FANzine Live - Phoenix Spotlight - Small Press Interview

Small Press Interview was an attempt to create a low-cost, grassroots, cross-marketing campaign to promote small press and self-published zines and comics. It didn't take off. Should it have? Can it still? Let's discuss in today's FANzine Live Phoenix Spotlight video.
For more on Small Press Interview, you can go here: phoenixprods.w...
Otherwise, go check out everything that Phoenix Productions has to offer at: linktr.ee/phoe...

[@LewBrown100]

TOM: So, I looked at your video twice and tried to understand what it was about. I appreciate you have worthy aims about increasing one’s audience and I must admit that this video reminded me that I had received this little book a while back (and I’d forgotten about it). To be honest (and respectful) I remember reading your proposal and thinking this is “another thing.” That means to be involved in this project I would need to apply myself to something new. Now this is quite different from simply contributing to one’s book, and I’ve been more than happy to do so as you know. Someone asks for a comic, illustration work, a short story, an essay, a cover (like for The Patriot) I’m happy to oblige. Your proposal involves administration and management. My understanding is that a publisher would fill out the questionnaire and you’d format and provide the finished product in PDF format. Now that means I’d get that from you, and I would have to print the pages, cut the sheets, collate, fold and staple it (I used to do that when I printed up Tales of Fantasy back in the day, all my comics are now printed at Ka-Blam which is so much easier). My mailing list comes to about 20-24 people (UFO guys plus others you probably know). If I had your Interview (for example) to distribute, how would I reach anyone new from my mailing list? It’s a worthy aim I think, but I can only speak for myself, and I think when I consider this kind of “another thing” it’s so much easier for me to just concentrate on what I do well, and that means writing, drawing, creating comic books (and every two months writing extensive reviews for the UFO co-op). As a sidebar another easy way to reach a broader audience is through the Print-On-Demand KDP arm of Amazon. I have 11 books on that platform and currently the best seller is my collection of 1960s comics essays. You have to do some work to get the word out, but they offer an advertising program (with commission) which I haven’t taken advantage of yet. So, these are my thoughts, as disjointed as they may be. I’m glad you are enthusiastic about publishing and your work is an inspiration to all of us small press publishers. Larry Johnson

[@FANzineLiveGuy]

Larry, I understand where you're coming from. Your response illustrates my mantra about so many things these days: If you've seen one [insert thing here... we'll use "small press publisher"], you've seen one. We're all different, with different needs.
This little project may be one more thing to you, but it could be a valuable tool to someone else. I've seen a number of publishers bemoan their inability to reach a wider audience, and this was intended to foster a collaboration where each participating publisher leverages their reader base for the benefit of the others. So by giving others exposure, you get exposure from them.
Anyway, it's clearly not for everyone. Hopefully a few publishers give it a try.