Sponsored by Small Hydropower
go through Sean Hainsworth
Four color dream x reality
I have been a storyteller for as long as I can remember. I tried to write at least three novels in high school but never finished the first few chapters. My creative ambitions at the time dwarfed my abilities, but I wasn’t going to let reality hold me back.
I came up with the idea for a SHP comic in the fall of 2021. Scary, fun and unique, but I didn’t want to just sell the idea. But what if I published Woodstake as a comic? I can retain creative control, build an audience, and establish ownership of intellectual property (IP). SHP Comics was born.
I found an amazing artist, Felipe Kroll, to bring this story to life. But there are still many things I don’t know about the comics industry. I distinctly remember that year at New York Comic Con, walking into Artist Alley not as a fan, but as a creator. With so many talented artists and writers out there, how do I get readers to read my story?
A few months later I signed up for my first AA table at a small con. Like many writers and artists, I’m a bit of an introvert. It took me a lot of time to learn how to interact with fans all day long. Building an audience in person is time-consuming (and expensive), but face-to-face interaction is the best, and many of my most loyal fans have come from these events.
But how do I reach a larger audience?
stand out from the crowd
Ah, the beauty of Kickstarter. Browsing through comics projects that have raised tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, one can’t help but dream of getting rich overnight. Like the Little Tramp following a band of dreamers and schemers in Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, I launched my first campaign. It took me more time than I thought to learn the ropes, and in the end, it was friends and family who got me across the finish line. I barely covered my expenses (not including my time). But I do have proof that there are people willing to spend real money on my books.
I have since done six more campaigns on different platforms. My goal is not to make a profit, but to build my audience, supporter after supporter, event after event. To me, supporters are not just customers, but potential fans, and fans make the world of comics work.
Totally clumsy juggling
At this point, I’m scheduling and attending meetings, running crowdfunding campaigns, managing email lists and websites, and trying to decipher the mysteries of social media. Like many Gen Xers, for me, Facebook was where people I never really knew in high school posted photos of their kids, vacations, and dinners. There are active comics communities on every platform, but how do you reach them?
How did I get into the marketing industry? I spent more and more time working on my comics career, staying up late every day doing what I loved: writing, editing, and collaborating with artists.
I believed there was an audience for my stories, and I really wanted to keep making comics, so I just kept working. I put two more series into production. If I want to maintain SHP’s status as a continuing publisher, I need to develop my own pipeline. A crowdfunding campaign brought in money, but not enough, so I’m dipping into my savings. Over three years, I slowly built my audience, established a social media presence, and completed my first productions: Woodstake and The Killing Machine. Now, I need to find a dealer.
Can I really make a living?
The comics market is a crazy patchwork of small channels (print, digital, direct, in-person). I chose Diamonds for print distribution, but simply being in the catalog was not enough, I had to meet with retailers, tell them about my work, and assure them that I would continue to publish. Another challenge to solve, a new relationship to build, and a learning curve to master.
Today, with our first batch of books hitting the shelves, our first reviews rolling in, and our first issue sold out, I feel a degree of optimism about SHP’s future. I’m planning our first graphic novel, international release, and three new books for 2025.
There’s still a lot to learn, but I’m looking forward to doing something I love and becoming an active, long-term member of the comics community.
Sponsored by Small Hydropower
