Diamond or the Direct Market?

[lucretius]

This question is directed at Mr. Grant but if anyone else wants to answer, feel free. Is it Diamond that most publishers/creators/retailers need in order to do survive in the industry, or the Direct Market? Or are they virtually the same at this point? Forgive my ignorance when it comes to this. I know there are some upstart distributors out there like dimestoreproductions (http://www.dimestoreproductions.com) but it would seem that their efforts would be for naught if they can't tap the Direct Market and offer retailers better discounts and the option of returns.

Also, do you think there are venues that a new distributor could attempt to tap that Diamond doesn't?

[Inkthinker]

I think this insistence of Diamond's may cause a bloom in the quality of webcomics as more creators turn to the Internet in order to build the audience they need and get the attention required to be picked up by a publisher that can meet that solicitation demand through either their own direct-market distribution or catalog sources like Diamond.

[badMike]

I know there are some upstart distributors out there like dimestoreproductions (http://www.dimestoreproductions.com)Oh my lord, Ian Shires is still out there workin' it?? A lot on that website seems broken.

As far as my reading on the subject, Diamond holds a monopoly on the Direct Market, so yes they ARE essentially the DM.

As far as raising the quality of webcomics, if people haven't read The Beat article that Steven suggested, they should. I read it a few days ago and it was a very interesting take, particularly her little example at the end:

http://209.198.111.165/thebeat/archives/2005/09/diamond_the_bar.html

[Charles RB]

Thing is though... Murphey's right. Getting 500 copies of a small-press title from its first issue and every subsequent issue when you've got to struggle to be noticed in the first place and while also producing said comics & holding down a day job and with varying competition trying the same and with the ever-present possibility that whatever you do a retailer might not pay attention? That's a tall order. Very tall. Not everyone is going to be able to do that from their very first issue. And all the while, you've now got the knowledge if you don't manage it in the very first issue, nobody will ever read that first issue at all because Diamond will dump it.


Also, posting out-of-context panels from Chibi and Finder as a comparison? I don't even know what's going on in either of them. Finder looks better, and that's about all I'm getting from that.

[Charles RB]

One thing a guy on The Engine just brought up: Many creators can do great comics, possibly even works of art (so Christopher Butcher says), but don't have enough business acumen to survive under the new cut-off rules. It's not a crime, they're not hobbyists and they're not incompetent, but it does mean a lot of good small-press comics are screwed.

He also brings up the point that the market is volatile and retailers often cut orders on other comics in order to buy more of the new uber-hyped variant covered Marvel/DC title- so does that mean #14 of an indie title will get its distribution cancelled because orders were below the cut-off that month, but #15 will get released? How does the new rules work when orders dip for one issue- instant cancellation, or do they study that on a case-by-case basis?

[bartl]

I just checked out Diamond's website, to look at exactly what it is that they're doing (I LOVED the "Customer Service Suggestive Selling" at $250/week; I now know never to use their proofreading services). Now, I don't know if their website is up to date, but the policy, as stated, seems more reasonable:

"Comics: Diamond’s benchmark for comic books solicited through Previews is $2,500 retail. Generally, we give comics series from three to five issues to reach that benchmark. If the series sells below $2,500 but exhibits a trend towards growth, we may continue carrying it. However, if we do not feel that a specific product will reach the benchmark, we reserve the right to discontinue carrying it."

[Charles RB]

Those guidelines do sound much more reasonable, yeah.

[NatGertler]

What's on the website is the old standard; they have not updated the website to reflect current reality, which is (basically) retail value of $3750 is the target.... and if they solicit and orders come in at under $1500 retail, they will not put out a PO.

However, they also give the brand managers some leverage to override that on a case-by-case basis; if there's reason to believe that sufficient orders will come in for issue 15 (say, it's got the Alex Ross cover), then they will likely write a PO for #14.

But yes, Diamond sells 99% of the comic pamphlets that go out to the DM. Even among those publishers that are not exclusive with Diamond, the combined orders from the other DM distributors generally don't make up more than about 5% of the Diamond order. Most retailers don't use a second comics distributor on anything akin to a regular basis.

[bartl]

What's on the website is the old standard; they have not updated the website to reflect current reality, which is (basically) retail value of $3750 is the target.... and if they solicit and orders come in at under $1500 retail, they will not put out a PO.
Since they haven't posted the policy yet, I haven't seen one thing which would make it more reasonable: Allowing the publisher to make up the difference to make a small order go through. Admittedly that will increase the amount of capitalization a publisher needs to get started, but, frankly (hey, I AM a heretic!), if a publisher doesn't expect to make money, then putting out the comic is a vanity project anyway, and Diamond IS a business.

[NatGertler]

Since they haven't posted the policy yet, I haven't seen one thing which would make it more reasonable: Allowing the publisher to make up the difference to make a small order go through.As a publisher who has received the mail from Diamond on this matter, I can tell you that there is no sign that they intend to do that.
Admittedly that will increase the amount of capitalization a publisher needs to get started, but, frankly (hey, I AM a heretic!), if a publisher doesn't expect to make money, then putting out the comic is a vanity project anyway
Not necessarily, no. There are plenty of good business reasons to put out comics that you don't expect to make money, such as
Exposure for the publisher or creators
Trademark protection
Exposure for the property (valuable in these days of licensing)
Demonstration of capability (for example, licnesing a minor 1960s cult film license and publishing a comic based on that in order to show licensors of a current hot film franchise that you can indeed produce appropriate material.)
Publicity for eventual TPBs

--Nat Gertler
publisher
About Comics

[bartl]

As a publisher who has received the mail from Diamond on this matter, I can tell you that there is no sign that they intend to do that.
I wonder if somebody should bring that possibility up to them. From their web page, there seems to be some degree of flexibility (translation: if there's money in it, they'll do it).

Not necessarily, no. There are plenty of good business reasons to put out comics that you don't expect to make money, such as
Exposure for the publisher or creators
Trademark protection
Exposure for the property (valuable in these days of licensing)
Demonstration of capability (for example, licnesing a minor 1960s cult film license and publishing a comic based on that in order to show licensors of a current hot film franchise that you can indeed produce appropriate material.)
Publicity for eventual TPBs


Well, publshing in vanity presses has been a way of doing similar things (one fun thing to do is if an expert witness in court is testifying, asking him or her how many of his or her books were NOT published in a vanity press). It would make good business sense for Diamond to do something similar; charge a sliding fee for insertion, going down to $0 if sufficient orders are received.

[NatGertler]

Well, there's a difference between a vanity press and a vanity project. Vanity press just means publishing that the author pays for, so technically all self-published comics are vanity press. A vanity project, however, would be one done without financial goals.

There are reasons why vanity press doesn't have as bad a rep in comics as it does in the prose world. The one that's most obvious to me is that there are so many prose publishers covering so many different topics that any work of reasonable quality or commercial interest should be able to find a home. Also, the retail attitude in comics gives the self-published work a real shot, to a much larger degree than happens in the prose world. Finally, there isn't a base of publishers that exist to exploit authors with more dollars than sense.

I'm not sure Diamond wants to be in position of selling insertion, for a number of reasons (retailers would treat the small publishers as there only because they gave Diamond money, for example.)

[bartl]

Well, there's a difference between a vanity press and a vanity project. Vanity press just means publishing that the author pays for, so technically all self-published comics are vanity press. A vanity project, however, would be one done without financial goals.
I apologize if I somehow implied that there wasn't a difference. It was not my intent.

I'm not sure Diamond wants to be in position of selling insertion, for a number of reasons (retailers would treat the small publishers as there only because they gave Diamond money, for example.)
Can you elaborate? I think you are implying that comic dealers are so uncertain of their own judgement that they won't carry books unless they know that other dealers (who, in their opinion, know much better) are also carrying it, or something similar. Is this correct?

[NatGertler]

Currently, a new publisher getting material inserted in Previews is a mark of some minimum level of quality; Diamond reviews material and chooses what to include, looking for some certain level of salability.

Once publishers are paying for insertion, it will seem (rightly or wrongly) that Diamond has the incentive to accept everything, that the publishers are just in there because they gave Diamond money.

[bartl]

Currently, a new publisher getting material inserted in Previews is a mark of some minimum level of quality; Diamond reviews material and chooses what to include, looking for some certain level of salability.

Once publishers are paying for insertion, it will seem (rightly or wrongly) that Diamond has the incentive to accept everything, that the publishers are just in there because they gave Diamond money.
That would be a stronger argument if it weren't for the fact that Diamond, for a fee, will recommend a comic to individual stores, including, for example, a service where when a comic store owner calls, they will talk up your product.

Which, now that I'm thinking about it, may be at least one of the underlying reasons behind their new policy. If a comic needs a higher level of advance sales to get listed, then the publisher will be more motivated to purchase one or more of Diamond's many sales assistance services.