Let me get the first rewrite under my belt and then we'll talk.

That's a majestic gif. I LOVE that!

Hey uh any of you guys ever dealt with a publisher?

sorry, but never have

Somewhat. Small time print mag, then lots of music publishing. What's up?

No. And fuck you for rubbing my face in it.

Ass.

Good thing literary fiction writers only do it for the love of the craft.

I don't even know what to ask. It's a book publisher. It sounds like they want to take over everything (after I've done all the heavy lifting), but there doesn't seem to be enough time to organize such a thing. And what if they screw over my readers?

I dunno. I'm leaning towards not even bothering with it.

Like I said, my experience is peripheral. Here's what I think you should define, just based on what I know:

Do they want to give you an advance? If so, for how much $$? What does that $$ cover? Printing, marketing, distribution? What are the recoupable expenses that you'll ultimately owe them before you start making money?

What is the term (length) of the contract? What future works do you owe?

What about creative rights? Do you retain rights to all future licensing of the story and characters, or do they? Residuals?

And then the intangibles: What sort of exposure might you get from a major publisher's support, and how might that help you down the line?

Figure that stuff out, compare it to your numbers if you stick with the Kickstarter, and make the best call.

You might also consider this a great opportunity to get a good agent. Before you sign anything, get someone established and from whom you feel a sense of "care" for your career, not just a short-term interest in this publishing deal. They should be able to guide you, at a reasonable exchange for their services. Use the publishing opportunity as leverage in a cold call (email or phone). The publishing co likely has someone in a similar role at the company, but they ultimately work for the company. You want someone in that role who works for you...

Of course this is all old-school publishing stuff, and I don't know enough about where it's at these days in the world of graphic novels. You mentioned being able to get your stuff printed in Asia for cheap, and just that you can find that online is pretty crazy. But that's all the stuff that would be running through my head if I were just handed a music publishing deal, plus the little bit I know about print economics.

Awesome opportunity, Burt! Don't fuck it up!

Sorry, just to add:

Not sure if entertainment lawyers cover your world, but that might be better than an agent.

Also, be weary any time you see the word "exclusive" in a contract. That'd be a big red flag for me. To what extent is your relationship with them exclusive?

Very good info. I'll dig through it when I get the chance.

I'd prefer it if they did a separate printing and let me deal with the Kickstarter stuff. The printer I have seems like he knows his stuff, and getting an agent might turn out to be a waste of time.

I hastily wrote out a synopsis for the next books and sent it to the editor. It is probably terrible (I'm too scared to read it again.) So she'll probably just change her mind anyway.

It's one of the "big five" apparently. I guess that's good. I don't know anything about that industry.

Tell me about it.

I'm super happy for you Burt. Keep it going! This is so awesome!

i'm proud of you, burt

My suggestion to get an agent or attorney was based on watching my friend (essbee71) struggle with that. Seems like the only way to get an agent is to have an agent, you know? And I don't know what your ultimate career goals are, but a good agent might be able to get you more regular illustration gigs.

I can dig why you want to handle the Kickstarter thing yourself. See if they'll go for it; let them know you want to honor your Kickstarting "contract" before letting someone else take over.

I don't believe in writer's block.