I got word yesterday... or maybe the day before... heck maybe the day before that... that Faction probably won Small Press Idol. I haven't posted about it in fairness to the other competitors since it's not "officially" official yet, just looking pretty good. I'm happy things turned out the way they did, certainly!I received a few messages late last week from people who assumed Faction had already lost, that there was no hope to catch up. I didn't argue because that would be revealing my hand. I'm not intentionally sneaky, but I knew some things would take until the last day or two to come in. I was patient, I was hopeful, but I was quiet. Those close to the fold, on the Faction team, friends, and family, knew I was still confident in the end... well, confident, but also biting my nails a tad, I can't argue there. No matter how well you plan for something, someone is always around to throw some wrenches in your spokes, to which you must react or get tossed on your face, sucking dirt. Worries appear to have been unfounded. I hope I didn't worry the Faction supporters out there too much!
So, what to do now? Well, for right now, we're patient, we wait for the official word and then we can celebrate some. I will say this to the other contestants in Small Press Idol. I appreciate the well wishes and I wish you luck moving forward. Hopefully you will land on your feet and find a home for your books, whether it be at another publisher, or self publishing.
The audiences are out there for small press books, it's just a matter of honing in on them and leading them to the trough to dig in and read up... Six months ago or so when we signed Faction up for Small Press Idol, I didn't know much about small presses, self publishing, or the industry in general, but I've learned a lot, met some great people, and done tons and tons of carpet bomb promoting to the point where I'm even tired of seeing my name on emails (sorry about that). Did they work? Some yes, some no.... If a person picked up Faction, I'd have been a happy camper because that would mean someone believed enough in the quality of the product to purchase it with their hard earned money. It turns out that a lot of people believed in it, which I'm humbled by.... Despite my confidence in the book, despite the feedback I've received, you never know until the book gets in front of the readers how well it will be received.
Hopefully in the coming months, you'll stick with Faction on its journey. We'll keep updating things, show you some images here and there to prepare you for the inevitable issue 1, which Arnie is already drawing... I think you will be VERY happy with what's to come. Faction is a tale I've been excited to tell since I started the first page of the script many months ago and it keeps getting better.... Four issues will just be the beginning of the series, a chance for you to meet the characters and get a feel for the world just long enough for the entire thing to be rocked to its core.
Thank you again to everyone who picked up a copy of Faction, to the retailers who are going to carry the book in your stores, and to DimeStoreProductions.com (Ian) for putting the contest on in the first place.
To anyone who has dreamed of making comic books and never knew how, I challenge you to join in Small Press Idol 2010.... We're not too long away for that to start up!
I've enjoyed the ride so far, hope you have to, and stick around for a lot more!!!
Thanks,
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
http://www.beardedladyonline.com
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com
BTW ~ Image on this post is Michael Nelsen's interpretation of Acker Kinney from before he joined the Faction team.... How's that!
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