Among these initiatives, several crowdfunding campaigns are underway. The collection Afraid to die but lazy to live continues its fundraising, while Eupholie, already author ofHazardslaunches crowdfunding for his new project, Termite Log. The latter will be accompanied by several goodies for its contributors. For his part, the author Ami Uninteresting proposed Like a Tuesdaypublished on September 27.
Another new feature: the launch of the Kopi collection, dedicated to hybrid works. Two projects are already in development in this context, Bobby and Gary by Niniwanted et Toma Pegaz ainsi que U Like UFO by Mercening, thus further enriching Exemplaire‘s growing catalog.
Better sharing
The use of crowdfunding is not new for the Exemplaire publishing house. As soon as it was created, at the end of 2020, a first campaign was launched to finance the project.
READ — Comic book authors “for a bigger part of the camembert”
Founded by Lisa Mandel, an author for around twenty years, the house was born from her experience in classic publishing and self-publishing. Lisa wanted to create a hybrid model, located between these two systems, in order to place authors at the heart of the process while ensuring a more equitable distribution of income.
By highlighting the low royalties in classic editions, often limited to around 10% of the sale price (i.e. 1.50 euros for a book at 15 euros according to their example), Exemplaire has decided to increase these royalties by significantly. From now on, authors receive up to 30% of sales, which represents 4.50 euros for a book at the same price. A substantial gain which illustrates the publisher’s desire to better remunerate creators.
The versatility often required of comic book authors is not here intended to simply generate sufficient income to maintain their activity, but rather to offer rewards that enrich the artistic universe and captivate fans of the 9th art. This versatility then becomes a real asset, making it possible to reach and then exceed the financing objective, thus promoting the art and skills of the creators.
“If I redo a book at Exemplaire, it is not only for profit but also and above all because in this system, the author is really at the heart of the creation of his book, benefits from freedom total control over the content and chooses who they work with, what paper they want to use, what format suits them best, etc.», writes Salomé Lahoche, author of the house.
Very popular authors
The profiles of the authors supported by the publishing house are diverse and for the most part seem to embody a new generation particularly connected to the web. In fact, many are contacted after being spotted on social networks, with a minimum of 10,000 followers. This choice is defended by the team by the desire for a project to achieve its objective, which will require a particular commitment from their community.
Among them, we find Lelay, known in particular for her YouTube channel with 782,000 subscribers, as well as Petit Pied and Issa Boun, major figures of the French webtoon. The latter is currently the screenwriter of a work in progress, Joblessavailable on the platform, illustrated by Natacha Ratto, author of Sex, Drugs and RER.
Another example is Théo Grosjean, winner of the 2018 Pépite prize at the Montreuil youth press fair and author of several comic strips, notably The creepiest man in the world . He is enjoying growing success on his Instagram account, where he posts autobiographical boxes in which he shares life moments and thoughts, often around his personal anxieties. At Exemplaire, he published The eye of the storm.
The publishing house, thanks to crowdfunding, is interested in various profiles, focusing on comic book authors. This artistic field, which evolves on ever more diverse media and formats, is particularly affected by the question of copyright. The current global situation requires creators to demonstrate versatility and adaptability, often with the reward of meager income.
Each person linked to the book, starting with the author, has a dedicated space where they can monitor the book’s sales in real time. This system allows them to immediately view their winnings as transactions occur. They also benefit from a platform where they can present the crowdfunding project, as well as the advantages offered to contributors. This space offers them the opportunity to introduce themselves and share their world. The transparency is total: the number of copies sold, the rewards chosen and even the names and messages of the contributors are visible.
New approach
If this principle develops more and more, it can also be the subject of mistrust. Indeed, crowdfunding seems to only stop once the deadline has passed, and not depending on the objective achieved. For example, if Afraid to die but lazy to liveby Salomé Lahoche has reached 502% of its objective, or 50,222 euros out of 10,000 requested, and will remain online for another 5 days, Bobby and Garyby Niniwanted and Toma Pegaz still has 13 days to reach his, which for the moment amounts to 5,673 euros out of the 10,000 requested, with 56% of the objective achieved. Although everything seems to be done to ensure that projects succeed in the best possible conditions, what about those that do not achieve the objective?
Once the funding ends, during which contributors will be able to earn rewards, people who missed the campaign can also pre-order the book. Or, later still, get it in bookstores.
“The fault of this system is that it risks killing our friends the booksellers as well as small businesses, you will tell me. But it turns out my previous book sold four times more in bookstores than on the Internet, so I sleep soundly», Defends Salomé Lahoche.
Thus, if crowdfunding works for a form of editorial independence, this system does not seem, in its current operation, to turn its back on other players in the book chain, such as bookstores.
Crowdfunding offers readers an increasingly requested and appreciated accessibility, while allowing artists to offer goodies that extend the artistic experience into everyday life, thus creating an extension of their worlds.
This method of financing is experiencing increasing development in the literary industry. Faced with ecological issues and the precariousness of artists, crowdfunding appears to be an alternative adopted by more and more publishing houses. This is particularly the case of Édifice Éditions, which the publisher, Julie, a recent graduate, decided to create with the aim of providing a response to similar issues, both on the copyright side and for mass mailings of pestle works.
Photo credits: figurine of Marguerite Duras by POCHEP, for the magazine AMAZING FRENCH WRITERS – Exemplaire Editions
