The popularity of graphic novels, anime, manga, comic books, and other picture-based narratives is rising. The dismantling of cultural barriers and the global appeal of cross-cultural art both contribute to the increase in demand. As a writer, you may have thought about jumping on this bandwagon to boost your chances of success. But is writing a comic book profitable? If it is profitable, how should you start your journey?
You have gotten many questions on this subject and only the right answers will help you overcome the indecision and start this pursuit. This blog post will educate you on whether you should write a comic book or not, and if you decide to write it, it will tell you the process of planning, writing, and publishing it.
What are Comic Books?
Comic books are low-content books that include images and pictures with every scene of the story. You can find various genres of these books from romance to horror, adventure, history, drama, and comedy.
Many comic readers are confused about the difference between comics and graphic novels. The problem isn’t big for the readers, because both types of books satisfy their thirst for reading. But if you approach writing without understanding the differences, you might take a bigger beating. Comics are smaller strips of cartoons that appear in a publication or separately periodically as a series. In every appearance, they highlight a different situation and viewpoint.
On the other hand, graphic novels are complete novels that you can buy separately or as part of a publication in episodes. These novels are either standalone or come as a series of two or three connected novels. Note that all novels in this series should follow a single theme. In most cases, the end of the last novel brings poetic justice to the situation.
Are Comic Books Profitable?
Now, you know what makes a book a comic. As a would-be author, you might want to know about its popularity, and if you are a financially savvy author, you will think about its potential profitability. Let’s explore these facts below.
The popularity of cartoon series based on graphic novels and comic books had a trickle-down effect on the popularity of comic books and graphic novels. Thanks to this effect, the comic book industry is growing by more than 5% every year and will continue to do so in the coming years.
What’s even better is that the entry barrier to this industry is quite low. You don’t have to be a renowned author or cartoonist to publish your first collection of independent work. All you need to do is select a self-publishing platform, write your comic book, and publish it on the platform. You can hire ghostwriters, or illustrators to help you out in this process. Alternatively, you can choose the hybrid publishing model, which entails paying a publication charge in exchange for a larger share of the comic book earnings.
Is Writing a Comic Book Good for You?
Are you an author who thinks in images and scenes instead of dialogues, words, and phrases? If you can use your vivid imagination to build scenes, you can become a comic book writer in no time.
Now, you may be worrying about your illustration skills. Authors usually don’t possess impeccable illustration skills. If you are one of those would-be authors whose drawing skills are hilarious, take heart. Like writing, drawing takes practice. Use some learning tools, tutorials, and classes, and practice as much as you can. With enough time and practice, you will soon build reasonable drawing skills.
Start Planning
If you have decided that you have the imagination of a comic book author, start planning your next manuscript. Only pursue the genre that you are interested in or you will lose focus and energy. You may want to find inspiration at this point. Feel free to read and watch the work of other authors. However, when it comes to writing, make sure that your concepts and plot are original and belong to you.
Keep an eye on the popular tropes in the genre you have chosen. You wouldn’t be using every trope presented in the market in your novel or comic book, but it will help if you stick to what is being liked by the readers. If you decide to experiment with a popular trope, ensure to use your twist to it and make it original in your way.
Writing
Don’t get too caught up in the illustration part. You will have to start the book writing process by building up the story. Write your outline, along with the characters and world in which your story will be based. After planning, dive directly into the writing part. Once you have written the whole story, you will want to imagine the scenes you will build in images.
Ideally, all dialogues are presented with supporting images. You can skip the scene building sentences and phrases. However, pay attention to actions and reactions. Once you have chronologically collected all dialogues, scenes, and actions, start illustrating them.
Publishing
Publishing and marketing go hand in hand for most book authors including comic authors. However, you can choose to outsource marketing services to agencies for better reach and exposure. If you choose to do it yourself, remember to start marketing your book early. Start talking about it and networking for it at least three months before the launch date. Some authors would go with a six-month pre-launch marketing timeline for better reach.
If you choose to hire book marketing services, choose the one that understands the marketing needs of comic books in your genre and location. Check out the past work the marketer or marketing agency has accomplished to see the success rate. You can also reach out to their past and existing clients to know their satisfaction level.
As a comic book author, you must understand that a lot of marketing features also determine the chances of success of your book. So, you can increase the profitability of your book just by choosing the right publishing platform, profitable and relevant keywords, and adequate book genres and categories.
Many comic authors are making money only because they choose to publish their books in eBook format as well as paperback. That’s because publishing in eBook format makes your book available to a wider range of people. Also, try to publish through digital book publishing platforms that know no borders. This way, your book will reach people in all corners of the world.
Take Away
Comic books are gaining popularity and recognition around the world thanks to the efforts of Marvel and DC Universe. Naturally, you should feel tempted to benefit from this surge in its searches and demand. If you are interested in publishing comic books or graphics, don’t let your lack of illustration skills discourage you. Many popular comic books are profitable and popular even when they aren’t very realistic.
You can do well in this category of literature with your imagination and storytelling skills in the absence of out-of-the-world drawing skills. This blog post talks about the potential success of comic books together with the complete process you can use to write a comic book and then successfully publish it to be profitable. Note that the profitability of any book is dependent on many factors beyond writing and illustration quality. So, make sure you consider all these factors, as mentioned in this blog post, and make your book a success.
