An article by Tony Allen ,for publishersweekly.com, posted an interesting article on the Nook. This is valuable information considering the digital platform.
"Digital Comics Offerings Growing for Nook"
While the iPad has been the most-talked about digital platform for comics, Barnes & Noble has recently expanded their comics offerings on their Nook eReader, and done so in a fairly unconventional way. While previous efforts to place comics on eReader platforms focused on converting the comics into the Kindle’s proprietary e-book format or into the open source ePub format favored by the rest of the commercial eReader devices, the Nook is now offering comics as apps. . .
Read the entire article here
I know there are both pros and cons to publishing a actual book and digital platform but one can't ignore the varies of online resources available now. Like ( Issuu Reader, iVerse, and Graphic.ly) These platform allow for comics to be viewed on mobile devices.
This leads towards my discussion topics:
1. Will digital publishing surpass the Traditional book publishing?
2. As comic book creators should we be prepare to fit our comics on multiple platforms just to reach our audience?
3. What good strategies are you doing to reach your audience?
Disclaimer :
**If this topic was discuss before that's fine with this recent article. I think it's a good subject to address.**
Replies
Agreed with Buzz!
Keep inspiring us Alec!
Go digital, and use a service like Kablam to get your printed materials out. Just a suggestion. And 3rd world...Cell phones are all the rage....so...keep that in mind.
My seventh book is about to go to the printer (this week). I've sold thousands of books in the past, but sales have taken a large drop, principally due to the economic downturn, and secondly due to digital supplanting print. This seventh book will likely be my last hardcopy edition. I prefer print to digital, but I've lived most of my life in the 20th century, and it's an 'antiquated' notion to the next generation. Some might argue that print media will still be the norm in Third World nations for a long time, but residents there do not typically have the money to purchase a graphic novel when it is a struggle just to survive. Also, translations are necessary (and costly).
With digital, the cost of printing is eliminated, the cost of translation is still a factor, and the ability to market and promote a book is also a consideration. Still, digital seems to be the way to go, and after this seventh volume I intend to explore that venue with my line of books. Another graphic novel is already underway, and I have still another one already completed.
www.calvarycomics.com
Kind regards in Christ Jesus,
Alec
Calvary Comics said:
If you look at children from ages 8 - 12 today, and ask them if, given a choice, would they rather read a 'hardcopy' book or look at something on Nook, Kindle, etc., guess what they'll most often say? The gizmos win out hands down. They prefer it, they don't have nostalgia for print media, and they're no longer being taught to write in cursive in school anymore (a recent development).
Soaring paper costs and the preference for (and convenience of) digital media -- hey, look at where this discussion is taking place -- make digital the obvious mode for the future.
Today's (secular) comic books are the summer blockbuster movies (comics on film). The actual hardcopy comics have a (decreasingly) small(er), but dedicated following, but with so many titles out there, fewer creators are able to make a living at it full-time, and most books don't sell huge numbers anymore. The pie is simply cut into too many small pieces. Christian comics seem to be an even harder sell -- though they shouldn't be --- but bookstores in general, including Christian bookstores, are experiencing financial woes in today's tough economy.
Digital presents its own problems, though, because there is less revenue to be made per title since the price point is lower for digital units. Therefore, more have to be sold if creators are to obtain any sort of royalties (from major publishers, that is). I expect that when the transition to digital is truly complete (in perhaps 4 - 5 years) we'll see a lot of publishers shutting down their expensive office spaces in NYC, etc., and having their pared-down editorial staff working from home on the computer. With globalization and the language barrier more easily broken down, we'll see more and more of these jobs outsourced to qualified personnel who will work for much less pay than so-called First World staff. In short, we're seeing a good chunk of the middle class being eliminated in the U.S. and other parts of the western world at a rapid pace. If you're not a cutting edge "techie" there's not much job security in the near future.
As Christians, we need to be in prayer about the best use of our time, as the signs (Matthew 24, Luke 20) of our Lord's coming (the rapture of 1 Thess. 4:13-18) are all around us. Comics are way down the importance list compared to soul-winning. Comics can be a useful tool in assisting the former, but we have to face the reality that most people in the western world don't read comics. And we're not here to win people to comics, to perk up a dying industry, but to see people won to Christ. If there's a resurgence of interest in the form, well and good, but we're not evangelists for sequential art in and of itself.
This is all about JESUS, and coming into a living relationship with the risen Christ, being born again, under His blood covering, filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered for service, and going forth to see the same happen to others round about us, until such time as He calls us home.
Alec Stevens
Well... technically... the Barnes & Noble Nook allows sharing. The same goes for the Barnes & Noble Nook color. I believe it's out for two weeks then disappears off the sharer and is then accessible again by the owner.
The book publisher decides whether they want to allow sharing(some option in the file format or upload?). Anyhow, my Nook Color for example, has certain books that allow sharing, such as some of the Bibles, and others that don't, like some textbooks I bought for class.
Hey Kendall,
I hope that line indicates that this discussion is valid, and needs to be looked at again. There is always new information that can be gleaned - and in today's world, information, tactics and approaches change so rapidly, it's hard to keep up. That, and new people, or people who have missed the previous discussions can also jump in bringing their perspectives. (Please do!)
I'm all ears to hear about new and innovative approaches. PLEASE don't think I have the last word on anything here. I'm hoping these are more "suggestions" than "be all and end all".
IF anybody else has more to add, DO DO DO! I would love to hear about experiences with the Nook, Kindle, Android, iPhone, iPad, and or any other digital device or digital output vs. print.
Especially for cost, return on investment and if marketing is any harder or easier using the web vs. traditional mechanisms.
This topic should not be written off - and my sincerest apologies if it sounded like I was being flippant.(And who knows where the original discussion is anyway.)
Actually, now that I think about it - you are bringing a new angle to the topic of digital vs. print - being specific to the Nook and Kindle, definitely something I would love to hear more about.
Thanks Martin, I can always tell if a topic have been discuss before 'cause you say so. Before you write my topic off hear me out.
I read a lot of articles on book promotions especially digitally but since I don't know the discussion forum cycle of topics. I never really know what topics are discussed or not. I think it's good to think about the audience each artist targeting.
'Cause although all of us are christians, It's not safe to assume that our audience is the same. Producing a "good" product involves producing a strategy around your product as well. What is your message in the product? What people will grab to your message first? We all know creating a website don't produce traffic to that website?
Also, I read an article on remindblog.com that states,
". . I have books on my shelf printed in the 1920s, but i have a hard time finding an article on the internet from a year ago. Blogs that i have bookmarked no longer exist. Websites change design or remove content. In short the internet is immediate and temporary, while the book is for posterity. The data will exist somewhere on a server but it becomes lost in a vast wilderness of information. It will not be tangible, and unless you know exactly where to look. you’ll never find it. In a way it won’t be real. I really do believe that a printed and bound book is a unique thing that the internet can never replace . . ."
It was very poetic one and it a good reminder on the importance of print versus digital.
Have anyone explored the Kindle and Nook platforms? What are your opinions on how value these two mediums are between the two?
O' by the way, I'm producing a graphic novel! lol
Yup we've talked about this before - but hey, it can always be discussed again.
In answer to your questions:
1. Will digital publishing surpass the Traditional book publishing?
Yes and no. Yes because digital is cheaper and easier to self-distribute. More and more devices give you more and more opportunities and alternatives for producing and distributing content -speedily and cost efficiently.
No, because, there is still something about a book that can't be done with digital. It's tactile, it can be shared, it has a comfort factor, and flipping pages with a book is just an all round different experience. Books as we know them will never go away. HOWEVER - how they present material, and possibly how they get distributed, used etc. might shift.
2. As comic book creators should we be prepare to fit our comics on multiple platforms just to reach our audience?
ABSOLUTELY. Use every tool at your disposal. Digital, print or otherwise (Audio-book?) Prepping your documents ends up digital anyway - so creating a digital ready document is really not much more work. Use as many streams as possible to get your work out there.
3. What good strategies are you doing to reach your audience?
1. Produce product.
2. Produce GOOD product.
3. When product is produced, tell everyone you know.
4. When product is produced, tell everyone you don't know.
5. Go on the web. Make web site.
6. Join forums and be an active participant (CCAS etc.) Let people know you've produced something. But don't be overbearing about it.
7. Call radio, Local TV and newspapers (especially local ones i.e. the ones that are in your neigbourhood). they're always looking for a story - especially on a slow news day.
8. When people order your stuff - get it to them as quickly as possible.
and the list goes on.
Digital is definitely a fast, and economical way of getting stuff out there. BOTH mechanisms, digital and print have their benefits and pitfalls. However, if you can do both in tandem, do.
Martin