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I appreciate Rosy Press and Janelle, but I want to point out that Spike Trotman really stepped up to help make sure this campaign was successful.

http://spikedrewthis.tumblr.com/post/140760299132/ironcircuscomics-hey-folks-spike-here

Her tweets and passion for women in comics was really sincere and she reached out to her Kickstarter backers, newsletter subscribers and more. It really helped make a HUGE difference in how it surged to success pretty much overnight.

Taneka: Thanks fo much for that link! I was astonished by the overnight groundswell for the Rosy Press KS and wondered what has caused it. i was unaware of Spike’s post but I’ll add it above.

I would have liked to see the pie chart separate out printing and shipping costs, just to show how significant shipping can be. I don’t see anything there for storage, which is another cost involved once you’ve got printed books.

Had a chance to talk with Todd Allen about the Economics of Comics and Kickstarter on the ComixLaunch Podcast a while back. Kickstarter’s impact on the comics industry can’t be understated… it’s expanded so many independent creators’ concept of what’s possible.

That Padnick article was something else. It was like reading an Outhousers send-up, except he seemed to honestly be incapable of understanding the type of comparison.being made. I get trolled a fair amount by people (and publishers) who don’t like the way the wind is blowing, but that one was one of the more memorable.

Jackie, I’ll make sure to share a final pie chart once all the final costs come in, for comparison. Here’s a link to our Kickstarter directly: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/comickerllc/comicker-press-launches

Honest question: if you’re not crowdfunding TOWARDS creating a sustainable and *ongoing* platform of revenue what exactly is being “kickstarted”?

As someone who has been selling comics for three decades, the real prize isn’t just being in print for a second, it’s having ongoing repeatable year-over-year sales.

If creators can gain that by crowd-funding then I more than applaud that… but if crowd-funding is only funding the production of enough work to take care of backers, and then the work doesn’t get into the general Eco-system of the greater market (not *just* talking DM here)…. what’s the point?

-B

Very interested to see Brian Hibbs’ comment above, since this post did remind me of the column he wrote a few months back considering the impact of Kickstarter from a comics retailer’s point-of-view, (http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/tilting-at-windmills-kicked-at-the-start-and-other-thoughts )

Definitely interesting stuff to consider.

Touching on Brian’s point, there seem to be two models for Kickstarters: creators who roll from one project to another with them (which, as a creator myself, I say good for them if it works), and folks who are trying to build something long-term (like we are with Comicker). We don’t have Silicon Valley or Hollywood money backing us, so Kickstarter is the only way for us to raise funds quickly that will allow us to bring books to print – for backers, creators, and ourselves, as well as for the Direct Market and bookstores – and be the foundation for the next series of books (or second run of the first series, or second volume, or…). The other option is to take out a bank loan, which would only allow for a single printing, and not any long-term growth. The profit margins in publishing aren’t large enough to warrant it without screwing the creators over in the process (which some other publishers are very good at doing).

I’ve seen some great campaigns, but generally the postage to Australia doubles the cost. I wish more of it could make it through to retail, rather than as a possible second or third wave of printing.