Back in the 1980s, in bookstores, there wasn't a graphic novel section. (That happened this millennium, after manga exploded in popularity.)
Titles (of which there were few) either got shelved in Science Fiction on the bottom shelf with the oversized books, or in with the humor books which was mostly comic strip collections. (This is where you found RAW.)
Marvel and DC albums had a special spinner rack which held graphic albums and comic books.
It's ironic that I can relate to this from the self-publishing angle. While I've cut out the middle men of dubious publishing contracts and production, reading this I see that the problems I've been having with marketing my graphic novel (from Ingram) to book stores hasn't changed much from the days when A Distant Soil was trying to get on the shelves. I guess the moral is one can make a nice little boat that's sea worthy but if you don't bring enough bait with which to catch fish, you're just pointlessly floating. Thank you for another lesson learned.
Urgh!! How painful, I'm sorry you started that way, I'm definitely going to read this entire Saga, I have a lot to learn about the publishing market, and I'm sure you'll teach me a lot, Colleen^^
Back in the 1980s, in bookstores, there wasn't a graphic novel section. (That happened this millennium, after manga exploded in popularity.)
Titles (of which there were few) either got shelved in Science Fiction on the bottom shelf with the oversized books, or in with the humor books which was mostly comic strip collections. (This is where you found RAW.)
Marvel and DC albums had a special spinner rack which held graphic albums and comic books.
It's ironic that I can relate to this from the self-publishing angle. While I've cut out the middle men of dubious publishing contracts and production, reading this I see that the problems I've been having with marketing my graphic novel (from Ingram) to book stores hasn't changed much from the days when A Distant Soil was trying to get on the shelves. I guess the moral is one can make a nice little boat that's sea worthy but if you don't bring enough bait with which to catch fish, you're just pointlessly floating. Thank you for another lesson learned.
Wow, sorry to read this.
Urgh!! How painful, I'm sorry you started that way, I'm definitely going to read this entire Saga, I have a lot to learn about the publishing market, and I'm sure you'll teach me a lot, Colleen^^
Ouch. 300 dollars in 1980 is around 1099,00 dollars today.
How did you even live with that?! 😞
Oh and this was mid-1980's, so $300 was effectively about $750.
Not very well. Read on. Plenty more to come.
This is a nightmare. Thank you for sharing, and I’m sorry for what your went through.