Of course I couldn’t have picked a better time, but this has been percolating in my mind for a while now. It’s also been something that I’ve been working hard on over the last week or so.
What’s going on, you ask? Well, I’m migrating the Phoenix Productions physical back issue store to Amazon.
There’s a bit to this, so please indulge me as I explain why, what readers will get out of the changes and how it all will work going forward.
Why move to Amazon? Like so many things, it comes down to cost.
I’ve been working on the old small press model of “print a whole bunch of books, then sit around and wait for them to sell.” That results in cash outlays for unsold inventory, which wasn’t an issue back in the days of ten cent minicomics…but now, when a full color, full size magazine costs a whole lot more than ten cents, it starts adding up.
Another cost factor that has irked me to no end is the cost of shipping. All the way down to the price of a first class stamp, it just costs a LOT to mail out Phoenix publications. The books cost a lot in the first place, but I regularly spend just as much on shipping as on the zines!
And what of our overseas friends? I’m proud to say that Phoenix Productions is developing a trans-Atlantic fanbase, and those readers are hit with shipping delays (YOU try getting something to the post-Brexit UK!) and hefty costs to ship.
So there’s cost in terms of cash, but also cost in terms of convenience. I hope to rectify both with this move.
What will you folks get? Love ’em or leave ’em, Amazon is THE superpower in retail in the US and much of the rest of the world. If they’re doing print-on-demand services, I’m silly not to take advantage of it.
- You will get an inventory that will never run out of stock. Amazon literally prints the books upon being ordered.
- You will get cheaper shipping – and often faster shipping. Especially for Prime members, who enjoy FREE two-day shipping, this is huge. But even for non-Prime members, you will still get lower shipping costs.
- You will get trade paperback-bound books. Amazon doesn’t produce saddle-stapled zines. They make books. So now everything I put on Amazon will come to you with a glossy cover and a glue-bound spine. I’ve run some samples, and the production quality is great. (That said, an Amazon print job for a friend did result in a print hiccup, one that Amazon quickly corrected at no cost.)
- You will get domestic shipping at Amazon’s different sites. That’s right: Customers can get local shipping prices and schedules based on their country’s Amazon site. We’re global, baby!
What about the existing inventory? Yes, there are plenty of zines in inventory right now. You are welcome to purchase them, and I will sell them at shows and zine fests.
However, I will not stock additional printings once they sell out. (At least as long as Amazon keeps this program.)
What about first printings? For the time being, I’m going to stick with my original formats on first printings. That means United Fanzine Organization copies, as well as copies printed for friends and reviewers (some of who are friends!) will look exactly the same as they have been. I’ll likely offer presale options for those interested in getting first printings.
The big difference for me is that I will print much more precise print runs and have much smaller numbers of leftover inventory.
This might change over time as I get more comfortable with the Amazon program, but I prefer to go with what I know in the short run.
Will the Amazon editions be the same as the original printings? No, not exactly.
First, the aforementioned change in binding from stapled saddle binding to glue-bound trade paperback binding on every title. Only HEROIC: Heroes Now had that previously.
Pricing is a little different as I needed to adjust cover prices to meet Amazon’s requirements. Don’t think that I raised prices to line my pockets, though; in most all cases, my income will be $.75 per book or less.
Amazon has slightly different page sizes, so I have had to tweak some pages to fit. The 5.5″x8.5″ digests will now be 6″x9″. The 8.5″x10″ magazines are now 8.5″x11″. In most cases, that means more white space around the page (because I didn’t alter the dimensions of the content. In a few cases, I had to adjust page size.
My amateur comparisons of printers proofs against original printings suggest that paper quality on the original printings is higher than Amazon. However, I can’t say that with 100% certainty. It’s close enough for government work, as they say.
A couple books had some more significant changes. Most notably:
- HEROIC: Heroes Now‘s original script pages for The Light #1 and #2 have been removed. Amazon’s reviewers kept rejecting the images of those 40-ish year old pages as too blurry, so they had to go. The stories themselves remain, though.
- Strange Times #1 did not meet Amazon’s minimum page requirements, so Alan Groening graciously provided a number of extra illustrations to show off his amazing range.
- Hologram: Counting the Days Book One‘s pages have been enlarged, something I wished I had done with the original edition.
- Covers for HEROIC: Heroes Now and Hologram: Counting the Days Book One required bounding boxes around the images to accommodate original artwork dimensions and Amazon cover requirements.
All that said, the story content is exactly the same. The packaging might not be, but the stories remain as is.
What about the minicomics? Excellent question.
Amazon hasn’t gone into the minicomics format, so I will continue to offer them via this site. That applies to Hologram (although the Hologram collected edition is on Amazon, as will other collected editions) and Something in the Water.
I think that’s it. I’ll leave the comments open to answer any questions that readers may have. Thanks for your ongoing support for Phoenix Productions and my creative endeavors. It’s been a wonderful experience, being back in the world of writing, drawing (such as I do) and self-publishing.
Phoenix Productions 