Publishing Model
Insomnia publish “instant trades” or “albums” of all our books rather than any floppies or on-going series. Our format decision springs mainly from our focus on creators and our desire to deliver something different. Neither of these things will work with a “floppies” model for a smaller publisher because:
Different is understandably scary to readers and retailers on tight budgets
Monthly schedules are practically impossible for newer creators with other commitments.
Both of those things contribute to a vicious circle that mean, in effect, you already have to be successful to be successful, retailers already need to know your books sell to try and sell your books and readers already need to know your work to know they want your work a try.
So, yes, we are producing complete books “from the off” and here are the main reasons why:
1) We can have our books carried by large book chains, independent bookshops, online retailers etc as well as specialist comic shops.
2) A book has a longer “shelf life” than an individual comic which has one month “on shelf” (probably tucked away in the Indie section, realistically, as shops have limited shelf space and have to have guaranteed sellers on show) before being consigned to the back issues boxes and no longer visible to potential customers. This is a big problem for indie books that people may not have heard of, or know to ask for.
3) Many retailers and readers are nervous about taking a chance on a new indie book – will it finish its run, will it come out regularly etc. It is much easier to try something new if you can get the whole story at once.
4)Reviewers like to read a complete story to make a complete review, especially when they may not have encountered the creative team before. Readers like reviews that cover the whole story. It is easier to decide if you want to buy something on a “this was great” than a “this looks promising”. We let people read the first chapter for free as an ebook in most cases as well.
5) Our books are mainly for an older (15+) audience, and, within that, people who may not think of themselves as “into comics” or ever have been to a comic shop, but who are becoming more interested as the medium, and its potential, is getting more attention. I once heard Bryan Talbot say that when he was starting out his favourite film was “Don’t Look Now” – and why couldn’t we have that sort of artistry in comics storytelling? He was 30 years ahead of his time, and I still feel his question stands today. If you get the chance to hear him speak about this, what he has tried to achieve in his career, balancing his commercial and personal work etc at one of his talks drop anything else you had on that day and go.
6) The most important reason of all, though, is that we are trying to provide a new route into the industry for the many extremely talented creators who want to do something different / interesting / challenging with creator owned books, but who have not yet been able to (or perhaps don’t even want to) go full time as comics professionals.
By putting a complete book out in one go we are able to agree schedules with our creative teams that mean they can fit working on the books around day jobs, page rate work, other commitments etc without the pressure of a monthly schedule which would not be realistic for them.
Also the “traditional routes” through the major publishers may not be suitable for the types of stories that some people want to tell – and you usually have to be a pretty big name before you get to use your own characters at larger publishers.
7) Finally it also allows us to include some of the “extras” like concept art, script pages, interviews with the creators etc that you normally have to wait (and buy a new edition) for.
So that is why we are doing what we are doing, I hope to see some of you there doing it with us.
