Pesto Comics - Audio Edition

Burnout Revenge

0:00

-24:07

Burnout Revenge

Rethinking the Strategy for Pesto Comics and Something New!

Adriano Ariganello

May 28, 2025

Transcript

Welcome Back

Funny enough that this post would be behind schedule. Talking about burnout while I furiously rewrite and rewrite this post is emblematic of the how I’ve been feeling.

There have been two themes I keep going back to with every post over the past few months:

I’m either burnt out or getting dangerously close to it. (You never really know until you’re on the other side of it, but I think I’m at the latter.)
I keep learning and adapting as I go.

I’m very deadline driven. Give me a week to work on something and you’ll find me toiling away like my life depends it on Friday. It’s my nature. I try to be better than that as much as I can, but if I don’t push myself, that’s what happens.

Even this post, which I could have easily written any time over the past two to three weeks, was hastily drafted moments before I hosted another episode of the Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast and finished about a couple hours after I had scheduled to send it out.

I do my best to fight it. I really do. I’m as organized as can be, but the danger with that is organizing can be a sneaky way to continue procrastinating. You get the same rush as you do when you actually complete a task - just putting it on your to do list and letting future you work it out is often enough.

It’s easy to set an aggressive schedule for campaigns and releases when you’re at the beginning of it all. It’s still all imagination. I always seem to plan as though I’ll be working at my best, most energetic rate. Pages will flow out of my fingertips and I’ll be twiddling my thumbs if I don’t pack my schedule. Instead, I’m barely keeping my head above water.

I’ve been doing that for months now.

With the overlapping fulfillment of Big Smoke Pulp, Naked Kaiju Woman and From Parts Unknown #2 - along with the launched and neglected campaign for From Parts Unknown #3 - I finally realized it’s time to reevaluate the game plan.

I feel like I’ve let myself, and by extension, you, down. I should have pushed the launch date for FPU3 rather than trying to force it for the sake of keeping the schedule. It still went well, but it would have gone a lot better with my full focus behind it.

I haven’t shared every project that has fallen through, but the graveyard is getting crowded. To avoid catastrophe, I have a plan. It’s pretty stupid on the face of it:

I’m doubling down.

Let me explain.

But first, let’s take it one step at a time and look at what I’ve got for next week…

Worklog Updates

When I started doing this last Wednesday, I mentioned I stole the concept from Declan Shalvey. That remains true. This week, I’m stealing one more concept from him: codenames.

It’ll make things a little more clear than the title “unannounced project” which I’ve been using instead. That made them hard to tell apart. There are, in fact, multiple ongoing projects at the same time and I want to make that a little more clear.

This week, I got this done:

Completed surveys and staged digital copies of From Parts Unknown #3. (Awaiting Backerkit approval to send. Any minute now…)
Broke pestocomics.com moving it to a new host.
Finalized the first script and series outline for Project Junk.
Drafted another series outline for Project Cut.
I launched a new website. More about that below.

This is the plan for next week:

Fix pestocomics.com
Ditto for bigsmokepulp.com to open call for entries
Fix that new website I mentioned earlier.
Send outline for Project Junk to artist, collaborate on changes.
Ditto for Project Cut.
Prep boxes for TCAF & East Coast Comic Expo.
Book lodging for East Coast Comic Expo. (I can’t believe I waited this long.)
Get tickets to NYCC.

My plate continues to overflow, but these feel like manageable tasks.

Project Updates

I’m going to keep these extra brief since this whole post is effectively a project update:

From Parts Unknown #4 is in prelaunch. Go follow it if you haven’t.
More on the new launch date in the main story.
Follow From Parts Unknown #4
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 is still on KU from now through August.
If you have Kindle Unlimited, it’s worth a read!
With over 40 stories from 40 authors, you’re sure to find a story that you’ll enjoy.
Read 'Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1' on KU
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 2 will open call for entries as soon as I can get the website and forms where I want them. Very, very soon.

bigsmokepulp.com

While you’re here, quick question:

Media Updates

ComixLaunch Live!

Tyler James

has been doing daily broadcasts promoting his Kickstarter workbook - available on Kickstarter now! As part of that, he’s having members of the ComixLaunch program on as guests.

Watch 'ComixLaunch' on YouTube

I’m up on Thursday, during my lunch break, at Noon EDT.

With that, let’s get into everything I have planned, changes I’ve made and the whys behind it all…

Main Story

I’ll Cut to the Chase

I think I’ve hit my limit of how often I can launch comics without diminishing returns.

When I started this endeavor, the goal was to become a regular in the comics scene. Not just in Toronto, but everywhere I could get myself into. I’ve met some wonderful readers and creators - and can’t wait to meet more this summer at the various cons I’ll be attending.

Always having something to point to, something that’s in prelaunch or live, has given me a level of credibility I just didn’t have in my 20s as I “planned to have something soon”. I have physical work that I can hold in my hand and show people - and always have something new down the road.

But I think I need to make that road a little wider to make this sustainable.

There are three main reasons for this:

The Market is Small
Those who know comics love comics, but that’s a very miniscule and tight-knit group. I’m happy to be a part of it and I’ve barely scratched the surface of who’s out there. However, a small portion of a small group is…small.
Comics are Expensive to Make
As much as I love working with the amazing artists I’ve worked with so far, and the ones I’m planning to, it’s not an easy thing to do. If I didn’t have a decent full-time job, this would be impossible to do.

The truth is, I’m underpaying these artists for the incredible work they create. They deserve so much more than I, or most indies, can offer. In a perfect world, we’re making big time sales and I can hand bonuses out - but I’m rarely even covering costs.
Comics are Expensive to Read
For how quickly you can read a 24 page comic, it’s one of the most expensive forms of entertainment out there. Double it when you’re talking about indie comics, which don’t have the economy of scale that books on the shelves of your LCS do.
I’m always thanking those handful of backers that read every book we’ve put out, regardless of when they found us. It means the world that you’re willing to spend your hard earned money to enjoy what we’ve released.
That said, I also understand why some people sit this or that project out. Especially when you’re releasing as much as we have over the past two years.

None of this is a surprise to anyone, but it’s led to more than a few challenges as cashflows are increasingly concerning. For every underperforming launch, like FPU3, we dig the hole deeper and get further away from the big goal of making this a career.

I remain positive nonetheless. This will all work out, but I may have to change the angle that I’m attacking it from.

Two Brands, One Company

In a perfect world, my name is Peter Peters. Everyone knows how to spell and pronounce it. Plus it’s weird enough to be memorable.

Unfortunately,

Adriano Ariganello

is a lot harder for folks to do either (even though it’s phonetic). That’s why I started the brand Pesto Comics, but it has its limits.

Legally speaking, Pesto Comics will be the home of everything I do.

It has a clear mission statement. It’s comics, of any genre, with my sensibilities being the theme that carries throughout them. If you enjoyed the clone-chaos sci-fi Unlimited Udo, you’ll also enjoy the quasi-romantic noir Crazy Latte Thing Called Love. (For those familiar with the Russell Nohelty’s Author Ecosystem, this would classify me as a “forest”.)

However, I don’t want to limit my work to just comics.

Comics are my first love, but I’m a reader beyond the panels and balloons. I love novels, short stories and novellas. I’m always reading something.

Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 was a proof of concept for the company.

It showed me another viable, and possibly more fruitful, path to go down. It’s something

Russell Nohelty

has confirmed with what he’s built his companies and career into (and confirmed with me directly via his replies in the comments on his Substack,

The Author Stack

There’s a way, outside of comics, to keep this whole ship afloat.

I mentioned my chat with

Tao Wong

at the Toronto Indie Author’s Conference in May where he recommended to pick a lane and stick to it.

Con Journal: Toronto Indie Author Conference

Adriano Ariganello

Apr 30

Read full story

As an author, that’s my intention.

Not just with the genre I write in, which will be Hard-Boiled Thrillers and Mystery, but the branding. My author work, including the next edition of Big Smoke Pulp, will be under the brand: Pulp Writerly.

As of right now, I won’t be starting a new Substack for this new brand. Instead, I’ll be trying my hand at YouTube (or, as it’s known in the community, Authortube). I don’t want to go to the same well for a different audience and this feels like a good opportunity to try YouTube.

Paid subscribers got a small preview weeks ago as I shared the future YouTube URL channel: https://www.youtube.com/@pulpwriterly

Though I won’t have a Substack, I’ll have a new mailing list setup which will be much more brief, book sales-focused updates rather than the deep-dives you get here. You’ll be able to sign up at pulpwriterly.com soon enough.
(FYI: This website is brand-spanking-new, still very much a work in progress. Not much to see yet, but it’ll be nice soon enough. Ditto for the new pestocomics.com)

The Pulp Writerly Strategy

The maiden series for Pulp Writerly will be under the codename: Project Hollywood.

I’ll share more about that once I have something substantial to share, but I can tell you it’s a mystery thriller set in the heyday 1920s Hollywood. It’s a setting I’m in love with and have plans to spend the next many years exploring the dark & dingy corners of Los Angeles in the Roaring Twenties.

The books from Pulp Writerly, including future volumes of Big Smoke Pulp, will be rolled-out in the following method:

Kickstarter Launch (Physical & Digital)
Physical and Digital Split Distribution
1. Digital: Kindle Unlimited Exclusive Window (90 Days Minimum)
2. Physical: Available on pulpwriterly.com
Digital Wide Release (after the KU window) — Available on Kobo, Google, Apple & pulpwriterly.com

Though separate, this businesses won’t be entirely siloed: pestocomics.com will redirect to pulpwriterly.com when shopping for books - and pulpwriterly.com back to pestocomics.com when looking for comics.

This becomes more interchangeable on Kickstarter, as I’ll just be using my primary account, which has the profile name pestocomics in the URL - but the account itself is under my name.

If, in the future, I decide to stray from the mystery/thriller genre, I’d likely need to create a pen name for the sake of the various digital store algorithms, but it would be open and clear. A variation of my name, at most, and still all available on pulpwriterly.com

Why Do All This? Isn’t It More Work?

Yes. Technically.

I started by saying that I keep organized as a form of procrastination. There’s definitely a little bit of that. I could just keep things rolling under Pesto Comics, whether or not it’s actually a comic, but I’m taking the advice of those ahead of me and allowing the books to stay in their lane - in terms of genre.

I’ve also found, although there’s some crossover, not everyone who reads books is interested in comics and vice-versa (though I find more comic readers read books versus the other way around).

Having somewhere to go that won’t cause them to think it’s “not for them” is important. It’s a different, yet equally impor tant, audience to foster. Kickstarter will muddy the waters a bit in using the same account, but aside from that venue, it will be a separate universe for book readers.

What Does This Mean for Comics?

It means a renewed focus.

I’ve been doing the Sisyphean task of trying to grow Pesto Comics in between launches. There’s only so much that can be done to grow if you’re not releasing new comics.

That led me to taking bigger risks, starting more and more projects without a chance of return for months to come. It’s not sustainable to keep doing that. There are only so many weeks in the year to launch comics and my bank account is groaning from how often I’ve dipped into it.

I want to work with every artist on my roster as much as possible, but I can only get so much out at a time. Kickstarter is my main avenue today. Until I’m at Pat Shand levels of backers, I won’t be in a position to run more than one at a time.

Fulfillment is a lot of work as well. I love doing it, but all of these tasks take away from running a proper campaign. My communication on From Parts Unknown #3 was infrequent at best and neglectful at worst. I don’t want to repeat that.

With books fitting into the Kickstarter schedule, this surprisingly becomes less of a problem. The print-on-demand infrastructure for books is a lot more reliable than that for comics. I can rely on BookVault to get books to backers, with limited touches on my end, allowing me to focus on getting the next campaign in order.

It’s a net positive for books and comics alike.

What Does the Future Hold?

This new strategy starts today.

I’m pushing the release date of From Parts Unknown #4 out to June 25 so that I can make sure everything is in place and in order before I hit the launch button. I’ll be locked in, doing a full-court press on BlueSky and Instagram, updating backers more than ever and cross-promoting with other creators whenever I can.

I’ll also be running those campaigns a smidge longer. Since my primary outlet for comics is Kickstarter, it only makes sense to make sure there’s more time for people to get their hands on the books. Even if that means suffering through more dead-zone days to make it happen.

Books will keep the shorter campaign window, staring with the first one in August, codenamed: Project Hollywood #1. Since these books have longer legs and various outlets to go to, I’m less worried about making them available on Kickstarter for too long.

That will be followed by the sequel to Naked Kaiju Woman in September and Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 2 closing the year out in November.

The keen eyed reader (or listener) may notice a trend here. We’re bouncing comics and books, with a longer window for fulfillment for comics in between campaigns. I think this is a lot more sustainable and can lead to a better outcome for the entire business.

If I do everything right, I should be able to keep my name out there with a foot in the genre author world and the comics world. I’ll have a YouTube channel for all the writerly goings-on and this Substack for comics. If I’m watering all the right seeds, both should grow.

It’s going to be a hell of a lot of work. I’m happy to have you here with me to enjoy it. I’ll have a lot more to share about these projects in the coming weeks and I’ll be in much better shape to do it now that everything has a home to do it in.

I thank you as always for coming along the ride with me and making this all possible.

Until next time…

Am I losing my mind? Is there anything you’re looking forward to? Do you read both comics and books?

Let me know in the comments.