Challenges: The Lonely.

I've been thinking about how making comics is a pretty solitary occupation, and how easy it is for a creator to work in almost complete isolation a lot of the time. It's not much fun, and it's probably not very healthy - being alone in this way it's especially easy to fall prey to doubts and insecurities, lacking anyone nearby who can offer support or sympathy or just an understanding of whatever challenge you're wrestling with at the time.

In most other jobs you'll have colleagues around who you can ask for advice or appeal for support or validation, a point of view from outside your own head that can help put things in the proper perspective, or just a background presence of other human beings which can be comforting, even if they're over there doing their own thing and not interacting with you directly. For creative types to work without this support network, though... it gets tricky.

Twitter has helped with this to some extent, because it's easy to just throw something out there and have others respond with 140-character messages of support or solidarity. Broadcasting on Livestream or Ustream while I draw has also been good, as I can be drawing the comic in one window and glancing over to the chat every now and then, and using the microphone so I don't need to stop drawing to type my replies. I appreciate the company.

Still, there are times when these things don't quite hit the button. Twitter is limited to text, streaming video is a bit one-way (you can only talk at the people who come to watch you, they have to type in reply), and podcasts are good to listen to (like listening in on a conversation between peers), but lack the interactive aspect.

Really I'd just like a kind of virtual studio experience, a means to capture the feeling of sharing a workspace with other artists in a way that doesn't disrupt that work. It'd be nice to be able to call over to check on how a colleague's doing, or to ask for a quick glance-over of a piece you're not sure about because you've been up close to it for so long and can't tell any more. Or even just engage in conversational banter to break up the quiet.

I guess the nearest approximation would be some kind of voice chat like Ventrilo or TeamSpeak, with a channel where artists go to hang out while they work. If you didn't fancy talking you wouldn't have to, you could just leave it running in the background while others talk shop and chip in when you felt like it.

Given the wide disparity of working hours and timezones, though, I suspect it's likely to remain a pipe dream for now. Which is a shame.

Ingredients of a successful webcomic.

If this seems kind of patronising or "well, duh" then I apologise, and request your patience. Also, this is intended to serve as a jumping-off point for subsequent posts, which will explore the issues raised here in considerably more detail. I don't mean to be a tease with all these promises of future posts to come, honestly - it's just that I think it makes the most sense to move from broad strokes to detailed examination, to start with the very basics and build up from there. Thank you for bearing with me in the meantime.

Right then. Let's get down to the basics. First principles.

So, I want to have a successful webcomic according to the definition of success I outlined previously. There are three things I need in order for this to happen:

1. A webcomic I enjoy creating.
2. Readers who enjoy my webcomic.
3. A way to turn readers into revenue.

Let's break those down.

Item 1: A webcomic I enjoy creating.

It's all very well making a webcomic that's well-drawn and well-written, but if the process of creating this webcomic is comparable to, say, pulling teeth, then it's extremely unlikely that I'm going to want to keep creating it - especially considering that I'm unlikely to see much of a return on it for quite some time. I don't think I'm alone in finding it extremely easy to come up with reasons not to do something I find tiresome or tedious, and can, if pushed, procrastinate such things almost indefinitely. Sometimes this procrastination can be turned to productive ends - for example, having paperwork that needs filling out often results in my living space becoming a whole lot tidier - but that still doesn't get the odious task done.

A webcomic that isn't enjoyable to create swiftly becomes a chore. Motivation fades away, time and effort put into each page diminishes, and the webcomic first becomes half-assed, then irregular in its updates, then stops updating altogether. This is obviously no use at all if my intent is to make a living from my webcomic, so it's a situation to be avoided if at all possible.

I have to be enthusiastic. The easiest solution to the motivation problem is to make a webcomic I'm going to enjoy creating - and the easiest way to do that is to create the kind of webcomic that I'd enjoy reading. If I'm making a webcomic in which I'm not 100% invested, that'll show - it'll likely seem lacklustre or mechanical, missing that spark of passion, and this will be a turn-off for readers. After all, if the webcomic's creator can't find reason to be enthusiastic about their work, why should a reader?

Item 2: Readers who enjoy my webcomic.

Attracting an appreciative audience is a two-step process.

Step 1: Make a good webcomic.
It sounds trite, but it's something that really does need to be reinforced. No amount of advertising, networking or self-promotion can substitute for having a good product that my customers will enjoy. No amount of charm, marketing savvy or other less savoury techniques will earn me a dedicated audience if my core product sucks.

As such, I must strive to make my webcomic the best it can be in all regards - in art, in writing, in site design, all of it. The internet and the local library can be an invaluable resource here. If I think my writing's weak then I need to read up on how to assemble a plot, write believable dialogue, or construct compelling characters. If my art needs work then I should study perspective, anatomy, composition and colour theory. If my website looks janky or generic there are plenty of resources out there which can teach me enough about HTML and CSS coding to make it look distinctive and interesting. And so on and so forth.

The point of making a good webcomic (with pleasing art and engaging writing) is that if I do so, people will like it. They'll keep reading it. They might recommend it to their friends, word will spread, and more readers will come along. If I'm making the kind of webcomic that I'd want to read then there's a very good chance that it's also the kind of webcomic that other people want to read. Tastes vary and some topics are more popular than others, but unless a comic is incredibly niche there's probably an audience out there for it. It's just a matter of connecting with that audience, and making them aware that my comic exists. Which leads to...

Step 2: Tell people about it.
So far I've mostly been promoting my own comic on Twitter - it's free, and it's a very straightforward way to connect with people. There are lots of other webcomic creators on there already, many of whom are happy to pass on word about your webcomic if you do the same for them.

I've also submitted my webcomic to a number of online directories (OnlineComics.net has been a pretty good source of traffic, f'rinstance), and have stumped up some cash for a Project Wonderful ad campaign (which is good at generating traffic as long as you can keep funding ad campaigns). These are just a couple of examples of how to promote your work. There are various channels, each with different advantages and disadvantages which I'll examine in future blog posts.

Item 3: A way to turn readers into revenue.

Ah yes, the business model. The thing that turns a webcomic from a hobby to an occupation. This... this is the tricky part, and one which I will admit I'm only just beginning to explore. Even those who're well-experienced in making a living from their webcomics are constantly looking for new ways to refine the business model, searching for new revenue-streams to supplement those they're already using, so the only rule is to find what works for you, and then use it. Better yet, find several things that work for you. Diversify.

The main obstacle to monetising my webcomic is that not everyone who reads it is going to like it enough to just throw money at me as a gesture of appreciation. I mean, it'd be nice, but it's not very likely. So I need to find a way to encourage readers to throw money at me, and among webcomic creators the prevalent method used to incide money-throwing is to offer merchandise in return. There are other approaches - charging subscription fees to allow readers to access the webcomic, or the archives, or additional content, getting enough traffic to make ad-revenue a viable source of income, and so on. This will also be examined in future blog posts.

For now, I'll just say that while this might seem grubby and grabby and mercenary and materialistic, that's only the case if you let it become so. I'd like to avoid the situation whereby my overriding motivation shifts too far from making an awesome comic towards making as much money as possible, because at that point one becomes a sell-out and the work suffers. Making money does need to be a consideration, but it's a matter of finding a balance between the creative and the commercial.

My ideal situation would be one in which I have honed my craft to the point that readers are so astounded and amazed and enthralled and delighted by my work that they insistently thrust fistfuls of banknotes into my pockets whenever we meet. Failing that, I'd like to get proficient enough at making comics that those who enjoy reading them are willing to support me in this endeavour by buying enough books, t-shirts or whatever for me to live a fairly comfortable life.

I think that's a pretty reasonable goal.

Success, my way.

In order to know whether or not I've succeeded, I first need to define what I mean by "success". This can mean different things to different people - to some, success is financial - being able to afford all the consumer electronics they desire, or being able to support themselves and their families. For others, success is receiving praise or admiration from their audience. For yet others, success is artistic - being able to create the work they want to, free of external demands or pressures.

For clarity's sake, then, let's have a definition.

Success in webcomics means earning enough money from my webcomic and related endeavours to support a financially stable lifestyle, while holding to my personal values as an artist and individual.

What are "related endeavours"? I'm classing these as sources of income which are at least tangentially connected to the creative activity of making comics. So, advertising on my webcomic's site, sales of print editions, sales of t-shirts and other merchandise, sales of original artwork. Also included would be income from running comics workshops or similar comic-related teaching activities, which is something I've been putting some thought toward, and will likely be pursuing further once I've been producing my webcomic for a bit longer, to get some more credentials under my belt.

What's a "financially stable lifestyle"? Well, one in which I can count on a certain level of income each month which will cover the important necessities like housing, utilities, food, and all the other regular outgoings. Extra funds get saved, ploughed back into the business, or put towards non-essential fun stuff. Basically, equivalent to a "normal" job.

What do I mean by "my personal values as an artist and individual"? In short, I don't want to do stuff that makes me dislike myself as a human being - like drawing stuff I find objectionable just for the money, or engaging in the unpleasant modes of behaviour usually categorised as "being a dick". I don't want to sell out, and I don't want to screw people over just to get ahead. You can get further by working hard and being a good person than you can by being a ruthless devious backstabbing douchebag, because that kind of thing will always come back to bite you.

Stay tuned, and I'll start laying out how I intend to go about this admittedly rather ambitious plan.

Making It In Webcomics.

Since I like webcomics so much I'm putting together a plan that will, with hard work, perseverance and luck, eventually allow me to turn this enjoyable activity into a full-time job - nay, a career. A lucrative one, if possible.

From here on in this plan and related topics will likely form the bulk of this blog's content, so hopefully it'll be of interest to other webcomic creators - even comic creators who eschew the term "webcomic" but still want to find a way to present their work online in a way that provides income.

I can't claim to be an expert on this stuff since I'm only just starting out; I can claim to have a fairly well-developed brain and a full set of opposable thumbs which have proven themselves helpful for problem-solving and tool-using applications respectively. This should come in handy when trying to make a living from webcomics.

My methodology is going to be pretty straightforward: I intend to break complex situations down into less-complex pieces, try to understand them, and come up with ways to rebuild the situation to be more to my liking. There will likely be a lot of identifying problems and applying general principles to come up with potential solutions, and I do not doubt that on occasion I will be wrong. If you notice me being wrong then please do correct me, but be prepared to back up your point. The idea is to use discourse and debate to come up with better ways of doing things, not to point fingers and call people names. That doesn't help anyone.

There won't be much by way of detailed analysis of statistical data - mainly because that stuff bores me to tears and I'd much rather spend my time drawing my comic or promoting it to an audience than poring over tables and spreadsheets. Instead I'll be speaking in broader terms, and applying more general principles of human behaviour to the problems presented by this goal of Making It In Webcomics. Soft squishy human stuff rather than hard crunchy mathematical stuff. Yeah.

What this blog isn't going to be is an authoritative, foolproof, 100% guaranteed treatise on Making It In Webcomics, because no such thing exists. There are some publications which offer examples of how the authors managed to find a modicum of success with their webcomic, but their methods may not work in all situations. When reading this blog, please remember that everything I say comes with a caveat that I am not an expert. I actively encourage readers to make their own investigations and (ideally) let me know if their findings confirm or refute my own.

Above all, it's a voyage of discovery.