One of the best panels I attended at the 2026 New York Comic Con was “Everything You Need To Know About Indie Publishing.” The panelists included J.F. (John) Holmes, Ashleigh Bello, Melissa Bobe, J.R. Martin, L.S. Delmore, and S.C. Muir.
We begin the panel with Lexi pointing out that, “It occurred to me that we, as writers, when you do some publishing, you’re a startup, and we don’t think of ourselves as a startup. In startups, it takes five years to see any return back from that. But there are definite steps in the process.”
We go over briefly the steps in creating a startup, specifically as a self-publishing writer:
- Conception in a market fit. As in, who am I writing for?
- Development stage or editing
- Infrastructure and operations
- Marketing and launching
- Scaling up
- Get feedback
Now for more details on each step and the panelists shared their personal experience:
John started with a cartoon strip, using social media to share his work. He built a following and decided to “cut out the middleman” and self-publish full comics, books, etc.
S.C. started writing and getting serious about self-publishing during the pandemic. “I need something to bring me a little bit of joy in the world.” CS continued, “I wanted to write books that I wish I had when I was a kid, and when I was a teenager. Maybe I would have dealt with things about my sexuality and my chronic illness a lot earlier in my life. That inspired me to start writing books that feature queer characters and chronically ill characters, and it turned into this awesome thing. Now, that’s just all I want to do, write books that mean things.”
J.R. said, “I had some work traditionally published, but because I was trying to combine genres together and trying to come up with as unique idea as possible, I was finding it difficult to kind of break into publishing without having to, in my opinion, sell my soul, to my creativity. So, I decided that I would start this thing on my own, because I know that there’s an audience for it, just because (the publishers) don’t see it. I know it’s there, and that’s why I do it.”
LS explained, “I was one of those people who wrote because I wanted to tell a story that I had built. I actually spent 10 years crafting a world. And I didn’t want to change that. Early on in the game, I had some not fun experiences with misogyny and publishing…Being a control freak told me that I really wanted to do this myself, where I let go of the control I had over things I did.”
“I didn’t have a lot of people looking like me when I was reading, when I grew up,” shared Ashleigh. She wrote what she wanted to see more of and submitted to Penguin Books but was rejected. “It was really my ego that led me into self publishing, which I also got checked there, too, because it’s a really difficult journey, you have to be committed.”
The panel didn’t go in order of the steps, we went in places that combined steps. For instance, S.C. had a unique approach for finding her audience to help market her books:
I wouldn’t say that I wrote my book to the market, but being on social media and seeing what was already out there helped me market even before my own purpose count.
That led to the panelists agreeing that if you can, start the process of getting a sense of where you you think your market is going to be.
Other key advice was the importance of finding a great editor and cover designer. To figure how important it is to you, it begins with your budget. All the panelists agreed these two are key factors. They debated and shared what they concentrated their budgets on.
“For me personally, (editor and cover designer are) the two most important things that I spend my money on. The cover because a lot of people judge with their eyes first.” SC pointed out.
L.S. added, “I’ve created this rule for myself that I don’t work with people unless they’ve read my book. So my editor, the one I work with now, she used to work for Penguin. And she loved the series. She loved the first book. I just sent her the draft of it, and she wasn’t like, ‘I love this, and I want to read the next books.’ And that’s when I knew she was for me. Same is true for book design. I did the same thing. I want to make sure that the people working with me are committed to this, maybe not as much as I am, but close.”
Melissagave great advice on how to assess your budget: “If you have a strength, so let’s say you’re a graphic designer, then you can do your own covers, right? Because you’re graphic designers, you know what you’re doing as artists. If that’s not in your skill set, that’s when you hire them. You want to find out what strengths you have that feasibly can go into this book. Definitely put it out as professionally and polished looking as you possibly can make it. Do what you are qualified to do and outsource what you’re not.
To the note of making things as polished and professional upon release, John who became an editor and publisher for others, added, “I really tell people to learn your craft before you submit something. I’m not saying you have to learn all the ins and outs, but also don’t hand over a first draft manuscript. Make sure that you turn in the best work that you can.
This moved on to the next big piece of advice:
Don’t spend your marketing budget on your first book.
In fact, John advised, “Start building your brand long before you launch your book. And it could be about anything. People like to get to know you as a person and as an author. Don’t be reactive, be active.
They also touched on that it is necessary to educate yourself on the legalities; copyright, trademarks, ISPNs, imprints, etc. Never sign anything until you are confident with what it says, do not be afraid to say you need more time with the contract, ask for a lawyer to take a look, etc. You have to advocate for yourself.
Finally, they shared trusted resources that can help with all of this:
SFWA, the science fiction fantasy writers of America.
The blog, Writer Beware is recommended to check if something’s legit
R E E D S Y because they vet their professionals
Alliance of Independent Authors, because they give you legal representation for the money you pay them for your membership every year.
Stay tuned for part 2 where I share their Q&A portion!
