How to get picked up by Diamond
Okay, so you've got your book done, and you've got a printer picked out, and now
you're ready to get going for real. Now you need to know more about distribution.
Diamond Comic Distribution
is the world's largest comics distributor. If you want to be carried in comics stores
worldwide, you'll pretty much have to get picked up by Diamond. Here's how to do it.
Diamond needs to make money, just like you. They have some simple requirements that you
must meet to be carried by them.
- You must have three issues completed.
Having three issues done shows Diamond that you're committed to your work. You don't have
to have the book already printed -- Diamond will take photocopies, but they also like
to see that you're serious. Diamond will not even consider carrying you as an
indie publisher unless you can produce dummy (ie photocopied) issues of the first
three issues, in their entirety, minus covers and letters columns.
This is to keep people from making a big huge stink about their series,
hyping it like crazy and then never getting past issue two, leaving orders unfulfilled,
retailers upset and Diamond holding the bag.
Diamond will take a one-shot if it's billed as a one-shot, but ongoing series require
three issues in the can.
- Your book must be professionally printed. Diamond can't carry Minicomics.
However, there are a couple benefits to using a big printer -- one is shipping.
Once my book
had been accepted by Diamond, I published them so that as they were falling out
of Quebecor's presses, Diamond was swinging by to pick them up, and the surplus
was shipped to me. Since Quebecor is a pickup spot for Diamond, that means that
Diamond goes right to Quebecor's loading dock and picks up my book; I don't have
to ship them anywhere. Then the remainder gets sent to me, after Diamond and
Cold Cut and everybody else fills their orders.
Submitting your initial package
Diamond has specific requirements for what it wants to see in your submissions package. They
outline these in detail on their
Getting Started page.
Timing is everything . . .
For a thorough explanation of how much time elapses from when you submit your book to run in
Previews to when it hits store shelves, please visit Diamond's
Product Life Cycle page.
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