Graphic novelist with unusual problem seeks advice

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Amazonian

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Hi all,

I lucked into a great publishing deal back in 2013, when I was paid a solid advance by a major, international, too-big-to-fail publisher to script a 68-page graphic novel. The art is nearly ready now and everything's looking great, except that my publisher has no concept of how to market comic books and graphic novels.

The publisher relies entirely on marketing to their own, established customer base, which isn't necessarily interested in comic books. They don't do press releases nor send out preview copies, get the attention of reviewers or anything else that generates actual buzz. The result is that the 12 GNs they've issued over the past year have all sunk without a trace.

My GN has a decent chance of developing an enthusiastic niche-interest fan base, but only if the fans know that it exists, which is basically down to me. Over the past several months I've set up a dedicated Facebook page, Twitter account and website, and I have a small but peppy "street team" of test readers and others who can help with grass-roots marketing. I also have a professionally produced video trailer.

Bearing in mind that I currently have no name nor credentials in this field, which would you say are the key websites/reviewers to get on board - which ones are actually likely to be interested? The GN is currently scheduled to launch in Feb. 2015.
 

Bicyclefish

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I lucked into a great publishing deal back in 2013, when I was paid a solid advance by a major, international, too-big-to-fail publisher to script a 68-page graphic novel. The art is nearly ready now and everything's looking great, except that my publisher has no concept of how to market comic books and graphic novels.

The publisher relies entirely on marketing to their own, established customer base, which isn't necessarily interested in comic books. They don't do press releases nor send out preview copies, get the attention of reviewers or anything else that generates actual buzz. The result is that the 12 GNs they've issued over the past year have all sunk without a trace.
It doesn't really have much bearing on what to do now, but when you accepted the deal, did you know about the publisher's marketing strategy to focus on their own customer base?

Bearing in mind that I currently have no name nor credentials in this field, which would you say are the key websites/reviewers to get on board - which ones are actually likely to be interested? The GN is currently scheduled to launch in Feb. 2015.
I suggest starting by looking at sites you visit to learn about comics and/or their creators. There are a lot of news and review sites out there, and a lot of them have no problems covering "no name" creators. In fact several seem to enjoy finding new talent.

It'd help to know more about your GN, because some sites favor certain genres or target audiences; the subject may even have some overlap allowing you to target sites other than strictly comic ones. Also you might want to ask your publisher* if they're sending anything at all out to any sites to avoid any crossed wires.




*Who is the publisher anyway?
 

Amazonian

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It doesn't really have much bearing on what to do now, but when you accepted the deal, did you know about the publisher's marketing strategy to focus on their own customer base?

Not initially, but it's become obvious over the past year.

I suggest starting by looking at sites you visit to learn about comics and/or their creators. There are a lot of news and review sites out there, and a lot of them have no problems covering "no name" creators. In fact several seem to enjoy finding new talent.

I've been doing that and I have a bunch of "contact us" pages and some editors' email addresses, but I don't know the biz well enough to be able to judge which sites/people will be receptive to unsolicited contact from an unknown.

It'd help to know more about your GN, because some sites favor certain genres or target audiences; the subject may even have some overlap allowing you to target sites other than strictly comic ones. Also you might want to ask your publisher* if they're sending anything at all out to any sites to avoid any crossed wires.

I don't want to offer much identifying info. at this stage (non-disclosure agreements, etc.) but I recognize that's good advice. I have a decent handle on the target demographics and they're quite niche - it's not a standard capes-and-tights, sci-fi superhero story - so, again, I'm not sure whether the major sites (BleedingCool, ComicBookResources, etc.) will even be interested.

Can you list any sites that are known for reviewing "non-name" projects?
 

Cathy C

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Well, first--what leads you to believe they have no clue? It might just be that the few they previously launched didn't strike a chord with the readers out there, but yours might. Now, it could be that someone who had championed the imprint/concept is no longer with the publisher. In that case, there are actually a lot of things you could do to market the GN. What's been done to date? Has it been sent to Publishers Weekly for a review? What about other GN review pubs/sites? Has the publisher assigned you a publicist yet? Big name publishers do that.

IOW, where are you at now so we can help you find your way. :)
 

Amazonian

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Well, first--what leads you to believe they have no clue? It might just be that the few they previously launched didn't strike a chord with the readers out there, but yours might. Now, it could be that someone who had championed the imprint/concept is no longer with the publisher. In that case, there are actually a lot of things you could do to market the GN. What's been done to date? Has it been sent to Publishers Weekly for a review? What about other GN review pubs/sites? Has the publisher assigned you a publicist yet? Big name publishers do that.

IOW, where are you at now so we can help you find your way. :)

I don't want to identify the publisher due to NDAs, etc., but they really don't think in terms of marketing or promotion outside their own customer base. They assure me that I'll have PDFs to distribute to reviewers on my own initiative, but they will not be doing anything like that themselves - no publicists, no effort beyond alerting their customers that the book exists.

At the moment I have the assets I described earlier and I'm planning a review-heavy marketing campaign, ideally via key "tastemaker" special-interest websites, so that the target audience will stand a decent chance of finding out about the GN. Beyond the chance of a minor cult success, really, I don't expect it to set the world on fire - it's a pretty non-mainstream story.

We still don't have a release date - waiting on final art deliveries - but it's probably going live in February.
 

Cathy C

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Okay, so will it be online only? No ebook or print version? That will limit your marketing base somewhat, but not eliminate it. Having a NDA seems a little strange, simply because publishers generally want their name out there. But I do understand you don't want them to think you're disparaging them. You're welcome to PM me the name of the publisher and maybe I can help you work out some promo that will build on the publisher's existing strengths. I know all about trying to build an alternate market to the publisher's existing one. I write a lot of cross-genres. ;)
 

Lissibith

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While superheroes may be a focus, mainly due to sheer volume in the mainstream, both CBR and Bleeding Cool review plenty of things beyond capes and tights. (I can in fact blame CBR for adding Bold Riley to my collection and Bleeding Cool for Princeless and Freakangels). I'd definitely at least reach out to them. Maybe they won't be interested, but even if they decline to review it, I imagine that result is no worse than not reaching out to them at all.

If you're a female creator and/or the book is about a female mc you might want to look into some of the sites that focus on such works, like The Mary Sue.
 

Amazonian

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Okay, so will it be online only? No ebook or print version? That will limit your marketing base somewhat, but not eliminate it. Having a NDA seems a little strange, simply because publishers generally want their name out there. But I do understand you don't want them to think you're disparaging them. You're welcome to PM me the name of the publisher and maybe I can help you work out some promo that will build on the publisher's existing strengths. I know all about trying to build an alternate market to the publisher's existing one. I write a lot of cross-genres. ;)

It's coming out as an ebook first and I believe the plan is to bundle it with a couple of other books in a print edition later. The NDA is actually with an intermediary company.

Mostly, I'm just looking for advice on which comic book review/etc. sites have a track record of reviewing books by unknown writers. I'm way behind the curve as far as that goes.
 

Amazonian

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While superheroes may be a focus, mainly due to sheer volume in the mainstream, both CBR and Bleeding Cool review plenty of things beyond capes and tights. (I can in fact blame CBR for adding Bold Riley to my collection and Bleeding Cool for Princeless and Freakangels). I'd definitely at least reach out to them. Maybe they won't be interested, but even if they decline to review it, I imagine that result is no worse than not reaching out to them at all.

If you're a female creator and/or the book is about a female mc you might want to look into some of the sites that focus on such works, like The Mary Sue.

Thanks, that's useful. The Mary Sue is near the top of my list.
 

Bicyclefish

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I've been doing that and I have a bunch of "contact us" pages and some editors' email addresses, but I don't know the biz well enough to be able to judge which sites/people will be receptive to unsolicited contact from an unknown.
Assuming you've had an interest in comics before this, what sites do you go to to read about comics, and what titles by newer creators (there's a lot out there) do you read and enjoy? Check who reviewed them.

Thanks, that's useful. The Mary Sue is near the top of my list.
To avoid people suggesting sites you've already considered, perhaps you could share your list.

I don't want to offer much identifying info. at this stage (non-disclosure agreements, etc.)
Without knowing more then "it's not a standard capes-and-tights, sci-fi superhero story", it's hard to give more than general vague advice other than: dig into the sites a little more. As Lissibith said, CBR and Bleeding Cool don't just cover "capes and tights". There's a lot of well regarded comics out there that fall under that category.

It's difficult to promote a work you're not allowed to give any details about. I've observed a title is often announced around six months in advance, allowing creators to help generate buzz. I find it odd this publisher would have an NDA in place preventing a creator from doing so.
 
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Amazonian

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Assuming you've had an interest in comics before this, what sites do you go to to read about comics, and what titles by newer creators (there's a lot out there) do you read and enjoy? Check who reviewed them.

Ironically enough, I hadn't been interested in comics since I was a kid; the publication deal kind of came out of left field. As an adult, I've read "V for Vendetta", "Watchmen" and "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen".

To avoid people suggesting sites you've already considered, perhaps you could share your list.

Good call. These are the sites I'm looking at for reviews:

io9
The Mary Sue
BleedingCool.com
ComicBookResources.com
GraphicPolicy.com
GeekAndSundry (Amy Dallen's Youtube vlog, but I don't know how to contact her)
NerdyButFlirty
ComicBookGrrrl.com
Comixverse.com
Popcults.com
TheDiscriminatingFangirl.com
TalkingComicBooks.com
GirlsReadComics.com
GirlsGoneGeek.com
WomenWriteAboutComics.com
TheComicBokReview.com
ComicBookTherapy.com
ILikeComicsToo.com

Without knowing more then "it's not a standard capes-and-tights, sci-fi superhero story", it's hard to give more than general vague advice other than: dig into the sites a little more. As Lissibith said, CBR and Bleeding Cool don't just cover "capes and tights". There's a lot of well regarded comics out there that fall under that category.

It's difficult to promote a work you're not allowed to give any details about. I've observed a title is often announced around six months in advance, allowing creators to help generate buzz. I find it odd this publisher would have an NDA in place preventing a creator from doing so.

I know, but this is the situation I have to deal with. They won't make any announcement until all the art, etc. is in the can, and that announcement will only be a pre-sales page on their website.

Edited to add: sorry, I should have clarified that I do anticipate being able to send out review copies, etc. after a teleconference with the publishers next week.
 
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Grigoris

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To find good review sites for your GN, you can Google reviews of similar works such as yours that have a shared fan base and email those reviewers to check out your work.
 

zblock

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You're lucky. Take some of that money they gave you and launch some marketing of your own. FB and instagram have huge reaches.
 
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