I've bookmarked this to digest and comment later.

Lots of very, very valid points.

"There is no data coming back (none, zip, nadda) that would indicate to me that this is a realistic way to develop buzz for a new book by an unknown creator."

I don't know.

I mean I really don't know about APE, since I've never been there, but I've been to a few SPX's now and there are usually a few things that most people haven't heard of that kind of busts out during the con. The blogosphere and the internet being what it is, this has translated to lots of people talking.

I can't say exactly what it takes to kick a book over, though, and I get the impression that SPX might be a better selling con than most.

It's worth mentioning that people do know who you are. I was having a drink with someone a few months ago and mentioned you guys (we were talking about SPX)and they wanted to know when the book was coming out.

So while I don't think your plan has always been as effective as you'd like, it's not been completely ineffective, either. I do like these con post mortems, and at the very least you're helping to hone MY marketing plan.

With regards to the figure of 93% of all ISBN selling less than 1000 copies, is that of all ISBN’s in existence or just of books actually ordered in 2004? If the former, I would think that number of books out of print would heavily skew that number. The devil is in the details.

How about the riddle of steel? The flesh is week! It’s all about marketing and mind taking.

I know you're trying to be as empirical as possible about the event, but I was wondering how APE fares when you factor in the coverage that your writeups have received?

Also, if you haven't been told by 100 people yet, you have an obvious flair for comic journalism. You ought to strongly consider using that skill on a regular basis to enhance your reputation in the industry. Comics is as much about who you are (and who you know) as it is about the quality of your work.

Always good to read. The most publicity I've gotten recently is from one person harassing the magazine, threatening us. After that, some paid advertising on schlockmercenary.com. All of which has meant one more sale this week. ;) We'll be doing well when we've sold 1000 copies. Well, not really. But better than we are. ;)

I think the key phrase is: I am talking about earning more through one’s art then you’d get flipping burgers at MacDonalds.

There aren't a lot of people doing that at APE or at SPX or at any comic book show you care to visit, except the dealers. I think most of the people with Tokyopop contracts are making LESS than they'd make at McDonalds. There simply isn't that much money in comics. You throw in ancillary merchandise- buttons, t-shirts, what have you, some of those creators are probably making out OK, but strictly comics? No.

I was part of a group that published a manga-style anthology graphic novel, JUKU, in 2004. We got a good deal on the printing and did a run of 1000. We sold them from tables at anime cons for $5 each; five bucks for 244 pages of comics, that's cheap. We sold it through Amazon and advertised in the Comics Journal and had a website advertising the book. At this point five years later I think our total sales were around 500. The partnership dissolved and the remaining copies got split five ways, and now that Shain and I live in Canada we put Mr. Kitty stickers on them and hand them out free as promotional items.

I think we could have sold a few more with some more aggressive advertising and marketing, but fifty percent sales is actually not too bad.

What did we learn?
-Original comics are a tough sell. People want comics about familiar characters by known artists.

-Price points matter. Five dollars sealed the deal with many a customer - when they found out it was $5 the wallet came out like lightning.

-If you're going to do the same show two years in a row you'd better have something new.

I still think there were many places we could have advertised and sold JUKU outside the comic convention circuit. The comics world is so small, so incestuous, and so broke that I would not use it as a barometer of success, and I would only put a portion of my energy working that market.

Some of the anecdotal stuff I've heard about the Tokyopop contracts indicate it works out to minimum wage, more or less. I think I'll keep my day job.

Our second time at some shows, we'd hear "Yeah, I have this already, when is your next book coming out?" If there's a significant increase in attendance or a lot of turnover, you might see the sales figures stay the same from year to year, but if it's the same people two years running they've already seen your book and have already decided to buy it or not.

The anime shows we did were usually increasing their memberships by 10-25% every year, so there were always new faces; but anime con attendees aren't really that interested in comics by Americans that they've never heard of.

One thing that did seem to spark sales was panels. If we did panels on drawing comics, self publishing, or just about any other topic, people would come to us immediately thereafter with cash in hand to buy our comics.

We did FLUKE three or four times when we were down in Georgia and we had mixed success there; I think our book was too professional-looking to succeed at a small press show, actually.
I've never been to APE or SPX so I have no way of knowing how successful we'd be pushing the book there.

On the whole I think if we'd worked a little harder getting tables at small press shows, book fairs, etc., and actually gotten distribution, we could have moved 90% of the stock. But as with all collaborations some members work harder than others. And to be honest, there's only so much sitting around anime con artist alleys I can take. As it stands, we've got about 80 books in the closet and at least half of those will go out the door one way or another in two weeks at Anime North.

You certainly do have a knack for journalism, but in the vein intended by quality bloggers: purely experiential, seasoned by the analytical. I think any site you're running to promote "The Road to God Knows" (and I apologize for not knowing about one off the top of my head) should include a blog similar to these entries explaining your artisitic process and experiences.

I recently read an article (I don't know where) that condemned artists for "resorting" to blogging to "get their name out there," because, inevitably, the blogging efforts overtake the original artistic tendencies. I know that's what happened with my blog, acomicaday.blogspot.com. (Got the plug in -- YES!) Then again, since your point about the difficulty of launching originality successfully is a valid one, GO with the blogging. They seem to be working out just fine for ya!

Have you thought about contacting Hope Larson or any of the other guests of honor to solicit their feedback? I didn't even realize they WERE the GoH until much later. While the Bob the Angry Flower and K Chronicles booths seemed like the natural place for Larson and co., Bob the Angry Flower has been doing these cons for 15 years and obviously has some precident over things. Goes to show what happens when you plant a seed . . .

So, I presume you WON'T be exhibiting again at APE? Could you have accomplished the same if you had just worked the floor for a solid day as a regular old attendee? I wonder how THAT would work, sans actual sales (unless one goes through the trouble of getting a permit just to barker the floor), taking that proactive exhibitor approach while simply perusing, targeting other exhibitors and the folks you find yourself in natural converation with. Certainly would be bold.

Bottom line, your evaluations have been dynamite and I'm sharing them with everyone I know that would dig 'em. Thanks for the insight, and for putting into words a lot of the thoughts we've been trying to wrap our heads around for a long time.

Yeah, I'm pretty impressed that no one has jumped down your throat over the more critical points. (To quote Matthew Broderick in "Cable Guy," "You have nice friends." I hear you re: the blogging, too, but I guess my vantage point is, from an artist-with-a-day-job perspective, I only have so many free hours to dedicate to extracurricular activities, and while many folks seek exposure via blogging (albeit insightful and entertaining), some (myself among them) usually have very little to expose! Er, you know what I mean . . . original comics material! Fortunately, your APE posts have been supplemental to an experience centered around an original graphic novel, and while many artists post scripts or sketches during their pre-production process, it's been nice to get that POST-production POV, as well. I'll be checking in with your LJ as long as you're posting, and drop me a line anytime!