So, you want to try this self-publishing lark but could do with a few hints about how to go about it. Hopefully you’ve come to the right place for a bit of advice – not because I’m some kind of expert but because I’ve made loads of mistakes during my self-publishing voyage of discovery and therefore know many of the pitfalls to avoid. There are 10 pointers for all first timers below – they aren’t commandments just ideas and things that have worked for me over the five years I’ve been doing this. Take from them what you will…

1: If you’ve got access to a computer and design software such as Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or InDesign, you can download proper comic-book fonts with which to letter your comic. Your best bet is to head over to www.blambot.com which has loads of free fonts and even the ones they charge for are reasonably priced. Don’t even attempt hand lettering unless your penmanship is extraordinarily good.

2: Get someone to proofread your comic. No one wants to read a story full of spelling mistakes and bad grammar. Being raw and amateur might be seen as cool and “punk rock” in some quarters but any discerning punter won’t be impressed. In fact, tell you what, pay a tenner into my PayPal account and I’ll proofread it for you. It’s what I do for a living after all.

3: Professional printing is a must. The biggest change I’ve seen in British indie comics over the last five years has nothing to do with the quality of the art or writing but in the massive improvement in production values. These days indie press people are doing full-colour books (Brodie’s Law) and even hardback graphic novels (David Hitchcock’s Springheeled Jack), so it might be an idea to think a little bigger than just running off a 12-page A5 effort on the photocopier at work.

4: If, on your own, you can’t afford to go down the professional printing route, team-up with other creators to spread the cost. I have some sample quotes from a printer in front of me – £315 for 200 copies of a 28-page black and white interior/colour exterior US-sized comic. Between six of you (three artist/writer teams perhaps) that’s £52.50 each. By the way, the printer in question is www.ukomics.co.uk, who did Brendan McCarthy’s beautiful Swimini Purpose book.

5: Put that 50-issue epic on hold for now and make your first publication a one-shot. It proves you can tell a story simply and succinctly, and gives readers – many of whom you might not see again for months/years/ever – a bit of instant gratification.

6: Be realistic with your print run. Buoyed by a wave of positive hype on websites and message boards, I had a thousand copies of my first graphic novel (DevilChild: Hell Is Round The Corner) printed. Although it sold well at conventions, Diamond rejected the book and I still have 500 copies of the sodding thing gathering dust in my attic. If you’re a first time publisher make your print run no more than 200 copies. In fact, with the advent of print-on-demand services such as Lulu, ComiXpress and Ka-Blam, you can print a handful at a time if you like.

7: Set firm but realistic deadlines to get the story, art and lettering finished. Procrastination is the enemy of all self-publishers and you’d be surprised how quickly a month can turn into six, and how swiftly six months can turn into a year. The longer a project takes to finish the easier it is for enthusiasm to wane and work on it to tail off. If you’re working with an artist or writer who you can’t depend upon to get things done on time, give them the elbow – there are plenty more very talented people out there.

8: Get your comic printed and delivered in good time for whatever convention you intend to launch it at. At every con I’ve ever attended there’s always one publisher whose comics haven’t turned up from the printer on time and they have to spend the entire weekend telling punters how neat their hot new title is instead of actually selling them a copy. Agree a deadline with the printer and make sure they stick to it.

9: Always get a set of proofs from the printer before they go ahead and print the whole run. Pay particular attention to fonts (as some seem to corrupt easily) and colour (are those blacks solid enough?). This is your last chance to check that everything in your comic is correct so be meticulous. Oh, and always make sure your printer has a dummy copy of your comic with page numbers clearly marked so he can double-check its correct running order.

10: Drumming up publicity for your comic is a subject that I’ll return to in some depth in a couple of months time. For a start, though, you should be sending press releases and previews to sites such as Bugpowder, Down The Tubes and, of course, this one. The Silver Bullet Comicbooks website also covers the indie scene, and long-running industry mag Comics International regularly reviews small press and indie titles.

NEXT MONTH: Your book’s in Previews – now what?

Andy Winter has been publishing his own comics since 2002 and is the writer of the Eagle Award-winning Hero Killers. Check out his regularly updated workblog here: www.winterworkblog.blogspot.com