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LIFE
Ceredo resident Beau Smith offers advice in new book
Ceredo native and comic book industry veteran Beau Smith has written a new book "No Guts, No Glory: How to Market Yourself in Comics." Smith shares advice from his years of experience.
CEREDO — A veteran of the comics industry since 1986, Ceredo resident Beau Smith has worked both as a writer and a vice president of sales and marketing for several companies.
“I wanted to be a writer since third grade,” he said. “I was originally a journalism major at Marshall. My last year was 1978, and I found out about two years into the field that it was good, but it was not quite the creative writing that I wanted to do. Years later in life, I decided I needed to figure out how to get paid for what I love to do. Through connections I made, I eventually broke in on both the marketing side working in sales at Eclipse Comics and writing for ‘Scout’ the comic book.”
Smith’s body of work ranges from crime stories to superhero comics to Westerns. He has written business columns for magazines such as Comic Buyers Guide, Entertainment Retailing and Sketch. Smith has spent the last five years writing a pop culture column called “Busted Knuckles” for a Web site, ComicsBulletin.com.
Smith once worked for McFarlane Toys, and he wrote the video game “Maximo vs. The Army of Zin” for Capcom.
Now in a new book, “No Guts, No Glory: How to Market Yourself in Comics” from Blue Line Pro, Smith is sharing advice from his 20 years of experience. The book features a number of business-related columns Smith wrote for Sketch Magazine.
“The book is for aspiring artists, writers and the people who want to get in on the business side of comics,” he said. “It’s also for people who are already in the industry to give them some idea of what they can be doing, or could be doing better.
“This book is truly blue collar, truly grass roots. It’s not dry, and it’s not boring. If you have the talent, that’s great, but you can’t only rely on other people to promote yourself. To succeed in this business, you have to market yourself as well as your work. In a way, you have to be a gregarious showboat in some form or another.”
Chapters of “No Guts, No Glory” cover a variety of subjects, ranging from writing scripts and making contacts within the industry to writing press releases and promoting a book at comic conventions. The book, which can be purchased at www.BlueLinePro.com, also explores new means of using the Internet to promote one’s work.
Smith stresses how to write and market a book. He also offers advice to people looking into starting their own independent publishing company.
Smith points to Crossgen, which entered bankruptcy in 2004, as a high profile example of an independent company that failed.
“Crossgen started with tons of money and one of the greatest pools of talents ever assembled. The problem is they started in a hole because as a company, they refused to do superhero comics and other popular genres in favor of the genre the company liked. Because there was too much micromanagement, it proved to be their downfall. Most of the talent ended up feeling handcuffed and became unhappy, in my opinion.”
“Strangers in Paradise” creator Terry Moore is a successful business model, Smith said, and he suggests that most publishers should start modest.
“It’s a two-person operation. He literally does all the creative aspects of the book, while his wife handles the business side. It’s a low overhead business, and he makes all of his money off of trade paperbacks, memorabilia and from orders off the Web site. You can’t make money right out of the gate.”
This year will be busy for Smith. In February, IDW Publishing is publishing Smith’s “24: Cold Warrior,” a 48-page graphic novel based on the popular prime-time television show. Smith also has an original one-shot titled “Lost and Found” coming out this year with IDW Publishing.
One of Smith’s more popular creations, Wynonna Earp, is returning this summer. The new four-issue mini-series titled “Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars” is scheduled to ship this summer from IDW.
Propeller Productions has optioned the rights to produce a film based on Smith’s creator-owned project, “Parts Unknown,” an over-the-top science fiction invasion comic book. It’s a cross between “Predator” and “Mars Needs Women,” Smith said.
Smith’s Web site is www.FlyingFistRanch.com.
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