As the move from the big publishers to small publisher to self-publishing continues, comiXology has today released Submit – and online publishing tool which will allow comic creators to upload their content, have it converted into comiXology’s proprietary Guided View format and publishes it through the virtual storefront.
Works from Shannon Wheeler (“Too Much Coffee Man” cartoons), Jake Parker (“The Antler Boy and Other Stories”), Becky Cloonan (“Wolves,” ”The Mire”), Richard Stevens (“Diesel Sweeties”) and other top independent creators are available starting today as initial examples of Submit’s abilities.
“ComiXology Submit opens it up for independent comic books artists, creating the chance to digitally publish comics that one can sell everywhere,” said Shannon Wheeler, creator of the critically hailed “Too Much Coffee Man” series and a contributing cartoonist to The New Yorker. “When I created ‘Too Much Coffee Man’ 20 years ago in Austin, I spent many late nights making the stupid comics. Then I spent long days bugging shop owners to sell my stuff. Then I spent minutes losing the invoices, ensuring I never got paid. With comiXology Submit, I could have spent all that time creating my comics and I'd have gotten paid twice as often too.”
More details about comiXology Submit will be unveiled on Saturday at 5:45 PM CST at SXSW Interactive, as comiXology co-founder and CEO Steinberger takes the stage with fellow co-founder Roberts and Wheeler on the SXSW GEEK Stage at the Palmer Auditorium in Austin, TX.
The largest question yet to be answered is around their approval processes. Just because you upload a comic, it isn’t automatically accepted, and the language on their website at this time is deeply vague:
“The approval process is a work in progress. First and foremost, we want to maintain a level of professional content that comiXology users have come to expect from our platform. What the definition of professional content is will certainly be something that we refine as we progress into this brave new world.”
So in language similarly open to per-submission vagueness as exists in the Apple store, look for that to be refined and expanded upon in the days and weeks to come as content creators start to use the system and it picks up steam.
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