I'm just sitting here laughing and laughing...

My spouse is going through something similar.

Comic book series with 4 issues a year (e-comic only) and a book collection every 4 issues (e-book and trade paperback). Have a traditional publisher but not sure if that's helping or not. We have to do all the marketing.

Costs:

00 USD per 22 page issue (plus a cover). Spouse and his co-writer work for royalties only but the artists get paid up front.
5 per 4 issue arc. This is the publisher's costs that they take off the top before determining royalties. Very reasonable. They set up the ISBN, do formatting, submit copy, etc. No editing, just the occasional editorial comment. You should add this cost into your calculations. About 0 per book with an author services company.

Income:

Each e-comic sells for .99. The retailer takes half and the publisher takes half of that. We get [CO].50.
Unclear what our cut from the book sales will be, since the first book isn't out yet and we don't even have the exact page count (88 pages comic, 3 covers, + some extras) or cover price. My guess for trade paperbacks is -10 each and for e-books maybe -3.

If we self-published, income on e-comics and e-books would double (minus the lost sales from lower readership since the publisher adds some cache and we got some reviews that said as much). Unclear if we'd have to buy large quantities of paperbacks, since it depends on which printer we work with.

Break Even Point

5000 purchases of each issue.

Yeah, you read that right. Those are the kind of numbers that even larger publishers consider decent (I mean it's not Archie or Superman, but it's considered respectable). This is not readers. Each purchase is probably passed around to several readers. We don't know our numbers yet but we're guessing purchases are in the dozens. Not thousands.

OR

1000-2000 purchases of each book, in hard copy.

Well our local bookstore has said they'll probably sell it. And so did the comic shop an hour a way (the local comic shop is very focused on kids and mainstream comics, this one is for adults, but we'll ask them). Spouse can do a couple conventions a year and maybe sell enough to make up his booth fees (and travel costs for the larger more distant ones).

OR

Unknown number of purchases of the e-book (4000?)

These are easier to sell and sales will be higher. But retail cost is lower so royalties are lower too.

Outcome: He keeps his day job

Spouse has a full-time job with great benefits. He is allowed to do some writing on his downtime. He's not going anywhere. Our goal is to break even (if there's anything additional after breaking even, some will go to the co-writer). Our dream is, after a few years of arcs and buzz, HBO comes knocking.

So what about your works?

Well, your costs are too high.

Aside from a cover, you have no artwork. That's what is super pricey. Spouse's artist is fantastic and charges 0 for a full page color illustration, including covers. You can get great covers for 0 or less.

You are absolutely right that you need professional editing. And professional proofreading. These are not the same thing and are not always done by the same person. My spouse paid an editor as the series was coming together and this didn't work out. His second editor was much cheaper and really excellent. But he doesn't use an editor anymore because the structure of the series is set. Of course, comics are different as there isn't much text. He writes all the scripts and directions to the artist (it's not a collaboration with the artist, it's a job for hire).

Your estimated costs for editing might be dead on, I don't know. My guess is the first book or two would need full editing and the others maybe barter with other writers you trust then pay for professional proofreading.

I know you are reluctant to go the traditional publishing route but then you don't outlay any money. Your income per book sold is less because you have to split the proceeds with the publisher, but you don't pay for editing, etc.

At least try submitting your first book and see what contacts you get offered, if any. Then make an informed decision.

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