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Terry Hooper-Scharf

Friday, 20 January 2017

"What About Overseas Earnings?" The what Now??



For reasons that really annoy me (I tell a lie -it takes far, far more to annoy me!) I had to do some checking because I was asked about "overseas earnings".  No, I didn't believe that one either but it seems there was a legitimate reason.

So, rather than tidy up my now full, bushy beard (any money goes on food not luxuries like razors) I got to a computer and started checking.  It seems that Amazon Japan -in fact, Amazon in quite a few countries- offer my books.  There are places like The Book Depository, Inventaire, Bokus and, in total 20 other book ordering services in a lot of countries -including Poland- with my books for sale.

Now, if 15 million views haven't sold any books, nor the online store are these other places, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and a few I've never heard of before?

You know that was a rhetorical question, right?

No, they have sold none if that's what you want to read. Not even people I have known for a long time have purchased, let alone read, one of my books. Those I've sent copies to outside the UK as gifts love them and these are people who, if something is not good, will say so and don't hold back so when I read what they had to say -praise- I had no idea where to look!

But this is the problem.  A comic world obsessed with full colour comics that have to be either from Marvel, DC or Image.  Black and white comics -in fact, no, that's wrong, because I KNOW a lot of US Indie publishers whose comics are in colour do not sell.  Comic fans are not comic fans anymore. They see The Big Bang Theory which tends to mention DC and Marvel, they see the TV shows and movies so they think that is it.

As a kid I used to buy black and white as well as colour comics -as my collection shows! So, using this post as a follow-on to the one about YOU and only YOU can decide whether you want to publish a comic, I would add that comic events need changing.  Small, new comic marts or one day events that do not ask publishers for huge amounts for a table.  Get back to events for comics and not the merchandising that has become THE reason for the big events now.

I have plans.  Sadly, none involve tax exile.

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