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The "A Softer World" crew is doing an AMA, and said this about ending the series: ( bolding mine )quote:But the more we talked about it, the more actual consideration we gave it. We don't know very many people who have stopped their comics. It seems like the expectation is just that it'll go on forever. And when we thought about the comic like that - like something that we would just keep doing and doing, it really didn't seem so appealing. We didn't know many comics that had stopped, but we could both name a ton that had stopped being GOOD, or where the creator was clearly bored of it and just phoning the comics in out of habit and as a job. And we did not want that. We didn't want to just keep doing the comic out of habit or for money.
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May 27, 2015 21:03
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I can't quite figure out what they're looking for - the entry size says " The cartoon image must be less than 800px wide and 1280px long. (JPG only)" . Does this mean they want 3 regular pages before July 7?
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Jun 10, 2015 17:26
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On closer examination, I see they also say "You decide the length of each episode and when to submit each episode during the Preliminary Period and Tournament Period", so I assume it's a stack of pages in that vertical 800x1200 strip format. That sounds daunting to do weekly.
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Jun 10, 2015 19:32
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We're scheduled to do a book signing at the TCAF Page & Panel shop on Thursday, June 18 @ 6pm. This is my first book signing of any kind, so it ought to be interesting! I just dropped them an email, mentioned some sales figures and the available creators, and they were really friendly and helpful in getting things organized. We're going to be selling books to the store at wholesale pricing, and then the general public will buy from the counter and bring them over to a line of tables where us creators are waiting. I'll post sales figures once we're done, but I'm expecting to move about 15-30 of both books. If you find yourself in Toronto, come on down to The Signing! We actually have a lot more writers and artists available than the event lists! I'll be floating around in a cloud of panic nearby, decked out in my totally sweet TO Comix hat. Lastly, here's my story from Volume 2! Discount Demon of the West End! Words by me, Art by Ally Rom Colthoff ( https://twitter.com/varethane )         
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Jun 11, 2015 06:14
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We hit the Editor's Association of Canada Global Conference this past weekend, and it was surprisingly good! We sold 35 books, had a lot of fascinating conversations with incredibly educated folks, and paid 15% of sales as table price. We would absolutely visit them again, but next year they're in Vancouver. We handed out samples to university profs and library decision-makers, the kind of folks who don't visit comic-cons. The audience was genuinely interested and hungry for new books in new formats. If your comics are in anyway literary, or you could see them being used as teaching materials, you need to sign up right now.
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Jun 17, 2015 03:53
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So, we had a book signing this Thursday. We had a very popular FB event with a hundred confirmed guests and fifty maybes - which turned into maybe twenty people, tops. I still consider the event a success, because the whole extended anthology crew got to hang out for the first time in a long time and party, but it was not the sales boost I'd hoped for. We sold 3 Volume 1s, and 7 Volume 2s at the event, and a few more copies to the store afterwards for their own stock. I put a huge amount of logistical work into getting everyone in one room, organizing nametags and supplies, running a social media campaign, and it was a bit frustrating to see it not make a significant return. I chatted to some store folks afterwards, and it seems like many launch signings have lackluster sales, which makes me wonder why folks do them. Folks with published books, how have your launch events gone? As of right now, Volume 2 has cost 13.1k, and brought in 12.4k. I need to kick sales up a notch. Also, pro-tip: Include a barcode on your book cover! The store staff were complaining about a previous launch where the book had no identifying symbols to put into their Point-of-Sale system. Stores need ISBNS. Pro-tip x2: Name tags for your creators at events! People find it hard to approach a wall of strangers, so having a visible name and hint as to occupation helps break the ice.
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Jun 21, 2015 17:13
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Quoting myself from the previous thread:quote:I'm taking Ty Templeton's Laying out the Page class on designing page layouts, which is great stuff. I don't know if this is any help at all, but he broke down the basic panel language that he sees in modern comics. ( this may be in a Scott Mcloud book too, but I haven't read 'em! ). Templeton runs a lot of comicbook bootcamps at the cons he hits every year, so try and get signed up for one of those if you can! Incredibly valuable stuff.
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Jul 10, 2015 22:04
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How's everybody doing? I'm busy prepping the third Toronto Comic anthology, and I have a budget to run past you folks! Take a look at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YnhORQvpgRhyRAwNoNY6aGPzsloXIQwg8B3qFYxZqps/edit#gid=0 , and let me know what you think - is there anything in there that strikes you as unnecessary or wonky? Our previous Kickstarter got 7.2k, so asking for 11k may be a bit ambitious. The per page rates are complete garbage, but they're all I can afford. I'd like to set a series of stretch goals that result in better compensations for the creators as well. EDIT: Juggled some numbers. Squidster fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Jul 21, 2015 |
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Jul 21, 2015 04:50
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poo poo, you are totally right. That changes some of the balance. EDIT: I've added a second sheet for Kickstarter data, calculating weight, production cost and shipping for each pledge reward tier. Squidster fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Jul 22, 2015 |
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Jul 22, 2015 01:16
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Yep, Marquis. The cost of proofs was offensive - like $160 cdn each - so I printed my proofs with Createspace instead. It didn't confirm paper quality or final feel, but it let me catch those typos that are somehow invisible on screens. The final turnaround on the big order was about three weeks including shipping, though.Scribblehatch posted:Any of you guys ever dealt with precensorship before?
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Jul 22, 2015 17:45
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Pick posted:Good to know, I was considering doing the same thing (but mostly for time reasons). I wouldn't take that shortcut if the interiors were color, but I figure I've seen enough books via Marquis to know how well their B/W reproduces. Mostly just want to check for typos, accurate lineup of spreads, etc. Thank you. So like... self-censorship? Good judgement? Knowing the marketplace? If you're posting comics to the internet, there is literally nothing you cannot post or say, although there are many many things you probably shouldn't. It does help to know your demographic before starting a piece, so that you can tailor your work to them.
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Jul 22, 2015 17:58
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Okay, so, in an effort to do some actual goddamn discussion and not whatever babytown frolics are going on here, check out: Tips for Properly Crediting Comics Creators While it mostly applies to Big Two books, it's useful general advice for comic journalists reviewing books. I know a lot of casual readers who simply have no idea who draws their favorite books, and very, very few people who could name the inkers or letterers. In the last volume of Toronto Comics, I went out of my way to list artist -> writer in our marketing and credits. It's one of those weird things in comics - at an early career level, it's all about the artists. Any wannabe writer needs an artist to get their totally-sweet idea in the real world, and artists get the lion's share of respect. As a product takes off, the audience often seems to end up respecting the writer more and the artist less.
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Jul 28, 2015 21:55
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raaaan posted:That's probably It. It's generally not a thing that you see in webcomics as much because people who make them tend to wear both hats or work with the same writer for every project, but it IS an issue that I see spill over on a lot of creator forums and facebook groups in where I constantly see writers looking for artists while at the same time telling prospective artists that they are replaceable so don't expect much/any money. It's actually really entertaining to watch 'writers' who want to pitch their books to Image or Oni foam at the mouth when an artist asks to see samples of the writer's work in advance of accepting a project, which makes it really easy to pick out who is an actual writer and who is an 'idea guy'. That said, there are some folks who simply will not see the flaws in their work, and are happy to blame the artist if something doesn't work out. We had one writer who had a great pitch and a mediocre script, and every artist I showed it to rejected it. The writer kept insisting that the script was great, and the artists just didn't understand their vision. Unfortunately for them, the happiness of the artist pool is infinitely more important than the writer's.
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Jul 28, 2015 22:36
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I've used Bluehost for quite a while, and they're pretty hassle-free and cheap. As long as you don't need root access or anything, they're a great shared hosting provider.
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Jul 29, 2015 05:10
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Attention assholders, hold on to your asses: You may now submit applications for TCAF 2016. We've put in an app on behalf of Toronto Comics Vol 3, and hopefully we'll be able to launch our next volume there. You should definitely apply!
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Aug 2, 2015 03:43
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Okay, I've put together a book proposal. Anyone want to flip through and spot if they see anything horrifying or offensive? I'm trying to exhaustively plan everything before we go live. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xcv-_lsd_pyNKFKKCd0CJwXGN8cMJmoHaHkepOucoVo/edit?usp=sharing Pick posted:TCAF was great but I wish I'd done a year as an attendee before I tabled. It ended up hard to check in on everything cool going on.
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Aug 2, 2015 06:40
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They have, yes. They still allow you to submit if you have a new book release or important milestone at TCAF itself. I don't know if we'll get a table, but I figure it's worth a shot! Incidentally, I've taken our pitch doc live to http://tocomix.com/2016.html , so any Toronto-minded folks in this thread can now submit stuff!
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Aug 3, 2015 14:25
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I use Adobe InDesign to package all my PDFs, because that thing is mad handy. Individual pages can have different formats, so you can have single-pages or spreads easily. Definitely get your comic on Comixology as well! Approval takes forever, but it does get you a lot of eyeballs.
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Aug 5, 2015 16:29
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Our first Toronto Comics anthology got nominated for a Gene Day award! That's pretty nifty. We're kicking up our third book right now, and our deadline for pitches is this Sunday Aug 30 if you happen to live in Toronto. Since TCAF, we've had a lot of really talented folks reach out, and we're going to have a hard time keeping the total page count to a reasonable size. It's crazy to see how far the project has come since we started it in March 2014!
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Aug 27, 2015 19:37
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Puppy Time posted:A shitload of mangos and mango-style comics are black and white or minimal color. That Toronto Comics anthology a while back is also black and white. Love Me Nice, Templar AZ, Family Man... there's plenty of great black and white comics. Yeah, we looked into doing colour, but it ends up costing +33% in print costs. I do love the hell out of colour, but it's expensive and time-consuming. Today, I will become a bad guy. Of the 55 writers who applied to this year's anthology, we only have space for 26. I've turned away one or two people before for the previous books, but never on this scale. We've had 45 artists apply as well, and I'll have to turn away a significant chunk of very talented folks. The frustrating thing is that so many of the story pitches are really good. I'd love to see them made, and I'd love to read them, but it's not practical to publish a 500-page phonebook. I've lost a good few evenings arguing with my editors as we try and pick which of the great stories we all love will get left out.
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Sep 13, 2015 20:49
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Anyone have any experience ordering custom plushies? Any idea where to even start with that? My work is curious about ordering plushies of a small animal character. This weekend was also a momentous weekend for us, in that we finally broke even on our first book! We've spent $4,509.91 and earned $4,769.54. We're saving up the profits to do reprints later in the year, especially if we win the Gene Day award. Book 2 is on it's way, but isn't there yet - we've spent $16,599.75 and made $15,987.18. Like, my mind can't quite wrap itself around that money, but the numbers don't lie. We spent 2 and a half grand on conventions alone. Book 3? Book 3's gonna be pricey.
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Sep 28, 2015 22:22
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Thanks! Ideally they'd be stuffed figures between 4" and 6" tall. We don't have any pattern designers, but we can provide turnarounds for the characters and suchlike. I found http://www.auroracustomplush.com/cus/?mid=cus_step_cus , but their order size seems... infinitely larger than we can support. We'd be looking for between 100-250 of the dang things, not 5,000+.
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Sep 29, 2015 03:03
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  He's a fairly stock mouse with a scarf thing going on. ( I would love to do a plushie of the robot, but he's not as popular! )
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Sep 29, 2015 03:25
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Thanks to you and your mom for the detailed reply! That Leo creature looks super-cute. We could potentially do 1,000 units if we stocked up for a few years, depending on what the per-unit cost is. When you say do it in rubber, is there a keyword term for that? What should I google to find companies who offer that? iPhone covers is a great idea, especially because we have a mobile app featuring that mouse! Delta Echo posted:She also pointed at the second image and asked, "does he live?" Our company has been painting adorable mice for 8 years now, and our art team is very, very good at it. 659 mice in total.    
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Sep 29, 2015 04:33
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Thanks dude! That's a huge help, and I'll get some turnarounds and art built for the figure. We'll see how this thing goes!
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Sep 29, 2015 05:19
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Thanks, I'll look into both of those folks! Can I take a moment to say that I really appreciate this thread? Without everyone's feedback and advice, constructive criticism and Avshlom's shitposting, I'd have struggled a lot more trying to make comics. Y'all are great.
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Oct 15, 2015 15:04
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ZnCu posted:I'm a little late here but I have to second the recommendation for Gann Memorials. When I worked with them, they were fantastic... very communicative and helpful, working to iterate a few prototypes before committing to a production run. They even went with my decision to put magnets in the plush's feelers! Look at how adorable these came out! I'm currently completely overwhelmed with editing and text details for TO Comix Vol 3. We're looking at around a 300-page book with 43 contributors this year. The two new editors are doing a fantastic job of helping manage people, and I couldn't be happier with being able to delegate work. Even so, all three of are putting in several hours every day keeping people on track. Thankfully, all the scripts are locked down and we're now at the character design phase! Have some process art!        
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Nov 4, 2015 21:56
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ZnCu posted:I ordered a run of 500, which I was able to cover pretty easily by pre-selling about 200 through a Kickstarter. At that scale, shipping prices are a significant issue, though... shipping from the factory to me, even at bulk rates, still ran almost a couple thousand bucks. (They gave me a pretty accurate estimate for that up front, so the Kickstarter covered that too.) More process art!  
Squidster fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Nov 5, 2015 |
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Nov 5, 2015 15:36
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ZnCu posted:I didn't put in any of my own cash, I just folded the costs of shipping into the Kickstarter so that when I pre-sold 200 plushes, that covered all the bases. If you've got the audience, it's really just a matter of setting the proper price points. We also don't really have any significant web presence, but we've sold 666 of our first book, and 579 of our second - we're still a tiny operation. We need to work on our branding and our reach!
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Nov 6, 2015 21:03
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Oni Press present first title from open submissions: 'Space Battle Lunchtime' by Natalie Riess Oni talks about their recent open submissions experience - it sounds like they got 2,500 in total.
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Nov 10, 2015 17:27
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We got our Comixology sales numbers back today. Comixology is notoriously bad at reporting, as we only get sales data back 60 days after a financial quarter ends. Toronto Comics: Volume 1 - $4.99 Launched Q4 2014 34 units sold Toronto Comics: Volume 2 - $4.99 Launched Q2 2015 13 units sold We get 50% of net sales after IOS/Google Play takes their percentage cut of revenue. In total, we’ve earned $108.65 for both books since launch. I don’t believe anthologies do particularly well on Comixology, and the $5 price point may be too high for cautious buyers. For Volume 3, we’re going to be looking at releasing it on Comixology only as a series of .99 cent digital minis, and we’ll see if the cheaper price builds an audience. We've got a 30 page mini being prepared for Comixology now, and we should get sales data for a cheaper smaller book in - sigh - February.
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Nov 15, 2015 04:04
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How is IndyPlanet as a creator? Do they do any stat reporting on pages viewed, books sold, etc.? How's the experience? Kablam seems really expensive compared to basically any other printing house - if you're printing more than a hundred units, it's vastly cheaper to find someone local.
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Nov 17, 2015 21:01
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I just printed 300 thirty page B+W perfectbound 6" x 9" books with Rapido Books for $650-ish CDN, but doing it with Kablam would have cost me $1120 CDN. Even if I'd just printed 100 books with Rapido, it'd still have been +- $100 cheaper.
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Nov 18, 2015 03:43
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HanzoSchmanzo posted:Well, I do sell my books through IndyPlanet, but I also work there. We don't offer anything on the order of in depth analytics (at the moment), but you can keep track of your sales, and earnings. Personally, I'm happy with it as a platform to sell my books, but like I said, I'm an employee, so my experience might not be representative. HanzoSchmanzo posted:We don't have the economy of scale that offset presses offer, which is why our focus is on short-run printing. Still, 300 copies of a 32 page black and white book should run you about 558.00 USD (or 743.00 CDN). Maybe something was screwy with the calculator when you priced it? Everyone optimizes for a different niche, and I appreciate that you guys offer helpful templates and a lot of guides to folks just starting out!
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Nov 18, 2015 06:08
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If you want to test yourself to make sure you understand the character's shapes, I strongly recommend doing some character rotations for each age - stuff like this:    ( Bruce Timm's design will always be my favorite Batman )
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Nov 18, 2015 21:14
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We just got accepted into TCAF for our second year in a row! We're on track to launch our third anthology there, and I am super pumped about this. It's gonna be awesome. Who else will I be seeing in Toronto in May 2016?
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Dec 8, 2015 02:38
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Scribblehatch posted:
Thinking of ads, how familiar is the thread with the dark art of MARKETING? I'm putting together the Kickstarter proposal for the next Toronto Comics book, and I'm looking at web marketing. Basic social media outreach is a given, but I'm also looking at other angles. I've got a couple hundred bucks to spend on marketing, so my budget is pretty tiny. I've looked at: Hiveworks: Minimum budget is $1,000. Nope. Reddit: All Reddit ads are 1000 views for $0.75. They can be targeted to specific subreddits - in this case, r/toronto, r/canada, maybe r/comics. That's for a sticky link at the top of a subreddit, and it doesn't stand out very much. Project Wonderful: Cost is complex, dependent on site traffic and banner size. We should select some comics with similar tones and try to run a 30-day campaign. Twitter: It's hard to pin down just exactly where your money vanished to. I did a tiny $25 Twitter campaign last year and got roughly zero clicks from it. Something Awful: $30 a month to add a banner to the rotation. There’s no way to track how many banners are currently in rotation, and the SA audience may not care about the book. Facebook: I've heard a lot of negative things.
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Jan 12, 2016 19:02
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We're starting to get inks for Toronto Comics: Volume 3, and I had to share this art, because drat, yo..     
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Feb 9, 2016 05:40
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Aaaaaaaahhhhhh I'm super excited about stuff I'm not allowed to talk about yet! I was up until 5am in the morning prepping proofs for the anthology, but by 10am the work has already paid off. I find myself stuck doing the lettering for like, six comics at the moment, which is just brutally time-consuming. On the plus side, I'm getting better and faster at it. I found http://blambot.com/grammar.shtml to be really useful, as well as the classic lettering mistakes #1 http://imgur.com/DU08TVu and #2 http://imgur.com/qN9GLXp . Here's the comic I'm working on at current - Kunik and the Slave-Wizard of the Tower, which is Dungeons & Dundas. Written by me and drawn by Ally Colthoff. 
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Feb 16, 2016 17:36
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IT LIVES 8 months of backbreaking work, but it's finally ready! I am like, super stressed guys, you have no idea. I functionally haven't slept since Friday night, and took Monday off my 9-5 to do the final prep. Here's hoping I don't go bankrupt and have to sell my car! ( I'm kidding, it'll be fine. I hope to God. )
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Mar 2, 2016 05:33
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