Borders’ Open-Door Poetry
Borders — partnering with The Student Publishing Program, one of the top high school writing programs in the country — has launched an interesting new online program promoting poetry called Open-Door Poetry: “Open-Door Poetry” is for anyone who has ever wanted to communicate to others in some way while opening the door for viewers to
Spindle State of Mind
It’s kind of hard to believe it’s 2008 already and that Spindle‘s official launch is less than 36 hours away! I spent a lot of time this weekend preparing the content for Tuesday’s update, sending off the last of a handful of acceptances and rejections, the latter of which have gotten no easier since the first one
Sometimes, absence makes the heart go wander…
[x-posted from PopCultureShock] What happens when the “maybe we just need a little space” trial separation makes you realize you’re actually happier apart and have no interest in getting back together? Well, if you’re me and writing about and reviewing comics on a semi-regular basis is what you needed a break from, you stall one
On Jodi Picoult, Writing, and Platforms
The two morning sessions I attended were about breaking into magazines and an overview of sales & marketing in the book industry, the former of which was more of a refresher course while the latter filled in a lot of the gaps where things are different in periodical publishing, which is where my background is. One common thread popped up in both sessions that I thought was really interesting, though: platforms.
On the Shelves: 3/7/07
Reading is fundamental. Read what you like; don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 3/7/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a
Marketing Monday: No-Brainer Marketing Efforts, Pt. II
Wrapping up the subject of Marketing No-Brainers from two weeks ago, the final no-brainer is the PowerPoint presentation — a portable, printable document offering an overview of all relevant information on the publisher and/or product based on the intended audience. This presentation should bring together all of the other elements of the no-brainer puzzle into
Marketing Monday: No-Brainer Marketing Efforts
Thanks to Adam Kubert, today’s Marketing Monday column will be delayed until later this evening.* So far, we’ve looked at the five basic steps to developing a simple marketing plan and how they specifically relate to marketing comics. Last week, I put forth five specific marketing efforts, no-brainers that every aspiring publisher should be ready
Marketing Monday: A Simple Plan, Part II
Last week I covered the first three steps of Kevin Stirtz’ “Smart Marketing System”, focusing on a marketing plan’s Goals, Market and Message, and this week I’ll take a look at the final two pieces of this simple but apparently often confounding puzzle: 1. The GOALS or objectives you want to accomplish 2. The MARKET
On the Shelves: 2/7/07
Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 2/7/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure
Make the F***ing Comics
Cheryl Lynn of Digital Femme, frustrated by the state of the comics union, nails the solution: “I can see that I am going to have to make the fucking comics. …right now I’m doing the second easiest thing. And that is to not-so-politely bitch. Because I suppose I’m still hoping that someone else will make