of getting the word out on the streets, this is invaluable.
Offer 5-previews of EVERY comic available.
This is where the Big Three are clearly winning in the buzz game. For every solicitation, they offer a 5-page online preview of their upcoming titles. It makes it very easy for the consumer to decide what they want to put on their pull lists and the retailer an idea of what's good. It also gives the distributor a channel to reach comic book media with, reminding the general public that they exist. The problem with Haven, Enemi and the like is that practically no one know about them. Previews of every book they distributed – not just the cover – would be a fantastic solution. It would be up to the publisher to supply the preview pages that the distributor could easily put on the Wordpress site and subsequently send to comic book news sites (Newsarama, CBR, etc.) No one will use the distributor if no one knows about it. And, so far, indie publishers are the only ones making an effort to build press on their books. Diamond will occasionally highlight a notable book with a "Certified Cool," but even this distinction is generally given to a publisher that Diamond has made a deal (i.e. sold advertising within PREVIEWS) to. By sending the news sites previews of each weeks solicitations, you're reminding people of who you are and giving them more choices to buy something they're going to miss in PREVIEWS.
Make the catalog available to both retailers and regular consumers.
With an online catalog, it also makes it very easy for the non-comic-retailer types to access the same information and place their own orders. So why not create two types of accounts: retailer and consumer? The consumers would be able to place their orders – at cover price (or a small discount. Remember, you'd also have to compete with companies like DCBS) – and pay for the shipping of their own books. The retailers would get their books at the standard retailer discount that Diamond offers and save on shipping costs. Retailer orders could be required in bulks of 5 to 10 depending on interest. That way there would be a minimum commitment and incentive to sell more than one copy of any particular title.
The goal here, however, is to give as many people as possible access to content. Diamond makes PREVIEWS available to the every-day comic reader. Why not make the online catalog equally available? And, as stated previously, you're also going head to head with existing online distros.
That's the nuts and bolts of it. Given what I've laid out here, I've anticipated a couple stumbling blocks:
Generating the content.
Admittedly, what we're talking about is a serious full time job. The main issue is going coding the site and also making sure publishers know what format you wish to receive their 5-page previews in. But like I said, Wordpress sites are fairly pain-free in terms of creating. And online catalogs are much easier to set up and ever. A moderate team of folks should be able to handle this in a timely manner.
The actual Distribution.
This is the best and worst problem to have. Because with the influx of demand one could potentially receive with this kind of model comes the hassle of having to actually stock product and expedite orders. It's also what's made Diamond such a powerhouse of a distributor. Let's face it. They have huge warehouses all over the country. It's going to be a hell of an undertaking, especially if you're filling orders for both retailers and consumers. But this is the task of a distributor, and someone's going to have to step up to the plate to compete. I know the comic book audience in general is ready for another choice.
Some of you may read what I've written here and say, "hey, we're already doing that." Well, if you are, no one's heard of you. I certainly haven't. So you must not be doing everything it takes to truly carve out your own presence as a distributor. Now is the time to rise up and capitalize on the gap that needs to be filled from Diamond's unfair policies. I hope someone takes some of the pearls of wisdom here and runs with them.
There is such a marvelous legacy in independent comics. It's an genre that has elevated the medium and made folks who may not be familiar with graphic storytelling find new things to read. It's given us critically acclaimed gems like "Strangers in Paradise," "Maus" and "Blankets." With the current economic climate, it's going to be even harder for these great stories to find the light of day through the piles and piles of superhero fluff that is overshadowing the current comic book marketplace. Don't get me wrong, I love superheroes as much as the next person. But I also believe that the independent creator should have just as much of a voice and opportunity to reach their audience as the big corporate companies. Hopefully, sometime soon, someone will hear this simple plea and take matters into their own hands to combat the current distribution monopoly.
Philip Clark is a musician, comic book writer and creator currently living in Los Angeles. Follow his ever-entertaining Twitter stream here.
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