Gamal Hennessy is known around the Creators Workshop and Comics Experience as a Renaissance man of many talents. A lawyer, a comic book professional, and a marketer, he dishes out valuable advice on everything from contracts to post-production. Aspiring and established talent alike seek him out, and you can, too!
All subscribers to his newsletter, The Professional Comics Creator, receive a free 30-page excerpt from his book, The Fundamentals of Independent Comic Book Marketing! This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about… well… you read the title, right?
Gamal talked to us about his passion project.
Comics Experience: Why the decision to give Fundamentals of Independent Comic Book Marketing away for free for your subscribers?
Gamal Hennessy: Marketing is one of the biggest obstacles facing the comics industry today. Comic creators need to know who is interested in their story, where to find those people, and how to connect with them. This will give them a chance to reach the best audience for their book and avoid wasting time and money. Fundamentals gives creators a foundation for that process. It introduces ideas that they can use in their long term marketing online and in the real world.
CE: What elements of Fundamentals are you most proud of? Why should subscribers get excited to read it?
GH: Fundamentals offers a concrete framework subscribers can use for their specific book. Among other things, I explain:
- how to define your ideal reader
- how to measure your competition
- how to expand the number of potential readers for your book
- how to make a connection with your readers that can grow over time
The best part about Fundamentals is I’ve tries to distill a system that can potentially create the same type of long-term loyal fans for Comics Experience creators that the Big Two have built in their 80 year histories.
CE: What else can subscribers look forward to in your newsletters?
GH: The Professional Comics Creator Newsletter is part of a wider effort to help comic creators understand the industry as a whole.
Fundamentals explains the basics of marketing, but that’s just one facet of publishing comics. I’m also planning a seminar later this month that covers the entire framework of independent comics publishing, including marketing. The seminar itself is based on my upcoming book The Business of Independent Comic Book Publishing, which takes a deep dive into comic book every aspect of the business.
But because new developments happen every month in the comics market, the Newsletter keeps readers current on all the major shifts. All these efforts together will help creators on all levels have more success publishing comics.
CE: How did you work with Comics Experience help inspire Fundamentals?
GH: I think both Fundamentals and The Business Independent Comic Book Publishing took some inspiration from the members of the community and the comprehensive nature of the courses.
Several Comics Experience members have been clients of my firm. I’ve always been impressed with their drive to overcome the challenges of creating comics by learning as much as they can. My work is an attempt to give them information to make their comic publishing better.
At the same time, Andy has made sure the Comics Experience courses give members a solid foundation on the creative aspects of comics. My work is designed to be a complement to those efforts. My ultimate goal is to give comic creators the business tools they need to make the most of their creative efforts.
Convinced? We would be if we weren’t already. Sign up for Gamal’s newsletter The Professional Comics Creator and receive your FREEEEE(!!!!) 30-page excerpt from Fundamentals of Independent Comic Book Marketing here!