Sell, Sell, Sell

Nerdvana presents Small Press Saturday – aka, Lessons Learned Self-Publishing Comics

I frequent a wonderful local coffee shop several times a week, a small business in the heart of midtown Phoenix. This morning, I ordered one of my fancier drinks — a raspberry mocha — and when they rang me up, I offered an alternative form of payment.

“I can’t pay for my coffee with cash, but I’d love to pay with exposure,” I said.

“Huh?” the barista replied.

“Yeah, throughout the day, I’m going to drink this coffee in front of a lot of people, with your name on the cup, and I might even let some people take a sip! Surely, the amount of people that will come and pay for their OWN coffee because they liked the look and taste of MINE will more than compensate for what I owe you!”

If this story were true, they’d have every right to dump that hot coffee over my head and throw me out . . . because EXPOSURE ISN’T A FORM OF PAYMENT. Every artist that dabbles in freelance has been offered “exposure” in exchange for their work. It betrays how culture perceives art as a commodity; art is perhaps the only good or service that isn’t perceived as the result of substantial production. We know our food is grown and raised by farmers on farms. We know cars are factory-line assembled. Art? Apparently, it just APPEARS, at the whim of the artist.

Of course, we artists know otherwise. Art isn’t produced by mere inspiration, or anyone’s belief that “you can do it!” As the old Pablo-draws-on-a-napkin tale goes, art takes a lifetime of work — and that time has value. Perhaps the mainstream misconception of art’s value (or lack thereof) is the vast spectrum on which art is priced. For me, more than storytelling and drawing, the most difficult part of making comics is determining what I should charge for them.

I’ve developed a few strategies for selling my comics, because that IS this week’s mantra:

Sell, sell, sell.

Pricing Strategy #1: The Market Survey

At my 9 to 5 job in property management, we frequently call neighboring apartment communities and inquire about their current rent rates, and the average amount establishes “the market,” upon which we base our rent rates to compete. I’m sure this is common in many industries. Well, art shouldn’t be much different. Artists should frequent galleries and other places art is for sale, and develop a way to see how works comparable to theirs are priced.

Currently, a new comic book is priced around $4.99, give or take a buck. Considering my comics are an unknown commodity compared to the likes of Batman and Spider-Man, I shouldn’t expect the average reader to pay MORE than that, on the gamble or whim of supporting an independent title — but I also don’t want to charge much LESS than that, creating a subconscious impression that my comic is “less than” any of the titles they already know. After all, the market doesn’t just help determine your work’s value, but its VALIDITY, as well.

Pricing Strategy #2: The Hourly Wage

This approach can get tricky, so allow me to demonstrate with my own process. My comics average 12 to 24 pages, and each page takes me about 4 hours to complete, from thumbnails to pencils, from inks to coloring, lettering, then editing. So, theoretically, a 12 page comic takes me about 48 hours. If I valued my time at $30/hour (and this is a completely subjective figure), that issue costs about $1440 in labor. So, my initial print run of that issue should reflect SOME compensation for that labor, right?

If I priced my comic by the market standard of about $5, I’d have to sell 288 issues to fully compensate for my time. For me, that’s an easily obtainable number, after over a decade’s worth of developing an audience. Of course, I didn’t have that readership for my FIRST issue, so the labor cost was an INVESTMENT. By this measure, per issue, profit is very measurable. When I sell that comic’s 289th copy, I’m making money.*

*Side note: You can easily add material cost to this strategy, as well, and adjust accordingly. If that same 12-page issue consumed about $50 in bristol, pencils, and pens, then the production cost is $1490. Now, at $5 per, I’d have to sell 298 copies. Still doable; still measurable, if this is the way you gauge success.

Pricing Strategy #3: Reading The Room

The average comic book reader knows a new comic book costs about $5. We see these prices at comics shops every week. THEY know what comics are worth, so when I’m tabling at a shop or convention, I really should price according to the market, which, in this context, is a fancy word for “fan expectation.”

Fortunately, MOST people DON’T know what a comic is worth these days. If I’m tabling anywhere else that would consider including a cartoonist — like an art walk, or a book fair — I can price those same comics based on the novelty of my stuff being unique among the other art for sale there. In layman’s terms, I can charge $5 for a comic at comic con, but $10 for the same issue at an authors’ event in Scottsdale. We know there’s more money in those pockets, and comics may be a novelty — a, “Hey, remember these? Let’s support this guy making them!” kind of buy.

So, your pricing may vary simply on where you are, and the demographic in attendance. This is called value-based pricing — but you can also just call it “reading the room.”

I’m sure you can think of a dozen other ways to value your artwork, and many artists simply have a gut instinct for where their work exists on the cost spectrum of the marketplace. These are just some of the strategies I use, depending on the time and place I’m selling my comics. Recently, I’ve decided to exclude a firm price from the covers of my comics, so I can adjust accordingly, and it’s been immensely helpful not to be obligated to that number. Ultimately, I’d like to think my comics boast their value WITHOUT a dollar sign and a number. It’s one thing for fans to see it — you know, that ol’ exposure. It’s another thing entirely — the ONLY thing, really — for them to WANT it.

Russ Kazmierczak Jr.

Russ Kazmierczak, Jr. is a Phoenix-based cartoonist and the creator of Amazing Arizona Comics, a mini-comic book that satirizes local news, history, and culture with superhero adventure. He was the Phoenix New Times’ 2018 Best Storyteller and one of The Copper Courier’s “9 People Who Are Making A Difference in Arizona” in 2023. Russ has taught comics classes at Bookman’s in Phoenix and Mesa, Phoenix Art Museum, Gilbert HD South, and other venues throughout the Valley. Follow his work and inquire about his classes on Instagram @amazingazcomics.