NN Comics - Self Publishing, PR and Crowdfunding; Telling a Story
by Startacus Admin
In the future more and more people will be starting their own businesses, and will have their stories told. However there is one group of people who are making stories their actual business! Since self starting and self publishing are two of our fave things here at Startacus, we just had to catch up with the folk behind local new publishing startup - the NN Comics Team!
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Why don’t you tell us, in your own words; what ‘NN Comics’ is?
“We’re a comic book publishing group - just two guys who love comic books and who had a great idea that they want to get out into the world. When it comes down to it, we’re doing what any startup business does; we have a good or service that we believe that the community wants. We intend to supply it to as many people as we can and I’m certain that once people read our work they’ll be hooked.”
Sounds promising. If we remember right, your first project was “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” and you crowdfunded that project - tell us about that.
“Well we did it through Kickstarter which is a pretty big player in the creative crowdfunding world to my knowledge. It was a good feeling when it came down to it, sort of like people giving us money to help us do what we loved because they both believed in us and believed in our idea. Obviously when crowdfunding you have to offer rewards equal to the amount people are pledging. We offered a range of rewards - things like getting a copy of the book when it was released, having the opportunity to have your name in a special “thank you” section and even being the recipient of a handwritten letter from the NN Comics team. Creativity is always key when you’re trying to sell a product - especially one that people have not heard of before”
Absolutely, we agree - creativity is always key in any promotion or venture. In terms of creativity then, could you tell us a little about the Creative team, Nathan and Niall?
“Niall and Nathan are a great team, Niall's writing style works so well with Nathan's artistic ability and their passion for comics knows no bounds. I think they work well together because initially they were great friends with the same goals in life and together when they put their minds to it come out with some of the most attractive and captivating work.”
We’re looking forward to checking out all your future work! We understand that Doire 2030, your next publication, comes out very soon. Are you guys excited?
“We are very excited! We can’t wait to get the full book out there for people to enjoy! We’re planning a whole heap of fun things on the launch day (September 27th) in Angry Cherry, a local comic book and merchandise store, which always offers to help creative ventures from local talent. 
We’re going to have real props based on the items in the book, free sketches and a bunch of others things like cake – We REALLY like cake. We’re mostly excited to see what people think of the story. We love it so we hope others do too.”
Publishing it locally sounds challenging, how have you found promoting yourselves?
“It’s been quite easy to promote the book and the company partly because the people of the city are so willing to engage with people trying to get their ideas into the open but also because everyone we speak to is so receptive to the concept that we’re putting out there. With the addition of our new media manager, Gráinne, it’s been a lot easier than it has been with previous ventures.”
Sounds like you guys are really coming into your own as startup publishers. Do you have any more exciting plans for the future?
“Well obviously after we release our first book we intend to get our next one out as soon as we can - it’s really exciting as Doire 2030 is by no means a standalone story. We have ideas branching out from the core concept of course but for now we’re focusing on the story at hand. In terms of expanding the company there are many ways to go but the main focus will always be to ensure that our product is always readily available to the public - other than that, the sky’s the limit.”
Now a question just for the Creative team - what has it been like, as local artists, turning your creative talents and ideas into this reality?
Nathan: It’s different, completely different from any artistic work I’ve done before. Drawing to a deadline is an entirely new concept to me and although it’s a real passion for me it becomes work, not in the bad sense, it just feels like what I want to do. “
Niall: It’s a real challenge but one that we’re eager to rise to. Actually putting your skills and abilities on the line for people to judge is always going to be daunting but we think ours will hold up. And of course the best side of this is that we get to use our talents for something we genuinely love, comic books.
Ok we’re looking forward to reading the new series, but I have to ask, do you think Startacus will be around in 2030?
“If Startacus were to exist in the world on Doire 2030 it would probably take the shape of some sort of Mutant Training facility which would be quite cool but I’m sure in the real 2030 Startacus will be continuing its good work for whatever new businesses may appear, mutant or otherwise.”
Doire 2030 makes its official launch on the 27th of September, It’s about nuclear explosions giving people amazing abilities, in the year 2020, and 10 years later, 3 unlikely heroes setting out to save their city. Sounds like a choice read and we can’t wait! From everyone here at Startacus; Good Luck!
If you liked this article; why not check out these others on Self Publishing, crowd funding and Promotion!
Becoming a Self Publisher
Branding Basics for your Startup
Asking Family and Friends to Invest in your Startup - The Basics
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Published on: 17th September 2014
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