Regarding Transfuzion Publishing

By now, some of you may have heard of a new publishing company called Transfuzion. I wouldn’t’ be surprised if you haven’t heard of it yet because it isn’t something that will get a lot of attention in the comics direct market.

That’s not really the point but rather the consequence. It is not a company that is following the direct market path. Transfuzion is a line of books and graphic novels set up to collect a lot of previously published material---with new stories coming later---and to bypass the direct market. By that, I don’t mean turning our backs on the direct market. Not at all. It’s just that we understand the commitment to promotion, advertising, scheduling, and everything else that is necessary to succeed in the direct market and should be the strategy of anyone entering the direct market. But that’s not our approach.

Transfuzion will primarily be direct ordering. Whether it be through websites, conventions, or via Internet options such as Amazon, the books will be available for sale after they’re printed. To limit the financial burden which all new publishers need for the direct market, we’re going to rely on short run printing, print on demand, and for some titles, purely web comics. The traditional method involves soliciting material 3-4 months ahead of time. Sure, you may get orders to cover the cost of printing, but if you don’t, then you have to cancel the title or take a financial hit and hope you can move enough copies later to absorb that hit.

In a crowded marketplace with limited avenues of distribution (very limited), it just seems to be a losing proposition. So, Transfuzion will go a different route. That doesn’t mean we think the direct market is a waste…not at all. But it has certain requirements that we either can’t or don’t want to deal with. That’s why you may not hear that much about Transfuzion. Most coverage deals with the direct market product and we understand that.

I understand the role of the direct market. Diamond is a monopoly, which is true. Personally, I’ve never had a problem with Diamond whether as a creator, retailer, or publisher and although it controls most aspects, it is fairly benign. They have a company to protect and overall, their decisions are based on what is best for their company (which is how it should be) and most of their policies, I think, actually go beyond the company’s best interests….to a limited extent. However, it is a monopoly still and dictates much of what the approach is in the entire comics market and those decisions don’t necessarily coincide what I would like to see the market be.

The direct market isn’t just Diamond, it’s also the retail outlets. It’s changing and many retailers are changing with it so it could always have a place, but it is still mired in the world of spandex. There’s a lot of protests that it isn’t and certain examples that would indicate otherwise, but generally, we all know it for a fact.

If we find ourselves with titles that seem to be able to reach the requirements of the direct market, then by all means, we will go that route as well. But in taking an honest appraisal of what we’re doing, it just doesn’t seem viable initially. A good example is in the news out of San Diego that Mark Waid was taking the job as Editor in Chief at Boom Studios. Now, Boom Studios is not a major player in comics but as far as independent comic companies go, they’re doing a great job and many other companies would aspire to be in their position. It was astounding how many fans had never even heard of Boom Studios. That is the reality of what independent publishers have to deal with.

All of us at Transfuzion realize that competition is fierce for the very limited dollars in the direct market but if you’re going to enter it, you have to abide by the rules. You have to live up to the obligations that publishers should be living up to. You shouldn’t be selling the books prior to retailers getting the product nor at a different price. You have to adhere the best you can to shipping schedules and deliver when you’re supposed to. You need a financial commitment to have the books in stock for the few orders that come in on reorders. Those are obstacles for us so we chose to go this different route. If stores want to order directly from us, we’ll provide them at the best price we can. If Diamond wants to carry our books, we’ll do our best to make it financially viable for them to do so. But the stores and Diamond have their guidelines which are well established and we can’t work it that way…for now. We hope to prove that we do have viable product and then the rest will follow.

So, why even bother? I’m sure that’s the first question many fans/stores will have. If we don’t think the books can sell well enough to print a minimum order then why even go through the printing to sell a few measly copies direct. That’s a valid point. Chalk it up to ego in some cases. None of us are ashamed to admit that.

But the primary reason is that we do think we can sell books. Maybe just not in the direct market. I can’t speak for all the other creators involved but for me, I have found that I don’t have a big presence in the direct market. I can live with that and I even “get” that. However, I have found that I do good sales directly to fans (why they don’t order from stores is beyond me) and I sell well on the Internet. For example, the Troy graphic novel was something I couldn’t get most retailers to order years back when the market was healthier. On Amazon, I sold out and had to go back to print. The adaptations of Dracula and Frankenstein I did for Penguin have very little penetration in the direct market but a quick search online and there’s 100s of stories and libraries that carry them. The Baker Street graphic novel had the same situation and that featured art from acclaimed artist, Guy Davis who has proven himself in the direct market with Sandman Mystery Theatre and B.R.P.D.

I guess what it comes down to is the direct market finds me irrelevant. I understand that as I don’t do superheroes. Sure there numerous examples of non-superhero books that do well but it didn’t happen for me. Now, before anyone thinks I’m getting my fur raised in an “I’ll show them attitude”, that’s not the case at all. I’ve always tried to be pragmatic and deal with reality. Okay, I don’t sell in the direct market. Should I just give up and not pursue writing and collecting previous comics totally? I felt that even though Deadworld sells decently in the direct market, the sales potential has proven to come from mail order and dealing with the horror market. So, instead of comic conventions, I’d focus on doing horror cons. Red Diaries did just okay in the comics market even with a major write up by Publisher Weekly but mystery bookstores and conspiracy fans seem to be far more open to it than the direct market.

Comics is the medium…it is not the distribution. I think it’s important to distinguish the two. Just because something is in the medium of comics, it doesn’t mean that it has to follow the same route of distribution and dispersion.

I think the decision to start Transfuzion was after posting on a message board for retailers. It was for Of Scenes and Stories, an anthology of stories I’ve written over the years and features artwork from many of today’s top talents. Anthologies seemed to be doing well and appeared to have a good crossover potential for the non-traditional comics reader. I offered free to any retailers a number of promotional items including posters, bag stuffers, bookmarks, and was open to ideas. I didn’t get a single response.

That’s when the “I’m irrelevant to the direct market” hit me. It wasn’t a feeling of despair or sadness that I realized that, it was just a reality check. And that’s when I thought of publishing via Transfuzion. I had to ask myself if it was just a vanity issue and then I looked at what purpose it would serve. Since the cost is low, I felt that there were more than enough sales potential outside of the direct market. I thought on the collections that were printed via Desperado and Image and how that helped to secure interest in Hollywood as they could hold a complete story in their hands instead of single issues. Having optioned over a dozen properties in Hollywood, I knew the importance of having a single coherent package.

I thought about the reprinting of Deadworld and Troy and how that led to foreign editions with Red Diaries and Renfield currently in discussion. And Deadworld leading to a deal with a RPG company and a T-shirt company…on the library visits I made, when I showed them all the graphic novels and librarians would copy down the ISBNs so they could order them.

So, the only reason NOT to do it was because it wouldn’t have great advance orders from the direct market. But if I looked hard at it, the direct market, because of having to print a certain number of books to fulfill the sales, was actually the only component that would be losing money.

So, that’s my thoughts on Transfuzion. It is so early in the game that I’m sure things will radically change as it grows. There are five books in the initial launch which sounds like a lot but they have different audiences and different avenues. Right now, there are about 25 books on the schedule with more being added all the time. It sounds ambitious but we’re not asking anyone to buy them all and feel that each will have its own market.

Perhaps the sales will be limited and beyond serving a few purposes, there will be little activity. But that’s okay with all of us. We each have our reasons and so far, all of us will be satisfied with what we know the books will do, and not rely on what the hope it.

For more information about Transfuzion, visit the website: www.transfuzion.biz