TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS

Tony Shenton: Minicomic distributor, “North to South, coast to coast”
Keep in mind that making a minicomic is a learning experience. “A lot of these people are just learning to put things together and tell a story,” Shenton says. Don’t be afraid to experiment, or to mess up and start over.

Shenton also recommends moving beyond the traditional stapled-pamphlet look in order to stand out on the shelves: “Production values are very important, no matter what the content.” Try silkscreening or making an art project out of your cover. Use a rubber band around the spine of your mini to create an insert. Avoid white covers—they show dirt too easily.

Nick Purpura: Comic retailer, Jim Hanley’s Universe
“It’s not just making your minicomic,” Purpura says of being a successful minicomic artist. Distribution and promotion are just as important to selling a mini as attractive art and a good story.

Purpura recommends making a production schedule and sticking to it. “One of the biggest problems with buying into minicomics is that you never know if this issue is the last one,” he says. Mainstream comic audiences are used to monthly comics, so if they don’t see a new issue of your mini on a semi-regular basis, they’re likely to lose interest.Keep your cover price down to avoid competing with slick mainstream comics. Marvel comics sell at $3.50, so make your mini a steal at $1. “Call the big retailers,” Purpura urges.

Jim Hanley’s and other alternative comics-friendly stores run a group ad in the back pages of the Comics Journal, an industry guide. Don’t hesitate to call them and ask them to carry your title.If a store does carry your mini, keep in touch. Don’t expect a busy store manager to remember to restock your title when it sells out—call at the end of each month and suggest that it’s time to reorder.

Mike Carriglitto: Editor, Dark Horse Comics
Mike Carriglitto recommends getting your mini out there via the web."There's no easier way for an independent creator to build an audience, to distribute his work to as many readers as possible,” says Carriglitto. “Ten or fifteen years ago, a creator would have to go to a great deal of expense and effort to reach a fraction of the audience that today's artists can reach online.”

Ted Riddle: Comic publisher, Monolith Comics
At a seminar on comic self-publishing at the first annual New York Comic Convention, Riddle recommended that artists distribute their minis themselves rather than going through a mainstream distributor like Diamond Comic Distributors Instead, call stores directly and offer them your mini.

Keep your print runs small—1000 copies should be enough. You can always go back to press later if your mini sells well. And remember to relax. Selling comics isn’t rocket science.

“Doesn’t anyone remember P.T. Barnum?” Riddle asks. “He said a sucker was born every minute. You can sell 1000 copies of anything!"