Webcomics and electronic distribution have been a tricky proposition. The ease of distribution and the possibly is a huge draw, but with that comes the likely hood of having your work get lost in the shuffle amongst the thousands of other comics scattered across the web, much less receiving any type of money in return for your efforts.
When I was working on a weekly comic, I distributed the last 100 through Pixelstrips.com, which was then a new venture. I put a lot of research in as part of my decision to sign up with him, and I think I made a good decision. Kevin Volo who owns and operates the site put a lot of effort into promoting the site and the individual strips involved. Kevin works in the comic industry as a colorist, so he’s decidedly creator friendly. From my perspective he did all the right things, participating in forums to get the word out, doing interviews and advertising exchanges with relevant podcasts and websites, operating booths at conventions, making t-shirts, distributing stickers, and starting a podcast about comics and web comics. There wasn’t really much else as far as promotion I think he could have realistically done to make the website a success. That being said, how much money did I make distributing 100 comics over two years . . . roughly $2.50. How many posts to the sites forum a month? A handful at best. My point is despite excellent efforts by knowledgeable people, it’s an uphill struggle to build an audience for your work on the web. Not impossible, but very difficult.
This article discusses the changing face of the comics pages with shrinking newspapers and growing channels for electronic distribution.
A good overview of the top tier of web comics and the thoughts behind their different methods of distribution.
What looks to be a comprehensive guide to putting your comic on the web and potential pitfalls to avoid.
No comments:
Post a Comment