JAVILAND Episode 24: The Secrets of Self-Publishing PT. 1

This episode turned out to be Part 1, as we had more material to cover which we'll discuss in Pt. 2, scheduled for Sunday, Sept 27, in Episode #25.

This episode is derived from a recent seminar I gave at GEEKS, our local friendly-neighborhood comics shop in Whittier, CA. Titled "D.I.Y. comics: The Secrets of Self-Publishing", the seminar consisted of me sharing with others my own personal mantra, (or manifesto, if you will!) of creating self-published comics.

Because we had lots of great discussion on the roundtable for this episode, we only really were able to discuss 'Secrets' #1 and #2. (I know these probably aren't really 'secrets', but part of establishing your own brand in comics is coming up with attention grabbing labels!). Come back for Episode 25 for Secrets #3 and #4.

Here's what we discussed:

#1: COMICS ARE YOUR CHOSEN VOICE OF EXPRESSION: This one probably sounds the most obvious, but it's meant to be a liberating declaration. We love the comics medium and so choose to use that as our vehicle of expression. Your artistic voice is your personal unique fingerprint you leave on the world (whether your voice is heard by a couple of hundred people or tens of thousands). And only you can speak in that voice. See what others have done in comics, but pursue it with your own innovations and style.

#2: SELF-PUBLISHING IS A MARATHON, NOT A 50 YRD DASH: You have to think long-term in regards to establishing your brand and audience. The assumption is that we have more limited resources (time and money) to devote to our work, so concentrate on fostering your own 'staying power'. Prepare for the barrage of upsets, setbacks, obstacles (many put there by ourselves!), but as long as you know that they will appear, you become better at handling them.

Joining me on the Call were a good cross-section of indie creators: Ted Seko, Ryan Dow, George Ward, Colin Panetta and Gregory C. Giordano. The chatroom was populated by: Krishna Sadasivam, Matt Munn, Matt Nastos, MarkCalifornia, Tim Fischer, Palooka Press, Wet Ink Studios, Dungeon Warden, Gonzalexx and Evan Quiring

Also on this episode, we announce the winners of the coloring contest I ran on JAVZILLA.COM!

Listen to the episode with the TalkShoe Player on the right, or go to our TalkShoe page and listen there. While you're over there, add Javiland to your iTunes feed and get every episode delivered automatically as they're posted!