Like most comic publishers I spend quite a bit of time thinking about the state of the industry and how to make it better – well, truthfully, how to make my little corner of it better. After spending a lot of time thinking it over and discussing what everyone perceives to be the main elements leading to the downfall of comics (the distributor monopoly, for example), I realized what the biggest problem and killer really is: the industry.

I believe most of the problems that we encounter ‘in the industry’ come from the industry itself. First off, comic companies tend to publish only for those who are already in the industry. Comic publishers usually target their marketing towards those who are already here and creators tend to create product only for those who are already well-versed in industry. Very rarely does the thought of bringing new readers in really ever pop up, which is insane. That would be like Hollywood only creating films for those who work in film and television. As wacky as it sounds, this seems to be the mentality of the industry at large.

Magazines like Cosmopolitan are fashion magazines, but their audience is the average woman (or girl) interested in fashion and not members of the industry itself. Their advertising stretches beyond fashion industry trade publications and into the mainstream itself, where its buyers reside. Why short sell your books only to the 50,000 or so members of the active comic community and not go for millions of people out there who enjoy action movies?

Comic publishers aren’t the only ones to blame, either. Creators themselves are as big a deterrent to new readership as anything else. If you want to know why, take a look at a modern comic versus one from as late as even the mid eighties and you’ll see one very big difference. No, I’m not talking about paper or printing processes. The art itself is the main problem with comics. Solid, clear storytelling has become a thing of the past. A new buyer will find most modern comics unreadable because the solid storytelling of days past (along with gutters remember, full page bleeds on every page get confusing) is gone.

Do you know why a lot of new readers are picking up Manga titles? It’s because they are easier to read than US ones. Even with the flipped format, most Manga has straight forward enough storytelling that even the most uninitiated reader can follow what is going on and which panel comes next. This can’t be said about most US titles (indy or mainstream). The fact that the current trend in the US is for over rendered, poorly thought out computer coloring, doesn’t help readability at all.

Comics and comic art have become so inbred the only ones who can stomach them are their sister-mothers. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The general public will read comics if you can get yourself out of the industry mindset and start creating comics for readers instead of for an industry more interested in John Byrne’s latest social blunder than in buying your books.

Some places to consider for your books (depending on its target audience) are non-chain book stores, new age shops, record stores (Tower is starting to have a great selection of indy and small press ‘zines), libraries, corner markets, magazines with a similar areas of interest, schools, local area mailer compilations (such as the little coupon books you get in the mail), area events (concerts are a great spot), swap meets, arcades or game stores. There is an endless list of places that might be willing to carry your work if you let them know it’s out there. You might have to spend some money to advertise. Get used to it. The old adage, “you have to spend money to make money”, is true for any business.

Here are some tips for making your books more accessible to general audiences:

1) Market your books outside of comic-specific areas. Figure out who might be interested in your book and pursue those outlets. There are tons of places out in the world that would be willing to sell your comic but they have to know it exists first. I’ve had success at art festivals, flea markets, record stores, sci fi magazines and more. Get as creative with your marketing and sales as you do with actually producing your book. It’s worth the extra effort.

2) Get rid of full page bleeds on every page. Don’t be afraid of negative space around your pages. It will actually open up your pages and keep them from looking cramped.

3) Don’t forget the gutters! Overlap panels are interesting from time to time, but gutters help to keep the art readable and from blending together. They’re also great for pacing in your storytelling.

4) If you’re going to color your books, don’t go for the over-rendered look that most comics use. It’s muddy and unclear. Look at animation or places like Disney Adventures for reference on coloring. Most ‘cartoony’ books are well colored because they want to make sure the work is readily accessible to readers of all ages. Not every panel needs to be a fully digitally painted work of “art.”

5) Think of storytelling. The most important thing in a comic is that you do not lose your audience. If at any point your readers get confused as to where to read next, then you’ve failed at your job as a storyteller. And, remember, ’style’ is no excuse for poor storytelling (or poor artwork in general, but that’s a rant for another time)

6) Don’t have large blocks of text or dialogue in each panel. There’s an old unwritten rule in mainstream comics (and one that has been largely forgotten or ignored): never have more than 26 words in any balloon or caption box. Anything more than that and the words will run together, potentially causing readers to skip over sections of what is on the page.

7) This one is going to cause any comic collector to cringe: get rid of issue numbers. Or, if you just have to have them, place them in the indicia only. Issue numbers are one of the big obstacles for new readers, especially in periodical product like comic books. A reader needs to be able to come in on any issue and not have to worry about having to read 10 back issues to know what’s going on. Sure you can let them know there are other stories they can read (and, which will be available in trade paperback), but don’t make those stories required reading. Follow Cosmo’s lead (or Playboy’s) and just have the month and year on each cover. Comics should be entertainment first and foremost. Get out of the collectible mindset.

Forget the mantra, “comics aren’t just for kids anymore”. It’s old, played out and is part of the death sentence of the industry. Creators have spent so much time trying to prove that comics can be for adults that they’ve forgotten to build the next generation of fans by only making comics for older fans who are already in comics. Without young readers there is no future in the industry. As a second part of this thought, just because your comic has adult language, nudity and graphic violence doesn’t automatically make the book for adults. Vertigo and Ultimate writers take note.

9) Be prepared to get your hands dirty and do some work. Publishing is a business and, at first, you may find yourself putting in as much time marketing as you do creating. That’s not a bad thing.

My heresy will end with this statement: the only way to save comics may be to let the comic industry, as it exists right now, shrivel up and die. It’s on the road as it is, with everyone racing to tear whatever pieces they can get from its still (barely) living corpse. The industry isn’t the heart of comics and didn’t make them, so dare to be different. Put down the latest issue of the comic industry death watch, Wizard. Ignore the party line that an indy book will sell less than 250 copies – there is a world outside of the Geppi chokehold.

A bit of inspiration for you: Nifty’s main title, the Cadre, sells over 5000 copies per issue and 90% of that is outside of the comic industry. Not bad for a black and white, mainstream style super hero comic.

The world is a big, beautiful place full of potential new readers. You just have to venture out and find them.

It’s really amazing that you can get the exact value listening to an audio book while doing your normal chores as you would reading it.

Certain experts even say information sinks in more when we are not paying direct attention to them.

But when did this audio book phenomenon really start? In other words, what’s the history of audio books?

From all indications, audio books look like a very recent invention, right?

WRONG!

It is very easy to make the assumption that audio books are a recent invention because of the mention of CDs, downloadable digital formats, MP3s, PDAs and other technological jargons each time audio books are discussed. But audio books started a long time ago.

To know how long audio books have been, it is pertinent to understand exactly what audio books are.

Forget about any other jargon you have heard, audio books are simply books that are recorded to be heard, instead of read.

That being the case, such recordings of books in audio formats have been around for a very long time. If you want to be specific, it is safe to say they were first introduced over half a century ago.

It could even be longer, if you include the Library of Congress recordings made especially for the American Foundation for the Blind and distributed free throughout the U.S.

However, according to Robin Whitten, the editor and founder of the only magazine which is dedicated solely to the audio book industry:

Audiofile–http://www.AudioFileMagazine.com, Caedmon (now a subsidiary of Harper Collins Publishers) can be credited to have started the recordings of literature as far back as 50 years ago.

Going further, he said Caedmon was just a small company way back then in New York, which started recording the audio of great authors and poets of the 1950s. Specifically, he said one of the earliest recordings were by greats such as Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, Fitzgerald and Robert Frost.

What happened then was that they were simply recorded while doing their own works and made as vinyl records.

But these early recordings can arguably pass off for the first collection of audio books ever.

However, the transition of these book recordings into audiocassette tapes didn’t happen until the late 1970s up to the 1980s. From thence, it blossomed until audio books in audiocassette tapes came to be accepted by all and sundry.

For whatever reason however, the audio book phenomenon didn’t really kick off until the 1990s.

And with the transition from audiocassette technology into CDs, more people have become interested in audio books.

With the advent of the Internet and its paraphernalia, audio books have now transited from vinyl records, audiocassette taps and CDs into downloadable digital formats that can be listened to with a desktop computer, laptop computer, PDAs, etc.

If you are still interested in “going back in time” you can get the original book recordings that started this audio book industry.

Impossible?

Not really.

Some of those early 1950s analog recordings by Caedmon which were performed by the greats of those days can be purchased today on the Internet.

For example, recently I was able to browse the Internet thoroughly and found the original recording of “The Lord of the Rings” as read by J.R.R. Tolken.

You can find that classic you have always dreamt of in audio book format if you search hard enough on the Internet.

Last year our church decided to do a fund raiser that would not cost a great deal of investment. So many times the fund raiser dinners or selling items for a company takes the largest amount of the funds raised, so that the profit margin is small. We had held several bake sales and it seemed that people were getting tired of donating and buying. We held a rummage sale in the spring; however it was a great deal of work collecting, organizing, pricing and then getting rid of the items that did not sell. One thing that we did notice during the rummage sale was that people liked books. We had many books donated and all of them sold. We decided that we would have a used books sale. We made arrangements with the local library to take any left over books that we might have. The library offered to donate some books for the used books sale.

I went on line to see if I could get some ideas to make this a successful event. I also talked to an owner of a book store to find out the best way to organize the books. The store owner suggested creating an atmosphere that people would want to linger in, the more time people spend looking through books the more apt they are to purchase them. This gave me an idea. We would create a coffee shop book store atmosphere in the gathering space and classroom areas of the fellowship hall. We asked the congregation to donate books. We called several of the elderly people of the congregation to see if they needed help getting their books to the church. We asked everyone to sort their books into categories prior to donating them so that we would save time setting up the used books sale.

We bought gourmet coffee grounds and brewed up several pots. We asked people that did not have books to donate to make bars and cookies, which we sold individually. We placed groups of chairs in secluded locations throughout the space and invited people to spend as much time as they wanted browsing, drinking coffee and reading the books. We placed all the devotionals, spiritual books and self help books by our chapel area so that people could reflect in a quiet space. We placed the children’s used book sale in the nursery area and invited several people to read stories to groups of children through out the day. This allowed the parents time to look through the used books sale while their children were occupied.

The used books sale was a huge success. We had received many books and the majority of them sold. We made a great deal of money on the coffee and the sweets. The few books that were left were easily packed up and brought over to the library. Many people commented on what a relaxing time they had selecting their books.

There was once a time known as the “good-old days.” In all honesty, I can’t tell you when this era took place. My grandfather has talked about them. My father has rambled on about how great they were. However, I still can’t determine and actual time line. Apparently they were prior to my birth. So let’s go with everything up until 1975. That should do it. Now, regardless of the “good-old days,” which took place long ago in a land far away, I can comment on a past tradition, that’s somewhat insignificant now. I am talking about the books library. That local grand building that sits in your town. It’s utterly loaded with books and oodles of knowledge, but sadly it’s deemed unnecessary to many. I won’t lie. I’m sort of on that bandwagon. You see, most of us young folk go with the computer wave. In fact, many of the older people are doing this as well. It’s just so convenient.

Not once in college did I use the campus books library. Now, don’t get all excited here, and start making assumptions about my GPA. I actually did alright, and almost made honors. The funny and baffling part about it is that I was an English major. Now, how in the world does an English major get through a four-year University degree without resorting to the books library? It was a challenge at times, I’ll admit. But, whether many people know it or not, there is almost everything in cyberspace these days. Even much of the historical text you would have once only found in a books library. Trust me on this one! There are some awesome websites and virtual books libraries online that offer free data to all. Then there are a few you’ll need passwords for. These can be attained if you’re a student at a University. Pretty cool stuff, huh? I can’t tell you how many times I referred to online books.

The virtual aspect is definitely something you have to get used to. My mother simply cannot. She is all for the local traditional books library. It’s all she ever knew, and all she cares to know. This is fine as well. You may run into a few subjects or specific text books that you can’t find on the web. Although I didn’t have this problem, it all depends on what you’re researching.

If your child is showing little interest in reading, there is hope. Sometimes moms and dads have to get sneaky, but you can still turn your child into a reader, even if he is reluctant about it.

1. The Early Bedtime trick.

One of my favorite ways to get my kids to read is something they hopefully will not figure out until they have kids of their own. Two words ‘Early Bedtime’.

You might be wondering how an increase in sleep can help your child to spend more time reading. Well, here’s the trick. Set their bedtime for 45 minutes to an hour before they need their lights out.

Here’s how our bedtime routine goes. The kids brush teeth and use the bathroom. Then I read them their stories. This is all done before their official bedtime. Then, I simply give them an option. I say, “It’s time for bed, now. Would you like lights out or would you like to stay up and read for a bit?”.

Unless they are really tired, they’ll always choose to read awhile. I do not have to beg nor manipulate them into reading. In fact, they think it’s their idea and they have grown to love their chance for a ‘late’ bedtime. Then, I back off. I don’t try to instruct them in any way, nor help them choose books. This is their time. They can choose whichever book they like and look at it however they like until I come in to kiss them goodnight and turn their lights out. Of course, if they want me to stay and listen to them read, I’m more than happy to comply. Try it. It works.

2. Summer reading incentives.

You can sign up for a summer reading program at pretty much any library in the country. If your local library does not have a summer reading program, then create one at home, with rewards for reading books. You can use a Monopoly (or Life) board and allow your child to move one space for each book he reads. Or if you want to have more fun, let him roll the dice each time he reads a book and have prizes available for passing certain points.

Make sure the rewards are something very desirable. If your child values time with you more than toys, then set a date together doing his favorite thing. If he values a certain toy, let him earn it. Or let him earn a chance to get out of his regular chores. Take him to his favorite restaurant. Just have fun with it and he will, too.

3. Read the book before you can see the movie.

This is a standard in our home. We won’t go see any movie until we’ve read the book. Whether my husband and I read the book to the kids or they read it alone, each member of the family can go see the movie after the book is read. So, if your child is looking forward to seeing the next Chronicles of Narnia movie, the next Harry Potter movie or the next Lemony Snicket movie, they’ll have to read the book first.

That’s it. Three easy ways to turn your child into a reader for life.

Are you interested in publishing a book that you just wrote? If you are, one of the next steps you will need to take involves finding publishers to approach. For many new authors, this is the most overwhelming part of the whole process. The good news is that there are multiple ways that you can find publishers to send your book to, but which way is the best?

Before focusing on what ways are the best ways to find publishers, it is important to get a clear cut definition of the word best. In terms of finding publishers, you will want an approach that is easy, time saving, as well as an approach that will produce the best results.

When it comes to doing any sort of research, even research on book publishers, the internet is one of the easiest approaches to take. For that reason, you may be interested in using the interenet to help you find book publishers. When doing so, you will find that you have a number of different options. If you already known of a publisher or two in your genre, consider performing a standard internet search with that publisher’s name. This should lead you to their online website.

Another approach that you can take, when using the internet, is to perform a standard internet search with a generalized phrase. This phrase can include science fiction publishers, or whatever your genre is. Your standard internet search will likely lead you to online websites that act as directories for authors seeking information on publishers. These websites are nice, but be cautious of the information that is provided to you. Still visit the online website of a publisher to get as much accurate information as possible.

Speaking of visiting the online website of a book publisher, this is the best way to find the publisher that is the perfect fit for you and your book. Most book publishers have detailed information for authors, including writer’s guidelines and other rules and restrictions. Many publishers also have detailed information on their current books, including pictures and short descriptions. Reviewing this information first can help you determine whether or not your book is what the publisher in question is looking for.

A number of printed resources are also available to help you find information on publishers. One of those resources is the Writer’s Market books. They are developed for a number of different genres, including children’s books. These books outline publishers that accept manuscripts from both agents and authors without agents. Information on guidelines and what is in need is also outlined.

In keeping with printed resources guides, to help you find publishers, you will find that they are very affordable. In fact, the popular Most Writer’s Market books can be purchased for around $20 or less. Although these books are available in most public libraries, purchasing your own copy allows you to write your own notes in the book and highlight important information. The ability to write your own notes and create your own categories helps to simplify the process of finding publishers.

Another easy way that you can go about finding publishers is by using the services of an literary agent. For the standpoint of ease, this is the easiest approach. A literary agent will help you find the perfect publishers for your book and do a large percentage of the research for you. As nice as it is to rely on the professional knowledge, experience, and expertise of a literary agent, their fee may be a turn off. If you intended to submit your own book to publishers, which would only cost you postage, this unexpected fee may be too much.

As you can see, there are a number of easy ways that you can go about finding publishers to help you publish a book. As for which approach is the best for you, it will depend on your own personal preferences. If you feel more comfortable using a computer, the internet is advised and so forth.

I love to read. I love reading anything and everything that comes in my direction. The problem is; I don’t have time to sit down and open up a book as much as I used to. Every morning, I have a forty-five minute commute to work. On the way home, my commute often will take a full hour. A good friend of mine, who also is a huge fan of reading, told me that I should borrow one of her audio books and try it out on one of my commutes. While I wasn’t too keen on the idea of having to listen to a story, I agreed. I let it sit in my car for several days before even attempting to listen to it. I just thought that the idea of someone reading me a story seemed so childish. Finally, four days after she loaned it to me, I found myself sitting in construction. Bored and frustrated, I decided to try it. Within five minutes, I found myself so absorbed in one of my favorite author’s stories, that I lost track of time. I listened to it the entire rest of my drive to work and finished it on my way home from work.

When I returned it to her the following weekend, I asked to borrow a few more. Since falling in love with the idea of keeping up to date on all of the books that I’ve been missing out on, I’ve taken to buying and renting audio books frequently. At first, I purchased all of the audio books that I wanted. It added up way too fast. I joined a book club and got audio books at a decent discounted price, which thrilled me. I checked out my local library and would borrow some audio books for a week. Their selection was not as great as what I would like, but you can’t beat something that doesn’t cost a single cent.

Before too long, my boring commutes to work were no longer boring. I found myself completely absorbed in my audio books. Interestingly enough, I had thought that someone reading to me wouldn’t be very appealing but instead, I found that the tone of voices that the narrator would use could be very engaging. Their interpretations and readings of certain events within a story could make me think differently than I may have read the same event in a book.

If you love to read and simply don’t have the time to finish a book from start to finish, make your commute or travels a bit more enjoyable and get yourself some audio books. Whether you purchase them from a bookstore, join a book club to get them at a discounted price or find them at your local library, you’ll find that it is worth every single penny.

One more time I am having the problem of book cases. What should I do? Should I go ahead and buy or should I build or should I leave all the thousands of books I have in boxes? You know why I am worried? I am moving once again. This is what happens each time I move. I am always in need of a new place of abode that would provide some sanity and where I can stay permanently. I have to move each time either because of a crazy landlord or a roommate who is drunk, passive, aggressive, crazy or even a thief. I really hate going through the stressful packing process. My books now stay in boxes during this period where I am not sure if the home is permanent or at least long lasting. I only put those I need on bookcases that are even makeshift bricks and boards. Some cases they are milk crates or cardboard boxes.

Finally, you can join me as I breathe a sigh of relief. Now, I am about to buy my own house. After living away from Mommy and Daddy for twenty-nine years and after moving from one house to the other thirty-something times, I am going to be getting my own house. I am now happy for my poor books as now they can get a breather too. Thankfully they have escaped the mold, bookworms, etc. What I will do now is to put them respectfully in book cases. Should I put them on built-ins? How about on prefabricated book cases? I have lots of choices, but I am also faced with the next dilemma of – which book cases style will go with it. There are endless options, really, especially when one considers the interior decorating styles such as the modern, French, Mediterranean, etc. There’s also the baroque and Goth and traditional and mission and eclectic, etc.

I seem to prefer the sturdy and understated of the Mission Style book cases. You know why? These bookcases came into existence way before the first bookcases were ever made. Today they take their influence from their purpose and their history. For Mission Style furniture, this is utilitarian at best.

It was only after the 17th century that book cases became purposefully crafted. This was when the English readers discovered the need for keeping and collecting books. That led to the use of bookcases in colleges and libraries, and homes of scholars and book lovers, according to the compilers of the Antique Collector’s Dictionary. The reading and researching world have since picked up and passed on the book case building culture. For example, Georgian breakfront (a.k.a. wing) book cases were built). These were followed by “upper stage glazed” bookcases. Then there were the Regency period dwarf bookcases.

The 19th century ended with the Mission Style bookcases, as part of the practical Mission Style sets of furniture. They can now be found in most homes, all thanks to the connection and influence of the Arts and Crafts movement that is spreading. This movement was of course, engineered in the 1920s by creative beings such as William Morris, Gustav Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright. Today, the book cases that are the best choices are those that have simple lines and are constructed solidly.

Buying books online is a great approach to expanding your home library. There are a handful of reasons that this purchasing strategy is so popular. It has never been easier to find texts and novels and you basically have the world of books at your fingertips when you buy books online.

I do not mean to suggest that you neglect your local library and I definitely do not mean to suggest that you forgo your local bookstore. Both of these locations are wonderful places to visit. You can borrow or buy what you need in these places and you do have an opportunity to spend some time relaxing while you browse. Buying books online is a whole other experience.

The Internet offers a vast selection that no bookstore can match. Of course, you can always order a book from the brick-and-mortar store but if the item is out of print, you are pretty much out of luck. Buying books online offers a different experience in that you might be able to get your hands on texts that are no longer in print.

I recently wrote an entry in a writer’s blog about a short story that had a profound impact on my life. While this story is very important to me I hadn’t read it in so long that I forgot the author’s name. I also lost my copy of the literary magazine that published the short piece of fiction.

One of the readers added a comment under the post. He suggested that buying books online would be the best option for me if I wanted to get my hands on something that is a challenge to find. I took the sound advice and within a few minutes I not only found the author’s name, I also found a collection of her short stories for sale.

Needless to say, I have a copy of the collection of short stories and I also have a new approach to shopping. Buying books online is the best way to find just about anything you want, no matter how obscure the author or title. It is nice to know that I can use this valuable tool to purchase hard-to-find books.

I have been buying books online ever since I had this experience. The process of ordering is secure and simple and sites like Amazon offer books new and used. You are pretty much guaranteed the best price when you are buying books online through a site like this.

Want to talk about fiction but not sure if you can commit to reading a book each month? Especially if it turns out to be a book you don’t like. It’s one thing finding time for a novel you do like, but one that is a struggle just to turn the pages? No thanks.

So what is the answer. Short stories, of course! They can be read in a fraction of the time and then you can talk about them instantly.

So how does a short story club work? Basically the same as a book club but without the 12 hours of homework that it takes to read the novel so that you can join in the discussion.

First up you need to decide if you want to be in an online or offline club. If you are wanting to set up an online club then the best way to do it would be to use either an instant messaging service (Yahoo or MSN are too popular services) or an internet voice service like Skype so that you can chat aloud for free just like you would if you were all meeting in person (go to http://www.skype.com/ for more details).

Whether you decide on an online or offline club, you will need to work out a few other details like how many people you’d like in the club. Too few members and it maybe difficult to get a discussion going, too many and it maybe difficult for everyone to get an opportunity to speak. Eight is probably a good number as it allows for a few people to be away each week but it would probably still work well with six. You could always start off with less and then invite more people in if you feel you need to.

You need to set the guidelines up front so that everyone knows how it will work.

1. How often will you meet? Once a week, once a month, once every two months. You probably wouldn’t want to go any further out than two months or you will lose momentum.

2. When will you meet? Lunchtime, after work, in the evenings, Saturday afternoons, over breakfast. It’s better to be consistent, say every Friday lunchtime or the first Monday evening of the month, so that you save on scheduling time and avoid confusion.

3. Where will you meet? This will probably be determined by when you meet but some possible options are a library, restaurant, someone’s home, a community centre or a cafe.