A Question about Studio Tapas and other general Tapas Inquries

Aykay 2020-12-17 09:24:20 UTC #1

I've been racking my brain trying to discern the difference between Studio Tapas and Premium series. So I figured I just come right out and ask. Besides I think it would be kinda nice to see if we can pool our knowledge together and ask a few questions as a community. Knowledge is power you know.

https://tapas.io/newsfeed/146

I'll start with what I know and that is recently Tapas launched Studio Tapas. At first glance, at least to me this doesn't really look all that different from premium hence my confusion. Is Studio Tapas the new premium? Is it something else entirely? Are the criteria similar? Higher?

Also something I've been asking myself is where does Studio Tapas fit in with me as a creator on Tapas. So far I've been here six months. I've had a few ups and a lot of downs and to be honest for a while I had planned on leaving this month. The reason that changed was thanks to my little group of dedicated subs coming in with the likes and comments. They just happened to come in at the right time. Kinda of ironic.

I'm sorry for getting a little off topic but if you bare with me a little longer there is a point here. The reason I wanted to leave had to do with getting rejected when I pitched for premium. Mainly it was the explanation as to why. Which to sum it is based on the first few chapters the story direction wasn't clear.

I'm not going to belabor the point and argue whether or not there are stories with similar story flow that seem to be doing fine or amazing (actually) .

The actually point had to do with me not feeling like there was a place for me here at Tapas. If you look at the premium series you can see how they fit with the site. They're different but they're also similar, I don't wanna ramble so it's kinda hard to really explain. The main point is maybe a month or so ago I saw a post regarding Tapas making efforts to support its creators in the sense that there's a reason for the way Tapas does things. A game plan. But the thing is when you market to a specific audience you bring in that audience who looks to read more of the same. And that's perfectly fine. Some people in that audience might only read a specific genre, some might read a variety of stories. Essentially the more people who have their eyes on Tapas the more readers all around.

Coming back to what I was saying about there being a place for me at Tapas. There are so many stories that are weird, unique, strange, and happen to be on the fringes of Tapas. And if Tapas never champions stories like that then the audience for those won't come and thus the stories won't grow. And that's why I wonder if the criteria for Studio Tapas is different because at the end of the day if we're not asking what are you looking for? What is it that you think people want to see? Then won't we just get the same result?

Also I feel like I should point this out this is not a dig at Tapas. Or at popular genres or anything like that. I'm just curious about how Tapas is going to change and evolve in the future.

Whether there's a place for me or not remains to be seen. While I'm here I do wanna ask some questions. And I hope everyone else has some too. We're all apart of this community. And even though I don't chat on the forums a whole lot, us being a community and Tapas as a whole it matter to me.

Sorry for getting kinda of topic there. Here's some questions.

How is Studios Tapas different from Premium?
Will Studio Tapas branch out and find more obscure creators and originals?
What can the Tapas community do to better communicate their desires when it comes to the stories they'd like to see?
In a broad sense how will Tapas help creators to reach their goals?
I wanna add that one step toward achieving a goal is defining it. With a variety of different people in this community their goals will span the horizon. How is Tapas as a whole preparing to meet that challenge?

*(This one is about Ink) I'm an android user so I have the benefit of being able to do a wider range of ink offers than a Iphone user. Are there any plans to sort of expand the offers available for Iphone users, I know that this might be an apple thing and not really a Tapas thing I just thought I should ask since more ink offers benefits Tapas, creators, and the readers.

Let me know what you guys think about Studio Tapas. Ask any questions you have here. And let's see if we can figure out some answers.

Also I just wanna say thank you to everyone on the forums for being here.

joannekwan 2020-12-17 09:25:49 UTC #2

I'll tag @ratique and @victoria1 to explain~

Awesomeness_Studios 2020-12-17 14:02:23 UTC #3

Yeah I'm a little confused about Studio Tapas myself too. I'm looking at the submissions form and I don't see a subscriber minimum. If I recall correctly, Premium had a sub minimum of like 2,000 (idk i really forgot). Does this mean they got rid of the limit and anyone can now pitch??

IndigoShirtProd 2020-12-17 14:31:59 UTC #4

I thought it was about getting your comic out to a wider audience by converting it into a different medium, like a print copy published through a big name publisher, being opted for tv or video games. You know, stuff like that. And it doesn't seem like you have to be a premium series to submit to it, though I imagine that it might help if you already have a relationship with Tapas when being chosen.

victoria1 2020-12-17 15:11:57 UTC #5

Hello, thank you for your questions! I will answer some questions about Studio Tapas.

How is Studios Tapas different from Premium?

If you are making an Original Series pitch using the Original Series Pitches Submission Form, then this is an application to be working with Studio Tapas to develop an original series together.

Will Studio Tapas branch out and find more obscure creators and originals?
As long the submission guidelines & "what we're looking for" are met, the application will be considered!

Hope this helps!

Edit: Corrected my statement about premium series! A series done by a creator alone is a community series.

Aykay 2020-12-17 15:23:45 UTC #6

hmm I sorta always assumed that was part of being premium. But maybe I'm wrong. That would be a pretty distinct difference I guess.

@victoria1 So the difference between Studio Tapas and Premium is the fact that Premium can be developed alone?

Unfortunately the second answer doesn't really answer what I was getting at. Thank you though.

HGohwell 2020-12-17 15:34:55 UTC #7

So Studio Tapas will be where the Tapas Originals we already have will be being made from now on? It's just a change in name/rebranding in essence?

Unfortunately, this doesn't really answer the crux of the question, being what does Tapas actually want? It's all very well to say all stories will be considered but there is a perception, whether it's real or not, that the majority of Tapas Originals, and even Premiums, are very samey in style and content. This leads to the implication, again not saying whether it's true or not, that if all stories are considered, either Tapas only wants those seemingly samey stories that follow a pattern and they're the only ones considered good enough, or they're the only ones submitting.

There is a perception that Tapas is only interested in working on a particular type of story, it's been said all over the forums, and as the OP says, it makes people feel there's no place for less mainstream types of story and so no place for them on Tapas. Simply saying all applications will be considered doesn't address this, and the submission guidelines are vague. A quick look at the Tapas Originals page would imply what Tapas considers "exceptional art" is an anime/manga implied style even if you don't say it. These things speak. Do only anime/manga influenced artists submit, or is that what's considered good?

Whether it's the reality of the situation or not, Tapas is viewed as having a bias that isn't addressed in any noticeable way one way or the other, that is the issue. And situations deemed as real are real in their consequences, as my dad loves to say.

cherrystark 2020-12-17 15:47:18 UTC #8

I have looked over the information and I'm still not sure what Studio Tapas will do for our work. Like is it just another avenue to launch more comics? What becomes of the submitted comics that are picked? Do they just get polished? What can Studio Tapas do for novelists? If i submitted my series, would it become a comic or turned into an animated production?

Aykay 2020-12-17 15:55:03 UTC #9

Thanks. I was having trouble getting some of the points across.

@victoria1

Here's an example while a streaming company Netflix offers a catalog of works. Netflix has its mainstream offer but to maximize its reach Netflix reach out and brings a variety of different stories as well as creating a vast library of originals (I do wanna add that Netflix at times uses the word originals kinda loosely)

What I'm trying to say is by only having the Premium stories that have a certain look and feel Tapas putting itself in a box in terms of growth and reach. Also I wanna point out that while I get novels are new I definitely feel like novels get the short end of the stick.

skicoak 2020-12-17 16:40:21 UTC #10

My question is broader...

Why are you asking for submissions?

Considering the specifics of what you're asking for in "partners" for Studio Tapas wouldn't drawing from the existing Tapas Original creations or using your own diagnostic tools to identify creators on the site that meet your metric requirements make more sense?

cherrystark 2020-12-17 17:15:52 UTC #11

I think Netflix is a good example of defining what type of work they do. When I read Studio "Blank" I think of visual media like cartoons or live action productions. I don't think comic books. We have premium and regular tapas content for that

Aykay 2020-12-17 17:41:02 UTC #12

Yeah. So far I can't seem to tell if it's "Let make new originals together." Or if it's "The new originals we make will also become video games, animated, etc."

I mean if Premium is now rolled up into Studio Tapas then I have a better idea of what is going on. Studio Tapas would just be expanding that. Although I wouldn't say it was explained well. But if that's not the case and Premium and Studio Tapas are separate things then I honestly have no clue what's going on

@skicoak You make a good point. In that if Studio Tapas sought out people and not the other way around at the very least people wouldn't feel like "Hey I could do this." When in reality they don't have what Tapas is looking for.

I know that sounds mean but while I've been a creator here for six months I've been on the forums for eight. I've also read through a lot of past posts. The idea of Tapas having a type isn't new @HGohwell did a really good job of pointing that out. And that's fine. Tapas is a company after all I'm not mad at that, even if I don't or will never fit that type.

But there is an issue if you make broad guidelines when you're really look for a narrow field. I get that you might be holding out room for stories that shatter your expectations but in reality you're shutting down a lot of people by saying we want exceptional stories and sorry your story isn't exceptional. When in truth the story just isn't your flavor of good. But it is someone else's and I get that, that's a broader publishing issue.

But for the sake of argument it feels like Tapas is sorta of ignoring an obvious issue that's been brought up time and time again. And I might not be the best person to summarize or even get to the heart of it consider the amount of time I've been here but saying we're looking for "A" when you want "C" means something different than actually looking for "A". I just want to know which is which and for Tapas to be a bit more honest and forthcoming about that.

Also @cherrystark Studio Blank sounds like a fun studio name I could image its tagline being something like "Fill a blank canvas with your creativity" or something like that.

HGohwell 2020-12-17 18:07:53 UTC #13

To just be clear and give Tapas the benefit for a moment, Premium and Originals are already 2 separate things. This isn't about Premiums, as far as I can tell, it's Originals, which are usually Premiums but not all Premiums are Originals. Original is you pitch a project to Tapas and they will help you, Premium is simply paid for content that can be either an Original or something already created free that Tapas has offered to make Premium by putting up a paywall. As far as I can tell, this Studio Tapas is about Originals, not Premium as a whole.

skicoak 2020-12-17 18:16:57 UTC #14

Based on the verbiage of the press release on Studio Tapas, it's ONLY content Tapas owns.

So Originals mainly qualify due to their legal agreements but could also be any project Tapas gains ownership of despite it's on site designation.

Aykay 2020-12-17 18:28:16 UTC #15

Oh I kinda thought they were the same thing. I see your point. Everything listed under Tapas Original has the bonus of being Premium in a way. I think at some point I got confused since I know that Premiums have the option of being exclusive to Tapas. In that way I thought then it would be considered an Original. But now that I think about it most of the Originals are story that were created for Tapas.

The thing is I still think people through the Premium program could pitch to be an Original based on their contract (This is where it gets a bit dicey) since I only have so much information regarding this. Pretty sure you could already work to get an Original.

It's in that sense that I'm not really sure what Studio Tapas is supposed to be. Is it an expansion of that? With the way Tapas is presenting it, it's like this new arm solely dedicated to Originals. Which might mean something like more Originals and a larger focus on things like that, that I understand.

Hopefully someone will come along with a clearer and concise answer.

lunagraves714 2020-12-17 18:30:26 UTC #16

I have another question to add, but it might be dumb because I could’ve missed something:

Is Studio Tapas only for comics and not novels?

skicoak 2020-12-17 18:48:59 UTC #17

It's properties Tapas owns that they are invested in getting adapted to other forms of media.

At least that is how it's being represented in press releases.

ratique 2020-12-17 18:57:25 UTC #18

Good morning!

Thanks for all your interest in Studio Tapas and our post yesterday! I see there is some confusion which is in large part our fault due to us failing to sufficiently explain the many terms floating around, like Premium, Studio Tapas, Exclusives, Community series and so forth. We will work on providing more clarity regarding this in the future! For now, here are a few answers:

Are Studio Tapas and Premium two separate things?
Studio Tapas is the entity that produces Premium series. A Premium series could be a Tapas Original or a Tapas Exclusive, and is generally a story produced together with Tapas.
In other words: The Studio Tapas team is responsible for creating Premium series.

Is Studio Tapas only for comic creators?
Premium series can be Comics or Novels.

Why are you asking for submissions instead of looking at your data?
Many up and coming creators are working on their debut title without having published a previous title, while some creators with large followings do not want to work on a premium series. If you have an amazing story and are interested in working with Studio Tapas, we want to ensure you are able to apply without adding hurdles like minimum subscriber counts or having to already be published.

Where do series fall that aren't produced by Tapas but cost something (like Early Access)?
A series created by the creator alone without Tapas' support is a Community Series, even if they are monetizing their series on our platform or receive marketing support. Monetization opportunities for our community will be expanded in the coming months, to allow for the more unique stories we enjoy creating and reading to succeed and earn money, while allowing creators to stay fully independent.

Hope that clears up some things!

skicoak 2020-12-17 19:09:35 UTC #19

@ratique I understand you'll clarify the terms at a later date (Thank you.)

But to clarify, independents shouldn't submit to Studio Tapas if they wish to retain that status?

Aykay 2020-12-17 19:39:36 UTC #20

I'm looking forward to seeing what these other monetization opportunities are.

Also thanks for explaining more about Studio Tapas. I probably wouldnt have figured that all those things fall under its umbrella.