5/1/10
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY - ASH CAN PROMOTION
First off, I would like to wish everyone a happy Free Comic Book Day! I hope everyone will go out and support their local comic
shops today, and of course come home with armfuls of free comics. I have already been to one of my comic shops this
morning, and cannot wait to make it to the other this afternoon.
But, this is not what this blog is about. This is about promoting yourself and your book. I didn't know this, mainly because my
comic shops don't do it, or at least haven't done it in the years I've been down here, but many comic creators use Free Comic
Book Day as a way to help get their work out to the people. They do this by simply setting up a table in a corner of the comic
shop, and doing a signing and - if the artist is willing to attend - drawing sketches for the people coming into the store. They
have their comic or graphic novel on the table with them, just like a regular book signing, but they also have something else that
I have seen before, but was never quite sure what the purpose was.
They are called "Ashcan Comics", and while the concept is pretty much for just comics at the moment, I don't see why this
wouldn't work for a regular novel. Essentially, what these comic creators do (not all mind you, but the ones I've spoken with) is
take say the first ten to fifteen pages of their comic, and print, in black and white, into a little booklet on folded over 8 1/2 x 11"
paper. It can be done at staples for a minimum cost. Don't quote me on the price, we're looking at something like 50 cents or
less per book.
What these comics are meant to be is a simple preview, or "Free Sample" of what you'd get if you bought the whole book. I have
seen something similar before, Brian Jaques actually did something like this for his Redwall books (only more sophisticated
than a homemade book) and it was given away free to teachers a few years ago during Teacher Appreciation Week. What he
included was the first three chapters of one of his books, totalling about twenty pages or so and information on when and where
to get the actual books. So, why couldn't we do the same thing? Now, if you are published by a traditional publisher, I would
make sure that this is cool with them before you do it, but if you're self-published, then by all means, this is something to
definitely go for.
The way I see it, this can be done either before, or after your book has been published. Before publication, you can give these
books out at say a fair, or at something like "Free Comic Book Day" if that's what your audience will be. After publication, these
can be put on your table at a signing, someone chooses not to buy your book, then you can always hand them this instead of a
bookmark. Some will look at it and choose to buy the book later.
And if you think that you're giving something away for free is pointless because you're losing money, consider what you might do
if you read an excerpt to a book and it really grabbed you. You would want to go out and buy that book, wouldn't you? That's the
object of this, and really, the cost is only a few cents more per book than it is to print out a full color bookmark. So, there's really
no arguing.
Anyway, as always, this is just advice. I plan on trying this (so long as I get permission from my publisher). And I will keep you
updated.
Until Next Time: Be your own superhero!
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY - ASH CAN PROMOTION
First off, I would like to wish everyone a happy Free Comic Book Day! I hope everyone will go out and support their local comic
shops today, and of course come home with armfuls of free comics. I have already been to one of my comic shops this
morning, and cannot wait to make it to the other this afternoon.
But, this is not what this blog is about. This is about promoting yourself and your book. I didn't know this, mainly because my
comic shops don't do it, or at least haven't done it in the years I've been down here, but many comic creators use Free Comic
Book Day as a way to help get their work out to the people. They do this by simply setting up a table in a corner of the comic
shop, and doing a signing and - if the artist is willing to attend - drawing sketches for the people coming into the store. They
have their comic or graphic novel on the table with them, just like a regular book signing, but they also have something else that
I have seen before, but was never quite sure what the purpose was.
They are called "Ashcan Comics", and while the concept is pretty much for just comics at the moment, I don't see why this
wouldn't work for a regular novel. Essentially, what these comic creators do (not all mind you, but the ones I've spoken with) is
take say the first ten to fifteen pages of their comic, and print, in black and white, into a little booklet on folded over 8 1/2 x 11"
paper. It can be done at staples for a minimum cost. Don't quote me on the price, we're looking at something like 50 cents or
less per book.
What these comics are meant to be is a simple preview, or "Free Sample" of what you'd get if you bought the whole book. I have
seen something similar before, Brian Jaques actually did something like this for his Redwall books (only more sophisticated
than a homemade book) and it was given away free to teachers a few years ago during Teacher Appreciation Week. What he
included was the first three chapters of one of his books, totalling about twenty pages or so and information on when and where
to get the actual books. So, why couldn't we do the same thing? Now, if you are published by a traditional publisher, I would
make sure that this is cool with them before you do it, but if you're self-published, then by all means, this is something to
definitely go for.
The way I see it, this can be done either before, or after your book has been published. Before publication, you can give these
books out at say a fair, or at something like "Free Comic Book Day" if that's what your audience will be. After publication, these
can be put on your table at a signing, someone chooses not to buy your book, then you can always hand them this instead of a
bookmark. Some will look at it and choose to buy the book later.
And if you think that you're giving something away for free is pointless because you're losing money, consider what you might do
if you read an excerpt to a book and it really grabbed you. You would want to go out and buy that book, wouldn't you? That's the
object of this, and really, the cost is only a few cents more per book than it is to print out a full color bookmark. So, there's really
no arguing.
Anyway, as always, this is just advice. I plan on trying this (so long as I get permission from my publisher). And I will keep you
updated.
Until Next Time: Be your own superhero!
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