Press Release: Economics of Digital Comics Explores the Business Side of Transmedia Publishing
January 13, 2015. The new book Economics of Digital Comics explores how the comics business has changed in recent years, including digital distribution and the increasing popularity of webcomics. It breaks down the industry into Four sectors: print publishing, print comic strips, webcomics and eBooks/digital downloads. Distribution channels, revenues and readership levels are compared with an eye on determining what readerships levels are necessary for income benchmarks and how feasible that really is. This is a microcosm of the issues facing publishing in the transmedia era, using a specific sector as a case study.
"The landscape has changed quite a bit in the last five years," says author Todd Allen. "Comics as eBooks are still in their infancy and we're only just starting to feel the reactions to Amazon's purchase of Comixology. Webcomics continue to become more mainstream and we're starting to see more webcomics creators dip their toes into the traditional print publishing world. The sales patterns of the Direct Market are changing, too - and print still informs the digital market more than you might think at first glance. This book examines the comics ecosystem as a whole."
This is Allen's third book on the digital comics economy since 2005. In addition to expanding coverage to include eBooks, Economics of Digital Comics now includes a look at crowdfunding.
"Crowdfunding has much wider applications than anyone initially predicted and there are now two specific flavors of it that both publishers and cartoonists can utilize," says Allen. And it isn't just for digital. There are plenty of print-centric projects funded this way."
Presenting comics in eBook format, much like presenting anything with significant graphics and layout requirements, adds a layer of complexity to the situation. It also adds a maze of exclusivity requests and varying vendor discounts.
"It's a new world out there," says Allen. "Publishers, syndicates and creators are all adjusting to the rapidly changing digital economy. As with anything, there's risk to go with the reward. We're following the money to try and map out where those risks are and how big the rewards potentially are."
For purchasing information: http://www.indignantmedia.com/economics-of-digital-comics/
Advance Praise for Economics of Digital Comics
"...this is really a book everyone in the comics business should read, especially people going into various digital models, from crowdfunding to subscription to pay what you want. " -Heidi MacDonald, Editor in Chief - The Beat/ComicsBeat.com; Co-Editor - Publishers Weekly Comics World
"I'm simply admitting that I set out in that world bereft of a map and--my hand to God--I would be lost without Todd Allen. The book you're (literally or figuratively) holding in your hands at this moment is testament to that." - Mark Waid, from his introduction
"With a veritable mountain of footnotes, citations and original reporting at his disposal, Todd Allen has pulled back the curtain on digital comics. If you truly want to understand the trajectory of the the comics industry for the last 10 years - not to mention the next ten years - then you're going to want to read this book." - Josh Elder, Founder of Reading With Pictures and Comics Ambassador for the US State Department
About the Author
Todd Allen has covered the comic book industry for over a decade reporting for Publishers Weekly, Chicago Tribune, The Beat and Comic Book Resources. As a contributing editor to The Beat, his work has been nominated for an Eisner and named to TIME's Top 25 blogs of 2015. He was admitted to the Mystery Writers of America for the Division and Rush webcomic. He taught eBusiness in the Arts, Entertainment & Media Management department of Columbia College Chicago and has consulting on digital topics for organizations like American Medical Association, National PTA, McDonald's, Sears, TransUnion and Navistar.
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