This is the perfect time to get organized for a successful year in webcomics.
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We all make resolutions this time of year. Sure, most of us forget about them by February, but it’s useful to set goals at a time like this. It helps to focus our attention on those areas that we know we need to work on. Here are ten resolutions I think you should consider if you’d like to do a better webcomic in 2017.
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This is a time that many of us start daydreaming about the coming year. We have hopes, plans, goals, and dreams. We have so much we want to accomplish. And yet, it’s going to seem like this year — like the one before it — will whoosh past us, leaving so much stuff left undone. And there we’ll be, the following December, daydreaming goals for the next year.
The fact is, our lives are too complicated to rely on goals alone. After all, daydreams take a back seat to day jobs every time. Throw in family life and personal issues, and it’s a wonder wo accomplish anything at all!
So, as you’re looking ahead to 2017, here’s a suggestion that can help you actually achieve some of those goals — even the lofty ones — that hover on the horizon.
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I got an Instant Message on Facebook today:
Maybe quitting my Webcomic
Sorry to bother u
Just to say thanks for the support
Yup, it’s that time again. Many of us are reaching the end of the year, and taking a long, hard look at whether we should be continuing in the following year. And that brings a heavy dollop of grief… and feelings of failure.
As if the holidays weren’t challenge enough.
We had a really good discussion, and since I think it applies to many of us, I got permission to share it here.
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If you break your stories down into chapters — to make it easier for your readers to jump in at different entry points — you may get to the point that the sheer number of chapters you’re offering makes updating your comic cumbersome. Here’s a Pro Tip to make it easier.
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Taking a page from my own book, I decided to have a look at the top 10 most popular posts from the past year. Based on pageviews, these were the most popular posts from the past year.
Five writing mistakes webcartoonists make… and how to avoid them
You don’t need a subscription to read today’s post!
This is a re-post from the Webcomics.com archive. If you’ve ever been curious about the kind of information, tutorials and advice that you’ll get as part of your subscription to Webcomics.com, this is a good example.
If you’d like to join the site, you can get a 12-month subscription for $30 — or you can get a one-month Trial for $5 … with no obligation after your 30 days expire. For less than three bucks a month, you can get a steady flow of information, tutorials and advice targeted towards your webcomic business — plus a private forum to discuss issues with other professionally minded cartoonists.
As a follow-up to my post about posting Patreon-exclusive comics, here’s a look at the article I wrote a year ago that began pointing out the trend to Webcomics.com subscribers.
One of the major developments of 2015 is the sudden spike in ad-blocking software. In October, I wrote that Web publishing had seen the tipping point for ad blockers — in other words, we’ve crossed a threshold that we can’t cross back over. Use of ad blockers has started reaching mid-level users (instead of being a feature used only by the tech-savvy among us). And that means that consumers will soon come to expect this feature. Furthermore, if Firefox or Chrome were to cease their support of ad-blocking software, a new browser would pop up and gobble up the dissatisfied consumers.
Nope, we’re not going back to an ad-supported publishing system.
Where are we going? I’m glad you asked.
As this trend continues, it’s pretty easy to extrapolate a logical outcome:
You’re going to see more and more sites switch to either some sort of subscription model or a pledge-driven system like Patreon — they’ll have to. There will be no ad revenue to support the site.
“Free” websites are going to start to disappear — except for sites with very low-quality content. And those sites are going to struggle to build an audience.
For those sites with strong content, I’m predicting a much better business climate. Those sites will increase their bottom lines. Having experienced both, I’ve noticed that a subscription model pays much better than an ad-driven one. I’ll hate it as a consumer, but, as a Web publisher, it will be pretty good.
Pirating will increase, but it will be so much easier to prove monetary damages, that prosecuting piracy will become much more prevalent (and effective) as well.
In a way, ad blockers could lead to a great new era for digital publishers.
It might be wise to start preparing for that.
Clip Studio Paint is strongly recommended by Webcomics.com as a premiere comics-creation software. Their recent update — CSP 1.6.2 — adds a feature with tons of potential — Clip Studio Assets.
Here’s what you need to know:
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Getting paid for a project is always great — except for the first time you get asked to submit an invoice. If you’ve ever been embarrassed to admit that you didn’t know how to do this routine business task, here’s a quick primer.
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I’ve been saying for a while that you’re making a mistake if you’re not thinking about offering exclusive comics through Patreon. To help prove that point, I’d like to talk about a couple of people who asked my advice on the topic — and put it to use. Their results speak for themselves.
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