The Next Indie Distributor

Imagine more books like these at your LCS

No, I am not announcing my return to the comics biz.  But I have had a few interesting conversations this past month with a couple people who you are looking to throw their hat in the ring to try to come to the rescue of small press creators and independent publishers.  It’s nice to know I’m not the only wingnut out there after all.

As I write this, I can’t help but chuckle as I read Dan’s last post.  Because this article is about the huge potential for a distributor of print comics, primarily to brick and mortar stores, a subject on which we have wildly conflicting views.

More specifically, there is huge potential for the independent talent to shine as “old fashioned” stores will be the kinds of places that fans of the eclectic will go to find that which is unique and different.  But I digress.

Anyway… I knew I wasn’t the only one who recognized the opening in the market for another national distributor.  There is a very clear need to anyone who is paying attention.  Maybe Dan doesn’t mind going direct to every publisher, but most store owners don’t have that kind of time or patience (and after seeing what they would have to go through personally, I don’t blame them).

But other than direct to publisher orders and the headaches that come with them, the current industry structure gives us no other choice.

Retailers are sick of dealing with Diamond’s apparent lack of care when it comes to shipping orders properly, filling reorders, and keeping quality comic lines by anyone other than their anointed top 5 publishers in stock.  They are sick of 2 of those top 5 flooding the market every week.  And publishers are just as fed up with the constant neglect (psst… including some of the anointed top 5. Don’t tell Bill.)

So the need is absolutely there and I knew someone else would see it, too.  What I didn’t realize was that so many people would be stupid brave enough to put themselves through all the crap hard but rewarding work that I endured enjoyed for four years.

Nor did I suspect that every one of them would have essentially the same business model in mind.

Ka-Blam/Comics Monkey… You guys are officially on notice.  You had the right idea in recognizing that small press and self publishers can’t afford big print runs, so the only realistic way many of them can go is Print On Demand.  But you are not reaching enough stores because your discounts suck.  Your discounts suck because your costs are too high. And worst of all, the quality of your finished product sucks.  The cover stock and the way the spine bows out screams “This is a cheap book. Do not buy me”.  Retailers hate stocking them.  So did I.

But now printing technology has advanced, and the smart printers have been working with digital long enough that they can produce digital books at a MUCH cheaper price and at sheet fed quality.  Cheap enough that publishers can afford to sell them at wholesale at the discount retailers expect.

This new generation of aspiring entrepreneur also understands what needs to go into an effective online ordering system and catalog.  They understand the needs of the direct market.

The red sliver is digital sales.

And — this one might be unsettling to you doomsayers out there — they recognize that print is NOT dead.  They recognize that digital sales are a tiny fraction of print sales, and will remain so for some time to come.  And they recognize that right now in the digital age there is a prime opportunity for independents to sell in print in the retail market.

Digital sales is still a necessary piece, since every publisher out there has a downloadable version of their book.  But it is just a piece.  Comics are not movies. Comics are not books.  The desire to have a digital only copy is nowhere near as prevalent.  Those publishers who think they can go 100% digital are contemplating suicide whether they realize it or not.

But I digress (again).

It will be with the combination of inexpensive quality printing, stronger marketing to retailers, and a better ordering experience that is going to give small presses a more realistic shot at getting back on shelves than Ka-Blam was ever capable of giving them.

It will not be a question of if these new distributors have a chance of doing what Haven could not.  With the right attitude and the right resources they absolutely do.

The catch is, while the POD appoach is great for the small presses, it will be hard to get the Bongos, Archies, Zenescopes, Booms, and Dynamites of the world to care given their larger print runs.  And it will mean nothing at all to the big New York publishing houses.

My advice to anyone wanting to get into the distribution game is to not let your love and admiration of the small press creator cloud your judgement.  This might sound harsh to some, but they will not pay your bills.  Sorry.  The pill tasted bitter when I swallowed it, too.

Treat the small press as a revenue stream to the printing side of your business and the model is gold.  But for the wholesale distribution side to make financial sense, you’ve got to have some top top ten publishers in your catalog if you want to attract enough customers to matter.

I just hope they hurry up.  Because now that I’m a mere customer again, every week I am reminded of how aggravating it is when my LCS can’t get hold of a missing issue of my favorite titles.

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