Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Must Read: Digital Comics Roundup

The gang at Comic Book Resources put together this fantastic roundup of the state of digital comics.  Go read it anyway or I'll make you watch "The Last Airbender."  For those who did, or are undeterred by my threats, big takeaways:

• iAuthor has a LOT of people thinking about comics on the iBookstore.  Pay attention to this, it could shift the battleground over digital publishing.
• Graphic.ly is going to do self-publishing.
• Pay attention to Robot Media.  They seem to be expanding a lot.

- Steven Savage

Miscellaneous Publishing News 1/24/2012

A few notes from the publishing sphere

Marvel launches all-ages comics for Avengers and Ultimate Spider Man. What's interesting here is that Avengers takes the viewpoint of fan-fave Agent Coulson, so it's also clear they know adults will buy these.

TAKEAWAY: Makes sense, this is part of Marvel's broadening their brand (under Disney). However it may indicate future conflict as Marvel evaluates markets (or tries to have it all).

Apple's new iBook publishing raises sone antitrust concerns. It doesn't seem intentional, but there's some off-putting possibilities of their EULA (if only poor phrasing).

TAKEAWAY: Watch this to see what's happening - and what Amazon does.

JManga is having a translation contest. Interesting, the winner gets some copies and prize points. Fun contest or an experiment with outsourcing/crowdsourcing/fansourcing?

TAKEAWAY: Stay curious.

- Steven Savage

Backlog, Media, Inevitability

In my recent predictions Manga Therapy noted that e-manga is a blessing in a way for fans because you don't want to fit 20 volume collections into a small apartment.  I think he not only hit on something, he hit on something that is necessary.

Right now in the 21st century we have more media available to us than ever.  This is a great, but it brings forth the simple factor of "where the hell do you keep it all?"  Right now with all this media at our fingertips, with this huge backlog of human history, and new stuff coming out all the time, an enthusiast for literature, comics, etc. could quickly end up in a scene out of "Read or Die," surrounded by expanses of books.

The huge backlog of human literature, from shojou manga to the Confucian Cannon virtually requires that it be available, well . . . virtually.  There's no other way we can keep up, get a hold of things fast, or store it all.  Fortunately, we're evolving towards e-book delivery.

A few speculations:

• There's a chicken-or-egg effect here as well.  The internet has made people vastly more aware of available works, and the desire to get them has increased.
• I think electronic books in some format would have come about one way or another simply because people want access to literature of all kinds, and with more available, there need to be efficient ways for it to reach people.
• Consumption and buying habits haven't been analyzed nearly enough for my tastes.  There's a lot to learn.
• I wonder if there are measures for the "endurance" of literature over time and what it could tell us.
• The "all-you-can-eat" pricing model of books may become more an more efficient for some publishing companies.
• As the backlog increases, I can see this being a driver of innovations and e-purchases.  I know it has been for me, and I'm arrogant enough to assume my experiences map to others.

How do you think the vast, available backlog of literature and works affects publishing and culture?

- Steven Savage

 

Kindle Fire Sputters A Bit And Other News

Looks like the Kindle Fire's launch hasn't exactly had everyone happy with the touchscreen, the browser, the speed, etc. There is a update coming for the software at least.

I find this entirely understandable - as I recall the early Kindle reviews weren't exactly enthusiastic. Plus I think Amazon rushes this thing faster than they needed to - it has the feel of something that's really a good beta.

Meanwhile Barnes and Noble's Nook runs Netflix, which positions it well against the Kindle - but also is important for Netflix to recover (or stabilize) from the series of hits it has taken. This friendship might not last as B&N is supposedly working on their own digital video service - so there's a chance Netflix could take anotherr hit down the road.

I'm actually not buying B&N doing their own digital video. The investment for a risky payoff in a weird market is too mismatched, and it would end up making them enemies. B&N has played this smart - and that wouldn't be.

Takeaways:

• Amazon is taking some hits on this, but I don't think it derails the Kindle - but it does look like they rushed it and they may be a bit vulnerable.
• B&N not only hasn't given up, they keep going. They may become "the resistance," which could play well to many.
• Writers need to get their stuff on both devices (which, I assure you , is not as easy as it sounds).

- Steven Savage

Amazon has a new Kindle promotional fund and effort

Details are here.

Basically Amazon sets aside $6 million, the KDP Select fund.

If an author makes their book exclusive to Kindle for at least 90 days then it may go into the lending library, and you can earn part of this fund.

Sounds like it's a way to lock down indies, though oddly I can see this being too easy - the majority of my sales are through Kindle and I promote platform-independent.

But how will people react?  Well I confess I got an "oooh" reaction out of this myself - then realized there's no guarantee I'd get into the lending library anyway.

Still I think it shows Amazon is thinking long tail - they want to lock down authors, and they want to be a full-service platform.  This is important with eBooks, since though the Kindle may be easy, a lot of people are publishing in PDF and ePub anyway.

More as we find it.

- Steven Savage

 

Vaporized by Fire

Okay, we know the Kindle Fire is selling like crazy. To absolutely nobody's surprise, it's cutting into iPad sales this Christmas. (What is surprising, though, is that Apple's own MacBook Air is also cutting into iPad sales. So much for all those predictions of the death of the laptop at the hands of the tablet.)

However, at least one analyst says that the Fire is going to get so big, it's going to vaporize other Android tablets. Yes, that is the exact word that Evercore Partners' Robert Cihra used - vaporize. Pretty strong, isn't it? 

It Just Kind of Sneaks Up On You . . .

This was going to be a different post, but I decided to focus on Amazon's publishing deals with authors - sans publishers.

I'm still chewing it over, but one thing struck me about this deal.

Let's take a look at what's changed over the years with technology and publishing:

• Print on Demand.
• Common Word Processing formats.
• A series of wide-ranging sales networks (Amazon being the most famous).
• Outsourceable marketing (what are all those agencies)
• The ability to get talent easy (like, say, editors) freelance.

Now all of those things were remarkable separately.  Bring them together and is it any surprise that Amazon could offer authors a sweet deal - and that anyone else could take the above innovtions and do something similar?

No surprise.  None.  This is something some of us saw coming (I'd like to think we kinda did here, though I didn't expect Amazon to leapfrog like this).  I'm actually disappointed the many publishers out there didn't see this coming and make some kind of pre-emptive run - disappointed, but not surprised.

So a bunch of us progeeks saw it coming at whole or in part.  Fine.  No surprise.

So what are we missing?

What are we missing in gaming?  Gaming's had a lot of changes, we're in the age of DLC and indie games which surprised a few people - so what is going on with all the innovations we've missed?

What's missing in comics?  It's easy to be overwhelmed with the films or the multimedia out there, but a lot of changes in publishing affects comics.  So what are we missing?

What are we missing in technology?  Hell, we know the answer to that - EVERYTHING. 

In this incredible age of technology and media, we're missing things because we miss how things combine.  Easy to develop game engines and tools combine with easy DLC to change gaming.  Freelance sites let future writers find editors cheap, thus going around the limits of a publisher.

Change seems to sneak up on us because we miss how things come together.  If you want to start predicting the future with any kind of accuracy, start asking how things come together.

Let me close with a little game I find helps - pick any two pieces of technology, social change, etc.  Ask what happens when they combine.  Then pick another area of change and combine it with one of those elements - or both of them.

Go on, give it a whirl . . .

- Steven Savage

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 11 - Lrn 2 Advermatize and Market (At Least Better than HP. Ouch, Lawsuit in 3...2...1....)

Aside from merchandising, one thing that you may want to look into is A&M (that's Advertising and Marketing, for those who didn't stay awake during Business Ed.)  If you want your endeavor to be successful, you have to get the word out there; it's rare when they come looking for you from the very start.  So you have to make the effort.

I'll get this right out of the way: advertising and marketing sucks.  It's a specialized skill, and not many have the knack to do it.  There are a very few who are a natural when it comes to it and they usually find new and unique ways of approaching it (my favorite is Scott Stratten's UnMarketing methodology).  Chances are, you're like me and abhor it.  Well, it sucks but it has to be done, and with that in mind, let's get cracking.

(Oh, and forewarning: due to the examples of just sheer wrongness people do, this post is slightly NSFW.  No naughty bits, just lots of language.)

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 17 - Originality is SO Original, Part 2: Composition is Not a Crime

Aaaaaaand we're back.  Yesterday, we talked about the concepts of originality vs. unoriginality, and why unoriginality isn't rated high enough or that originality is overrated; in the end, it's how you treate the unoiriginality in an unoriginal manner.  In a sense, it's like the concept of Fair Use in copyright: it's the transformative and new meaning to the source that counts.

And now it's time to get into that little shibboleth. Hang on to your pens and pencils, boys and girls, because what I'm about to say is probably going to turn a few heads at best and floor people at worst.  Also, because I could go forever on the subject and all its different permutations, I'm only going to stick to how it related to manga and comics; I'll acknowledge that it happens all too often in other media and others can cover that better than I can.  

So with that, let's get started.

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 26 - Scripting =! Great American Graphic Novel

It's a little known fact that usually in comics, your scripts and storyboards are well beyond that of the art.  After all, they have to be.  In Western comics, you have a satellite system where a different artist in the mix (penciller, inker, colorist, letterer) are all working on different pages, possibly different chapters, at the same time.  It isn't much easier for the Eastern disciplines (manga, manhua and manhwa), where the artist is likely pumping out at least 16 pages a week, pushing them and their assistants to the brink of breakdown.  So the script needs to be ready and perfect to go, with no mistakes and little need for revisions, from the get go.

More importantly - that's MORE IMPORTANTLY - the script has to be good.  We all love the artistry and creativity of the lines, the tones, the creation of the figures, correct?  No argument there.  But in the end, what do you do with a comic or manga?  That's right: you read it.  Therefore, it has to be good.  The best story or writing in the world can save horrid art (see: XKCD), while not even the best art can polish a turd of a script (see: more manga and anime than I care to mention).  Florid and purple prose - especially the truly Bulwer-Lytton level - can torpedo the best art in the world.  I've seen it, you've probably seen them for yourself.

So, it's arguable that the writing, not the art, is the truly important part of any comic or manga.  I'll sit here for a second while that sinks in.