My comic book lawyer colleague
Gamal Hennessy has been writing about leverage on his blog recently. He is
using Dave Chappelle’s recent pressuring of Netflix to remove old Chappelle’s Show episodes from its
service as an example of how to acquire and exert leverage. His series of posts
are worthwhile reading. Leverage is an important concept, and I’d like to
expand on Gamal’s thoughts a bit.
When
writing my Comics Startup 101book and
blog posts, I briefly discussed leverage. In short, leverage is who holds the
most power in a negotiation. If one party has more leverage in a negotiation,
then they are more likely to obtain the contractual and financial terms they
desire.
Who
holds the most leverage in comic book publishing? Most people will default to
saying the publisher holds the most leverage. To some extent, they are correct.
A publisher decides what books they will publish, and most comic book creators
aspire to have their books printed and distributed by a publisher. Comic book
publishing contracts heavily favor the publisher and not the creator. Even so,
a creator, even an inexperienced creator, does have one piece of leverage they
can always exercise—saying no.
Creators
need to carefully evaluate any deal a publisher offers. By doing so, you might
find the publisher’s leverage to be flimsy. Is the publisher paying you an
advance? If they are, then that works to the publisher’s advantage. If they are
not, then you need to analyze how the deal benefits you. Most comic book
publishing deals, particularly from smaller publishers, require the creator to
front the costs of creating the book by paying for the art, lettering,
coloring, etc. The publisher pays to print and distribute the book, recoups
those costs, and then splits the remaining profits with the creators (often
50/50). Other questions to consider: How big is the publisher? Do they have the
ability to promote and distribute your book in relevant quantities? Does
working with them further your agenda or career? What other rights are you
giving up? Creators should evaluate all of these points and decide if the deal
makes sense for them.
In
most cases, when presented with a publishing contract, or contract of any kind,
the comic book creator’s only leverage is to say no. Most creators are afraid
to do so. There is always the fear that another deal might not come along or
that this is your only shot. Saying no and losing a deal might seem like a bad
idea, but protecting yourself from bad deals or exploitative contracts is
important as well. It is challenging to balance these conflicting scenarios.
It’s scary to say
no, but it can also be empowering. By saying no to a bad deal, you are valuing
yourself and your work. Instead of giving up profits and control over your
work, you are keeping it for yourself. More creators should be willing to do
so.
Why is saying no
important? Publishers need your works. They need new content to stay relevant. If
publishers do not continue to print new, interesting works, then it is hard to
remain profitable and grow. It is not a secret that far too many publishers
offer poor contract terms. Some will negotiate. Some won’t. Most rely on a
creator’s fear of not being published to get leverage and tilt the balance of negotiating
power to their side. But, if their deal terms are bad, and you and others are
willing to reject them, then it is a small step toward obtaining better deals
for everyone.
In today’s age of
self-publishing and Kickstarter, creators should seriously consider whether
agreeing to a contract with a publisher is in their best financial interest. In
addition to the above, when you factor in that most publishers want 50% of any
media deals you might receive, and will not pay you any additional compensation
for these rights, then the deal is even less favorable to you. Saying no is
powerful.