Hey, Webcomics Readers!

[the_gneech]

For a comic-book style story, assuming the net result was 22 pages + cover every quarter and that the schedule was maintained without hiccups, would you rather see:

2 pages / week with no break between issues, or

3 pages / week with a month between issues?

Please comment with answer (and reasons, if you care to discuss ‘em). Thanks!

-The Gneech

EDIT: Sorry, 24 pages + cover, not 22.

Originally published at gneech.com. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[theodwulf.livejournal.com]

I think I would rather see the latter, for purely subjective reasons. I just find my interest in things ebbs and flows, so I can stay more focused on something if shows up in a sort of fast/feast pattern.

That said, I've never had any trouble reading comics that don't take breaks, so I don't think it's going to be a dealbreaker for me. Do whichever you think works better for you.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I can stay more focused on something if shows up in a sort of fast/feast pattern.

Interesting! Thanks. :)

-TG

[kylet.livejournal.com]

Don't printers make you do everything in multiples of four? Or is that just your part that you post, and you're going to pad the rest out with bonus/guest material?

I think consistency with no breaks is best so I vote for the former...

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

22 pages + covers comes out to 24. The printer I'm looking at would run their own ad on the inside back cover, so there'd be 22 pages of content each issue (14-22 page main story with bonus stories to fill in the empty spots).

Thanks for the input!

-TG

EDIT: No, my math is wrong apparently. D'Oh! Why do numbers keep changing at me? :P

So yeah, 16-24 page main story, possibly a "letters page" or internal ads or something. :) Not sure yet.

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

The former, but I'm biased. ;)

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

The great thing about opinions is that even biased ones are valid. ;) Thanks!

-TG

[aj-hyena.livejournal.com]

If there's a break in issues, I think people's interest wanes too quickly to keep interest; we'd have to sprint faster than Dover to get back on track. So I'd rather see no breaks in production.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

-TG

[dhlawrence.livejournal.com]

I'd go with the former--consistency counts in this business. ;)

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Noted, thanks!

-TG

[reynai.livejournal.com]

I'll dittohead on the biweekly updates with no breaks. One fewer update isn't that significant (to me), but the break for a month would be just long enough for me to get out of the habit of checking.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

All righty, thanks!

-TG

[exatron.livejournal.com]

You'll probably need to start with the first option to help build up interest.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

It's certainly looking that way. :)

FWIW, there will be roughly a month's worth of archive on the site before I start seriously advertising it, which will hopefully help get people into it.

-TG

fwiw

[keross.livejournal.com]

I'll just echo the majority - 2 updates a week. Considering that I follow some that update once a week, twice a week would be great.

Re: fwiw

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Okiedokie, thanks!

-TG

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I'm firmly in the twice a week/no gap camp. Thrice a week with a month gap just seems like the worst aspects of webcomic and paper comic release schedules.

... you're not actually going to try for quarterly print issues, are you? The Foglios tried that model for years, and finally dropped it in favor of a pure web-comic and biannual(ish) print collections. Their net AND their gross went up dramatically when they didn't have to shell out for the expense of a quarterly pamphlet

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

My plan is a small run of quarterly issues (mostly to have on hand to sell at cons), with larger collections later. I don't want to wait two years to start earning money!

-TG

[rowyn]

For my kown part, I'll buy graphic novels, but not comic books any more. Comic books are so flimsy and the short size makes them unsatisying to read. I'd rather something that will survive on a book shelf without needing special storage space and support.

[kensterfox.livejournal.com]

If you went with the one-month break, I'd likely not remember to come back a month later, and wind up doing what I do with Sabrina Online, which is go for months without reading it, suddenly remember its existence, and read the backlog.

OK, I follow you on Twitter and here, so that's not likely to actually happen for me. But it would for people like me who DON'T follow you, so it would seem that the first breakless option would give you more regular, consistent traffic.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Okeydoke, thanks!

-TG

[revar.livejournal.com]

In my experience with The Belfry, it's better to have consistent updates rather than bursty frequent updates. Hiatuses lose readers, and make it easy to forget what was going on.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

-TG

[bob-garwood.livejournal.com]

2 pages / week with no break between issues.

That makes it much easier to follow the story. Otherwise, you have to go back to remember what was happening.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

All righty, thanks!

-TG

[makovette.livejournal.com]

2x per week if you please Sir.

Thanks!
Mako

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I'm noticing a trend!

-TG

[nekura-ca.livejournal.com]

I think it's dependent on the style of the work. Some comic-book format webcomics have impressive, full page pan-o-ramas, or multi page action scenes, that, while they work nicely when they are collected in a paper format that is read all at the same time, it slows the flow of the story when it comes out over the course of a month. I'm thinking of Paradigm Shift (http://www.paradigmshiftmanga.com/) here. It is a great comic, but the once a week update is really slow with it's format. Also, if there are a number of separate story lines going on at once, slower updates can cause readers to lose track of threads.

But something like i.s.o. which had steady story progression almost every page, wasn't that hurt with only releasing a couple pages a week. (I know it wasn't exactly a full web comic at the time, but the timing was similar.) Another example of this would be The Meek (http://www.meekcomic.com/), only twice a week, but the story flows somewhat quickly.

I think a major issue is that comic books and web comics need to have different flows, and it will depends on what your focus is, but more frequent updates makes the distinction less significant.

I'm not sure the exact style you're going for, but it sounds like there might be a lot of action. If so, maybe three times a week would be good. And as long as you can post some extras over the month intermission, people will keep up with it. A slow spot between stories is better than within one.

But that's my feelings...your experience may vary

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well that's the thing, the month long intermission would have little if any activity, 'cause I'd be furiously drawing for the next issue. I already know there's no way I could keep up 3 pages/week without a break. If I couldn't keep up three strips, there's no way I can do three pages. :)

24 pages/quarter, I can do. :) It's just a matter of figuring out how to show them to the world.

-TG

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

> 2 pages / week with no break between issues

I won't remember to check for new stuff otherwise!

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Even w/ community and/or social media prompts? :)

-TG

[rowyn]

2 days/week. I usually forget comics entirely if they have long breaks. :/