Hey guys, it's Scott.
It is Tuesday, September 17th, and all the orders for Absolute Batman #1 are in. I have no idea what they are. I won't know for a day or two, but I am tired and relieved and so grateful above all to you guys for all of the support, the energy, the conversation. When you do a book like this, the worst thing that can happen is nobody cares, so there's no response whatsoever. It's a personal one. It was a real labor of love for me and Nick and the whole team. It's a scary one taking on a character like Batman and trying to do something different that you're passionate about.
And so to see everyone engaging with it, whether that's cheering, whether that's yelling, whether that's just thinking about it or questioning it or talking about it. It really means everything to us. So we can't wait for you to see the book. It's out on October 9th. And just thank you. Thank you all. And thank you for ordering so big on DC All-In Special #1.
DC had a number in mind and the orders well exceeded them. So the fact that you guys are enthusiastic about this whole initiative, that you're ordering high, that you're going to go to stores, that it's exciting to you is just so thrilling to all of us. We really hope you love it, we've put everything we have into the initiative as a whole and I hope you'll order high on all of the great DC books coming out from the continuing series, the new series, the Absolute line, the main line, all of it.
Okay, so I wanted to do a quick post today about the hustle. What is the hustle? promotion, running around, talking about your book, trying to pierce the veil, trying to get people to talk about it. The most important thing in my opinion is to think of it as a relationship that you have with your fans. And above all, to be honest, honest with yourself and honest with them. So honest with yourself, what do I mean? Honest with yourself is to try and be organic about what your comfort level is when it comes to promotion. Some people out there that I admire tremendously, like Jon Hickman or Grant Morrison, have very, very low tolerance for promotion, or they just don't do a lot of it. They don't go out and talk in a lot of interviews or go on social media in particular. They don't necessarily do a huge public-facing campaign. And again, I think that's absolutely not only valid, but great. I think it works for them. I think it works for a lot of creators, and I support it 100%. Other creators that I know and I'm friends with and I like such as Mark Millar, Mark Waid, and Geoff Johns go out and hustle. Younger people right now, Deniz Camp is great at this. Ram V, you see them out there talking about the books on every platform, doing interviews, making their own previews, making their own trailers, talking to retailers, sending the books early, all this stuff. And that's wonderful too. The key to all of it, in my opinion, is finding what works for you on an emotional level. Your relationship with your fans needs to be honest. And if you don't feel comfortable going out there promoting, you shouldn't do it. You should try and find your limit, what you feel is the most you can do, and do that. So being honest with yourself to me is absolutely key.
My tolerance for it used to be very small. When I started, I had a lot of social anxiety. I felt uncomfortable on panels. I felt uncomfortable going out and doing interviews. I had to rehearse. Now I'm at the very opposite end of the spectrum. I love it. I love going out talking about the books. I'm happy to be a juggling bear on a unicycle out there for them. But again, that comes to the second thing, right? Which is honesty with your fans. The reason that I feel comfortable with it at this point is because I try my best to be upfront about what each book is. A book like Absolute Batman, when I come out and say, “listen, you got to order heavy on this one. It's going to sell out. You don't want to miss it. It's going to upset you. It's going to excite you,” I'm being honest. I'm not trying to shill and get you to fucking buy the book when I don't think it's going to sell out. When I do a book that's more of an experiment, like Book of Evil with Jock, a book I adore, I'm going to go out there and say, “look, this is a passion project. It's a different kind of book. It's not for everybody, but we're incredibly proud of it. It's deeply personal and disturbing and dark. It's one of the darkest books I've ever written in my life. If you love things like Stand By Me and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it might be for you.”
So I try to pitch the book in the best way I can, give it its best foot forward. I try and tell you what I'm excited about with regard to this book or this series. But I don't try and say “this is going to be the biggest book ever” or “this one is the one you have to buy because it's going to sell out” if it's not. When I do an experiment like Dudley Datson and I say, “listen, I've never written a young adult book before. This is something I am so excited to be a part of with Jamal Igle. We wrote it for our kids. I hope you enjoy it. We're really testing new waters with it. We're trying to make something bright and exuberant and fun.” That's all honest. I'm not out there saying “this is the next Batman” and that stuff. I'm trying to communicate to you my enthusiasm for the book, why I did it, why I'm proud of it. and also to frame it in a way that is realistic about what it is. So if you approach it like that and you're honest with yourself about what your comfort level is with promotion, and then you're honest with your fans about what each book is, that's my best prescription for success when it comes to the hustle and to promotion.
Now, if you're asking about methodology, like, what things work, the biggest thing you can do, in my opinion, isn't really social media. Social media is so cluttered. It's so difficult to bust through. It's outreach to retailers and outreach to readers through other creators. So the biggest push here, if you look at it for Absolute Batman was when DC agreed to send it out. We sent it out early to retailers and we sent it out early to creators. And that to me was the best thing we could do because retailers actually get to see what it is. They can look at it and decide if they're going to order heavy or not. And there are all these other creators that people follow and trust. And again, it's not about social media. It's about trust. It's about that creator might talk about the book when they're doing an interview. That creator might talk about the book on a panel. That creator might mention it in passing to retailers when they're talking about their own books. And so it's that it's trying to get the community excited in an organic way. Of course, I try to use social media to maximum effect. Of course, I try and get DC to do trailers and ads and all that kind of stuff. And if I'm doing an Image book, I try and get them to do it or I pay for it. I don't give up on social media or any of that. I'll put everything I have into it.
I think, again, the most important thing is genuine organic outreach to retailers, to other creators. Send it out early to reviewers if you're proud of it. Send it out early to the sites that you respect when it comes to the books that they review. Give it to them and say, “listen, I really appreciate the way that you do thoughtful criticism about books. This is mine. Here it is.” Or have somebody send it out for you from the company if you don't want to do the outreach personally in some way, whatever it is. But trying to make genuine connections, not just blasting it out into the world and trying to game it or trying gimmicks or trying that. Like, sure, you might get some attention. And, you know, I've been a part of things like that. But ultimately, what it really boils down to is honesty. It's honesty with, again, the fans, honesty with yourself, and honesty with the community itself of creators, of retailers, of all of that stuff. It’s you trying to just show them what you're doing with this one. So above all, you need to be proud of the work. If you are really proud of the work, and you might be nervous, you might be insecure, but if you love the book and are excited about the book, you should feel comfortable with whatever level suits you of promotion, of going out there and giving it to people, sending it out, don't be shy. Whatever it is, get it out there. But the best way you can do it is to actually show it to people, to talk honestly about it to people, to share it with people that you trust that are going to go out and be really good proselytizers for it because they like it in an honest way. It really is about having an honest relationship with yourself, with the book, and with the community and fans and that stuff. So I hope that helps. And thank you guys again!
S
P.S. Stay tuned for some exciting Arcbound news coming real soon! You can pre-order the first issue from Dark Horse now, so don’t miss out…
Newsletter #192: A Self-Promotion How-To