Category: publishing

Over the last few months I’ve been working on a comic strip which is scheduled to be published in a local ‘zine. During the course of this adventure I researched the whole comics in newspapers relationship. Here’s some interesting discoveries:

From David Astor for Editor & Publisher, November 4, 1989

“Comics are still the second-best-read features in the newspaper next to the headlines,” he declared. “[Readers and editors] love comics and need them. They’re a very important part of the paper.”

[Mort] Walker said this year’s war between the two Dallas dailies over Universal features illustrates just how important papers think comics are.

“And one of the reasons for the continued interest in comics is that comics are continually interesting,” observed Walker, citing “new blood” over the years such as Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau of Universal, The Far Side by Gary Larson of Universal, and Calvin and Hobbes.

From The City Review:

While the “comic strips” of many newspapers is always one of their best-read features, “editorial” cartoons” have focused on political and sociological topics.

This one is more about the business side of newspapers, but I thought it was interesting.

From business journalist Dana Blankenhorn:

Without classified ad revenue, most newspapers would cost subscribers $1/issue or more, dropping circulation through the floor. Newspapers don’t make a profit from their Web operations, either. Yet they’re expected to post their stories on this medium-with-no-return until, when exactly? It’s the search engines that are making the big money, after all – whether they’re true engines or just link aggregations – those are the news front pages for most Netizens.

The last bastion of a newspaper’s strength is its authority as a “thought leader” for the community. The people it picks for its editorial board, the columnists it chooses to publish – they’re all vetted through a careful, decades-long process for writing ability, reporting ability, and (most of all) fealty to the paper’s hierarchies and financial interest.

Again, this doesn’t have anything to do with comic strips, but is an interesting piece about Asheville’s “unusual” newspaper market.

“Gannett growing in weekly market, ranks No. 1 among owners”, by Chas J. Hartman, and Al Cross:

In western North Carolina, where Gannett owns the Asheville Citizen-Times and its two offshoot weeklies, the Haywood County News and Black Mountain News. The latter weekly, which predated Gannett ownership, is listed in E&P’s database. Gannett’s other Asheville non-dailies are the quarterly magazine Blue Mountain Living and the monthly magazines Mountain Maturity and WNC (Western North Carolina) Parent.

There are an unusually large number of independent niche publications in the relatively small Asheville metro area. Weeklies include the Asheville Daily Planet, Asheville Global Report, The Asheville Tribune and Mountain Xpress. The last paper is the only one in E&P’s database.

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had called the publisher of my first book. He reminded me that most poets seem to be elated that they have their words captured between covers and they don’t market or sell their books. I am not naive in thinking I’ve arrived because I’ve published a book of poetry. I knew distributing a collection of poems would be a difficult activity and it has. So, after careful research, I released the book quietly with the intention of putting copies of Late Night Writing into the right hands.

I sent copies to a few editors I knew (and some I didn’t) and to a few magazines that review small press poetry. A very nice review was written out of that effort (see The Indie’s review). The next phase in promotions was to send copies of the book to writers and poets whom I respect. Another kind review was written by an author/editor.

Part of the reason for directly and indirectly soliciting reviews is because publishers think in genres. Publishers know (or think they know) where the audience is who will buy their books. So, the publisher reviews a manuscript and labels it “beat poet” or “slam poet” or “activist poet” and then packages it in a manner that attracts that specific audience. By including reviews or endorsements, a publisher is assisted in targeting the correct market (i.e. audience by association).

At times, I am almost embarrassed to show people Late Night Writing because its dated. Well, dated for me anyway. Many haven’t read it. So, it would be considered new material. A couple of those poems I’ve been crafting for over ten years. I’m done with it. I want to move on and have. Most of the poems included in Late Night Writing were completed before the fall of 2002. So, I’m itching to publish the next collection. Originally scheduled for this March, it has been delayed for various reasons.