Advice for upstarts?

[David L]

Hello! My name is David Lillie.

I'm fresh out of college, and I'm a creator who's decided to try and start my own publishing company, for better or worse.

I'm starting completely from the ground up. My basic situation is this - I have one book, with the next in the works. It seems to be a hit with the people who have purchased so far, but that's a very low number. Does anyone have any practical advice on how to generate awareness without an advertising budget to speak of? I need to establish a small group of loyal readers to keep me at least out of the red while I gather a legitimate marketing budget, and prepare for larger scale sales. How do I announce my presence without money, or at least what are the most cost effective ways of doing so? And what advertising methods are more likely to lead to actual sales?

The book is a graphic novel - you can see samples of it on the website:
dreamkeeperscomic.com

Hopefully this should give an idea of the target audience I'm pursuing.

Thanks for any advice!

[Dean F. Wilson]

Hey,

Your graphic novel looks good. My best advice for this type of work is going to a comic/anime convention, or, indeed, numerous conventions. These are the tried and tested means of most authors, but especially for graphic novels. Online advertising may also be of benefit, as your website is up to scratch. Try joining comic/anime forums if you're not already a member of such and get posting there - you are sure to meet people who'll be interested in your work.

Good luck, David

-D

[roddglenn]

Looks really good! Good luck with it.

Have you not considered or tried going through a traditional agent/publisher route, rather than creating your own publishing house? There is a lot of stiff competition amongst all the small independents. But that doesn't mean you can't do it, so all the best!

[John Jarrold]

Might also be worth contacting the specialist book stores individually - and starting a dialogue with the chains...

[David L]

Thanks for the replies everyone - the advice is great! 8 ) I'll be trying some of those suggestions out once I get a chance - I appreciate the help!


-David

[John Jarrold]

Good luck, David. Let us know how things go.

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by David L

Hello! My name is David Lillie.

I'm fresh out of college, and I'm a creator who's decided to try and start my own publishing company, for better or worse.

I'm starting completely from the ground up. My basic situation is this - I have one book, with the next in the works. It seems to be a hit with the people who have purchased so far, but that's a very low number. Does anyone have any practical advice on how to generate awareness without an advertising budget to speak of? I need to establish a small group of loyal readers to keep me at least out of the red while I gather a legitimate marketing budget, and prepare for larger scale sales. How do I announce my presence without money, or at least what are the most cost effective ways of doing so? And what advertising methods are more likely to lead to actual sales?

The book is a graphic novel - you can see samples of it on the website:
dreamkeeperscomic.com

Hopefully this should give an idea of the target audience I'm pursuing.

Thanks for any advice!

Having done what you're attempting, I will start by wishing you the very best of luck. Eat well, keep fit and be prepared to burn lots of time and energy. If you're to be successful, then you have a lot of leg work to do.

How do you promote without any advertising budget? That's easy! My questions for you are: who are your market, (age range, social class, etc) where would they normally shop to get the sort of material you're offering, where would you find the biggest groups of the ideal target audience in one place, are you any good at public speaking, are you willing to learn if you're not, are you willing to sell your work on a one-to-one basis ... basically, who are you selling to and what are the bounds of your 'comfort zone' when it comes to selling your work?

How did I promote with little to no budget? I talked to people ... lots of people. In fact I talked to everyone I met, and I made sure I met as many people I possibly could. If I could get captive audiences, I did. Schools, colleges, conventions, literary festivals, air shows, agricultural shows, county shows, summer fetes, christmas fayres ... anywhere where there was a crowd of people with money in their pockets.

I've always found that the more people I talk to, the luckier I get when it comes to getting further venues. Sales is a numbers game, no matter what you're selling. It's as simple as that. I've now sold approaching 50 000 books from home, so I don't say this as an armchair onlooker. Anything is possible. You just have to go out there and make it happen.

Good luck and happy hunting. Go sell a million.

[Kitera]

Wow, you really drew these? Its fantastic and incredible. I've no idea on anything on publishing graphic novels though, but I'm a fan of them, perhaps the term 'manga' is familar? Best of luck!

Kitera