There are a lot of talented people who want to publish there own web comic. I want to share some insight about this type of undertaking. If you are someone who wants to have your own comic or you have already begun trying to publish a comic, keep reading , because I want you to succeed. First off, you must embrace certain realities that exist. (1) There is a lot of competition for eyeballs. (2) Nothing matters beyond attracting and holding readers because playing to an empty house is not fun or profitable. (3) Doing a comic is fun, but also really hard work. (4) Writing and drawing the comic is only part of the job.
An Early Model Page of Monroe, a turtle.
To attract readers requires significant work in the form of promotion. And promotion is like writing in the sand on the beach, it has to be done over and over relentlessly, because the waves keep washing away your writing. Also, promotion is totally outside of your comic web site. The comic web site is your publishing platform, nothing else.
When you get a potential reader to land on your site, you have to grab their attention and convince them to return regularly. And, because most people have the attention span of a house fly, they have to be constantly re-attracted. Fancy websites are out there by the millions, it’s the content of the comic and the other content provided by you, the cartoonist, that makes or breaks your presentation. If your content provides the reader with what they want, they will come back, if it doesn’t they won’t. It is just that simple. So focus on what your potential readers want and provide that through your content.
The site itself needs to provide a comfortable place to view the content and clear easy access to the content. Beyond that, it should be totally invisible, the site isn’t the content. I see that mistake all the time, where would be publishers spend all of their time and effort on the look of the web site and totally miss the important stuff. If you want to publish a comic, your goal is to get yourself up and running on a decent publishing platform. Then your real work begins, which is producing great content and the relentless self promotional work. It doesn’t matter if your comic is great, if no one ever sees it or reads it. It will just die of loneliness. And don’t be confused by the fact that you are a brilliant writer or a super great artist, talent is essential, but there are plenty of talented people who never get discovered or recognized. So, get yourself a big stick and get busy writing in the sand. And, if you get tired of writing with your right hand then switch to your left hand, but don’t stop. If you don’t want to promote, then you don’t want to publish. They are all part of the same thing.
