Fun Stuff > MAKE

Should I start a webcomic?

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Poser:
once again, double posting because of update

new'uns!

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/45583985/

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/45584068/

Shishio:
To add to one point HFrankenstein brought up, the reason most webcomics have so few readers is that most creators don't put enough effort into promoting their work. 

I mean yeah, it's not likely you'll ever have a lot of readers, but I don't agree that creators should resign themselves to never having many readers. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't get your hopes up, but don't give up either.

HFrankenstein:
It's not so much that they need to resign themselves to it, more that they shouldn't expect to become popular just because they update regularly.  A sense of entitlement is a pretty common newbie mistake.  Consumers are hard to please.  You can promote and promote until the Rapture-- if what you're doing doesn't have widespread appeal, you won't become super-popular.  More likely, you'll build up a small, dedicated group of readers, if even that.  The bright side, of course, is that niche fans are tenaciously loyal.  My small army loves me unconditionally.  :)

Now that I think of it, in terms of promotion, here's the experience that I can share:

Paid advertising is something you'll want to do, but have a budget, and keep your expectations low.  Your audience should grow from this, but it will not be explosive.

Nothing is going to be more effective than a personal recommendation from a well-known author.  However, you should never email such personalities asking them to link to you.  They will almost always ignore you.  Ask them to check your comic out, sure, and if they actually have any free time whatsoever -- and if they're successful enough for you to consider begging from them, they probably don't -- they'll do that much, but don't ask for a plug.  They didn't go to the trouble of setting up those ad boxes for nothing.

Any and all publicity, however, should be held off on until you have a substantial archive for new readers to look through.  I've seen several established webcomic creators say that you should show that you can update consistently for a year before you bother to whore your URL around.  I think that's asking too much of most people, because most people don't have that sort of patience -- "ARGH!!  I WANT TO BE FAMOUS RIGHT AWAY WITHOUT PAYING MY DUES!!" -- but I also think that it's good advice.  Most new comics stop updating well within the first year, after all.

Poser:
Again, thankyou very much for the in depth tips :D
You are a very friendly, helpful person! I like you. lol

HFrankenstein:
Ha ha, you're a terrible judge of character!   :-D

Hey, I'm more than happy to help.  I've been doing this on and off for almost six years now without very much success, so I've gotten a lot of insight on what doesn't work, even if I'm still trying to figure out what does.  At the very least, I've narrowed down how to stick to the update schedule and enjoy the process, which is my definition of success.  Also, I'm not retarded: I'm special, and mommy loves me no matter what.

But yeah, learning how to be able to take the work seriously is important, because that's when other people will be able to take your work seriously, too.  So, find a groove that works for you, and just tune everything else out and have fun.

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