For generations, comics have captured the attention of young and old alike who follow the adventures of superheroes, funny characters and damsels in distress. If you've written or planned to make a comic, here are some steps you can take to get your creation printed.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Establish the Publishing Path
Step 1. Determine your goals
Do you want to create an audience, so that fans can follow your other projects, or what you mainly want are physical copies of your comic?
- If you want to receive comments while writing the comic, you should probably post it online.
- If you want to give copies to friends and family or are interested in having your work find a place in bookstores, you should probably start with a print publication.
- In general, the cheapest alternative is to start with an online comic. You will be able to sell the printed copies later, once you have built up a following of fans.
Step 2. Determine the size of the comic boards
Even if you intend to publish it online, you should still inquire about the possibilities offered by printers for hard copies, so that the comic is the right size for both the monitor and the print.
Step 3. Decide how to market and sell the comic, as well as how you will reach the audience
Don't self-publish until you've established it.
Method 2 of 3: Publish Online
Step 1. Determine what kind of site you intend to use
Do you want to upload your material to a blog or do you prefer to use the individual pages of a site? With a blog, readers tend to keep up to date more easily.
Step 2. Find a network service
There are many free servers that could be an affordable alternative for beginners.
Step 3. Register a domain and set up the website
Step 4. Establish an update frequency that you are comfortable with
Two or more weekly updates can help keep an audience interested, but the most important thing is to have a schedule that you can keep.
Step 5. Publish the site and the comic, after preparing them to the best of your ability
You can also start with a single page, but the best thing is to have a few more ready, so that you avoid interrupting updates even if your schedule suffers some interruptions.
Method 3 of 3: Publish to Paper
Step 1. Consider your budget and the alternatives you have available
You can use publication on demand (or print on demand), or offset printing. Publishing on demand allows you to start selling the print version of the comic by reducing your upfront expenses, while offset printing can offer you more revenue per copy sold and have more alternatives. Some typographers who work on demand specialize in comics, while others deal with both books and comics.
Step 2. Determine if you want to set up a publishing house or limit yourself to self-publishing
There are those who prefer to found an official publishing house, while others do not care about the self-publishing brand and use printers willing to consider publishing their book.
Step 3. Get an ISBN for your book
To publish the comic, you should have one for each format (including each file format). Some printers offer cheap or free ISBNs; Be sure, though, to read the fine print of the contract clauses.
Step 4. Get a barcode created for the book
This will give you access to more resellers. You can find places to get it for free, or pay a small fee for an easy-to-use file.
Step 5. Follow the printer's instructions for preparing and loading pages
He should give you special instructions on how to obtain physical copies of the comic.
Advice
- It is easier to make a good quality image if you draw in high resolution, and then reduce it later.
- When working on color comics, you need to calibrate your monitor. If you don't, the colors that appear on the screen will not match those of the final image. Calibration must be repeated frequently.
- The standard configuration for internet images consists of an RGB color model and a resolution of 72x72 pixels per inch.
- The standard configuration for printed images consists of CMYK (four-color) colors and a resolution of 300x300 pixels per inch.
