On June 22nd, the Sales Figures for Issue #7 of Oi Oi Oi! came in. They were distressing. It was the first time the sales of the magazine did not pay for the costs of the distribution. I have a $2,000 distribution bill associated with Issue #7.
Let me publically share some costs related to the publishing of this magazine:
Cover artwork costs are between myself and the artist, so let me just say that I pay more for cover art than I do for an individual story.
For each 8 page story I pay $300. There were five stories in Issue #7.
Most issues have had a 4 to 5,000 newsagent print run, and Distribution costs are just under $1 a copy (sold or not).
The newsagents take a 25% cut of the retail price.
I leave you to do the Maths.
Since that time, I have pondered long and hard on the future of the magazine, and I seriously was contemplating ending the magazine after Issue #9. It will still come out and it will be the biggest Edition of Oi Oi Oi! yet (in a way you won't believe) -- just you wait and see! Issue #9 is actually the tenth in the series (remember, the Special Nostalgia Edition was un-numbered), so it would have been a good number to end on.
Ending the series would allow me to work on other projects, like Bold Ben Hall (and there is a movie coming out soon, so a good time to work on it), another Air Hawk volume, one on Ginger Meggs, or works by Phil Belbin and/or Emile Mercier. Or other innumerable projects that I have begun or have talked about working on....
Instead, I was convinced (thank you Jason Towers!) of not cancelling it, but simply putting Oi Oi Oi! on hiatus. I plan on continuing Oi Oi Oi! -- perhaps putting out an annual newsstand issue around Christmas time (in 2017), and sporadic issues throughout the years available at the Fan-venues that have taken place in our communities. (And, hopefully, in some of the Australian comic shops.) So, rather than Oi Oi Oi! ending, it is simply changing into a different creature. I have extended the deadline for the artists keen on seeing their work in print for Issue #9 (to mid-August), and I am working on other plans that I shall share with you on these pages in the months ahead...
Here's a clue about one of them....
Let me publically share some costs related to the publishing of this magazine:
Cover artwork costs are between myself and the artist, so let me just say that I pay more for cover art than I do for an individual story.
For each 8 page story I pay $300. There were five stories in Issue #7.
Most issues have had a 4 to 5,000 newsagent print run, and Distribution costs are just under $1 a copy (sold or not).
The newsagents take a 25% cut of the retail price.
I leave you to do the Maths.
Since that time, I have pondered long and hard on the future of the magazine, and I seriously was contemplating ending the magazine after Issue #9. It will still come out and it will be the biggest Edition of Oi Oi Oi! yet (in a way you won't believe) -- just you wait and see! Issue #9 is actually the tenth in the series (remember, the Special Nostalgia Edition was un-numbered), so it would have been a good number to end on.
Ending the series would allow me to work on other projects, like Bold Ben Hall (and there is a movie coming out soon, so a good time to work on it), another Air Hawk volume, one on Ginger Meggs, or works by Phil Belbin and/or Emile Mercier. Or other innumerable projects that I have begun or have talked about working on....
Instead, I was convinced (thank you Jason Towers!) of not cancelling it, but simply putting Oi Oi Oi! on hiatus. I plan on continuing Oi Oi Oi! -- perhaps putting out an annual newsstand issue around Christmas time (in 2017), and sporadic issues throughout the years available at the Fan-venues that have taken place in our communities. (And, hopefully, in some of the Australian comic shops.) So, rather than Oi Oi Oi! ending, it is simply changing into a different creature. I have extended the deadline for the artists keen on seeing their work in print for Issue #9 (to mid-August), and I am working on other plans that I shall share with you on these pages in the months ahead...
Here's a clue about one of them....
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