We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Akira Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Akira , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

WildStar Press started on a whim. First it was because I was rejected from publishers when I wanted to share my own stories. “If I can’t get published, then I’ll publish things myself.” – that was the mindset. And then it branched off from creating a comic anthology, having all of these creators submit stories, and me deciding to create a company where indie creators get their chance to have their stories published. Publishers have a tendency to want a certain type of person (usually cis, straight, white men) and I wanted to create a platform for marginalized groups to get their chance to share their own stories.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

WildStar Press is an indie comics publishing company uplifting the voices of diverse creatives. I’ve been in the comics industry since college. I got my degree in comics, went into editing comics (and I still do), then went into publishing them. I’ve had my hand in every aspect of it for about 7 years now. I’ve created a platform where smaller creators can have their books published and sold. Not only is it giving them the space to share their stories, but it also gives them that “credit” on their resume to say that they’ve officially been published. WildStar Press also acts as a stepping stone into the comic industry world for newcomers.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

A lot of WildStar Press’s funds come from crowdfunding and preorders. The downfall of many businesses usually are that they’re out of pocket for the most part– and for awhile WildStar Press had been (and on occassions still is). Because this is such a small business we rely on those interested in the books to invest in that crowdfunding campaign or preorder the book so we can make that profit. The very first project that came out of the Press was an anthology and the money from crowdfunding was used to pay for the books and also pay the creators.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Creating a business modeled after others who have been in the game won’t work for you. You have to find what your niche is and how you can appeal to people. You can most definitely be as successful as the other businesses you look up to, but you can’t be like them. Everyone’s journey is different.

Contact Info:

• Website: wildstarpress.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/wildstarpress
• Facebook: facebook.com/wildstarpress
• Twitter: twitter.com/wildstarpress
• Other: blubat.biz

Image Credits
WildStar Press Titles by: Kanon Daniel, Axel Moon, and Kathleen Catwell