Self Publishing

Or, making your comic into a book

So you made a comic

And you thought maybe you could sell some copies

Or perhaps you just wanted to give one to a friend

Either way, you want to make your comic into a book

If you have adobe in designThen this isn't going to be too hard

STEP 1: SCAN ALL OF YOUR COMIC PAGES. UNLESS THEY'RE ALREADY DIGITAL. THEN YOU'RE ALL SET.

Step 2Size all of your pages to the same size in

your graphics program.

Generally, most mini-comics are letter size paper folded in half, so you want

your comic pages to be about 8 inches tall by 5 inches wide at 300 dpi, or some

close semblance

Step 3Create a new document in in design

Step 4Create a master page (this will make your life so

much easier!)

Use the placeholder box tool to create boxes the size of your comic pages on your masters.

Make sure to apply your master to your pages

Step 5Place your pages (in order) into the document.

They should fit nicely in the boxes you made.

Scale the images to fit proportionately if necessary

Step 5

When all the images are placed and sized

correctly, its time to print!

Go to file -> print booklet

Step 6In the print booklet dialogue, choose “print

settings” (at the bottom)

Set the printer to “postscript file”

Under setup, choose the landscape orientation

Step 7And print!

This will save a file to your computer that is a .ps file.

Use acrobat distiller to make it into a pdf file

printingPrinting can be done on a home printer or at places like office max or kinkos.

Home printers allow for you to be in control of each page and is better for figuring out how to put together a book, but is also more expensive and the quality may not be as high

Stores with printing services sometimes have helpful staff that can correctly print your comic, but sometimes have people who do not know what they are doing and will mess your work up. Black and white copies can be as little as 10 cents at some stores, color copies can run as expensive as $1.50

Add a nice coverAdding a cover makes the whole comic come together.

Then, its time for stapling and folding your comics.

Staple!Folding your comics in half lets you know where to staple

Use a long-arm stapler (available at office supply stores for around $20)

Professional printing servicesKa-blam, comixpress, createspace, lightning press, lulu, ra direct, local print shops

Can print hard cover and perfect bound

Generally print at larger volumes, the larger the order the cheaper each book

Need .pdf file (made in in design or illustrator)

Can print in color or black and white, some offer special services

Professional printing servicesTurnaround times are much slower (plan several months in advance)

Some offer proof services or professional review services, others will print all of your mistakes

Have specific bleed and formatting requirements

Can be expensive & often have a lot of stock

CreatespaceOwned and Operated by Amazon

You submit your files to their website in PDF form, once they approve your submission, you can view a digital proof or order a physical proof.

Additional copies of Proof (like to members of a group) require submitting a 'change' to CreateSpace (usually just resubmitting your document), and will take 24 hours to approve.

Only offer perfectbound printing, can't order hardbound

Offer the option to buy as few copies as you'd like, but this means individual copies are more expensive on your end

Books can be sold and distributed via Amazon and Kindle, but your cut will be small

Books created through Createspace already come with an ISBN.

Ka-BlamVery slow turnaround (six weeks)

Digital proof is available, but not a physical proof

Very much mixed experiences

Offer both perfect bound and saddle stitched

Can get discount on order if you allow them to place their ad on the back cover

Offer both Black + white and color, including a mix (like color cover, black + white interior)

Distributing your ComicsSelf publishing requires self promotion!

Sell your comics at conventions via a dealer's table or an artist alley table

Contact local stores like book and comic shops to see if they'd be willing to purchase books wholesale or offer consignment

Contact local libraries and schools to see if they'd be interested in purchasing copies

Open an online shop (Etsy, Store Envy, Ebay, or your own)

Make sure people know about your book! Contact pertinent blogs and request guest posts, write up tutorials that feature techniques used in your comic, give panels at conventions about self publishing~!

Contact sites to review your comic, you will probably have to provide a copy for free.