The Industry: The Xeric Grant
I found found many people looking at Latchkey are also applying to the Xeric grant. And as any rejection letter from Top Shelf will helpfully tell you, this is the place to go to try and self publish.
Traditional publishers bring a lot to the table. You are covered in the prestige of a major company wanting you work. They will hopefully set their marketing engine and contacts to work for you. They have a longer reach and bring your books places that you may not be able to go. And of course all of the brick and mortar shops look to the main publishers first to fill their store.
But for those that have a story or art style not quite in the main stream, or want to keep that 50 % that the publisher keeps, self publishing with the Xeric grant is a perfect option. It most likely covers your printing costs, the main obstacle to self publishing. And it comes with its own little buzz that you have been selected by their jury. If you can't find a publisher, or don't want to take on the downsides of having one, this is your best option.
They pick the weird, talented and awesome. We have seen many people at conventions who are there because of the grant. I'm glad foundations like them exist to help get alternative content out there.
Go explore their website here. If nothing else you may find a new creator to fall in love with. Jason Brubaker , one of my heroes, and all around great guy, is one example of the awesome creators that won last year. His book reMIND may never make it to a publisher like DC or Marvel but luckily we have the opportunity to see his work self published.
Kickstarter is another up and coming option for publishing comics but that will have to be another post.
Traditional publishers bring a lot to the table. You are covered in the prestige of a major company wanting you work. They will hopefully set their marketing engine and contacts to work for you. They have a longer reach and bring your books places that you may not be able to go. And of course all of the brick and mortar shops look to the main publishers first to fill their store.
But for those that have a story or art style not quite in the main stream, or want to keep that 50 % that the publisher keeps, self publishing with the Xeric grant is a perfect option. It most likely covers your printing costs, the main obstacle to self publishing. And it comes with its own little buzz that you have been selected by their jury. If you can't find a publisher, or don't want to take on the downsides of having one, this is your best option.
They pick the weird, talented and awesome. We have seen many people at conventions who are there because of the grant. I'm glad foundations like them exist to help get alternative content out there.
Go explore their website here. If nothing else you may find a new creator to fall in love with. Jason Brubaker , one of my heroes, and all around great guy, is one example of the awesome creators that won last year. His book reMIND may never make it to a publisher like DC or Marvel but luckily we have the opportunity to see his work self published.
Kickstarter is another up and coming option for publishing comics but that will have to be another post.
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