Can a serious webcomic find it's way on Tapastic?

[ck_tapastic]

Maybe a more clear distinction between short forms and long forms would help here?

[kurisquare]

Maybe a more clear distinction between short forms and long forms would help here?

I don't know if it's a good idea to make a strict distinction between short and long form since sometimes people can work with a mix of the two? Sakana works with pages that work as "short form" comics sometimes (punchlines and all a lot of times), but they're all connected as one long story.

But then we might just have to choose sides if it's for the sake of organization

[thebrosse]

Also there should be an option that allows new readers to not begin certain stories from the latest released comic. I figured that if a new reader began reading an on-going series from the latest chapter, they would have no idea what was going on and just move on.

[yuliusefferven]

@ck_tapastic and @thebrosse I think we shouldn't segregate the 2 but give readers and creators ways to differentiate between them. like @thebrosse said, creators should have the option to default their 'first page' when clicking on the series by an new reader to the first page or last page depending on which is more sensible to their comic. Maybe there should be little tags in the comic title/description to show whether it is a story comic or gag comic. Short form comics can still have stories in them though as well as gags, so it's really hard to make a clear distinction sometimes.

[minzinger]

strict distinction between short and long form

Similar to the way there are sitcoms and serialized dramas, I feel it helps the readers to be able to distinguish the two from the start to understand the time investment to keep up with the series.

[T10K]

I believe they can find their way, they're not going to have the explosive subscribers that a lot of shorts do. Long term comics take time to build up a reader base; it's an investment on the reader's part as been said several times above. A lot of the suggestions posted in this thread are wonderful as to how to promote serial and serious comics better, it's been a good read.

That said, it would be absolutely wonderful to have that feature where you add to existing episodes and it sends notification to the readers instead of having to do each page as a separate issue. Totally a vote for that from us!

[ck_tapastic]

creators should have the option to default their 'first page' when clicking on the series by an new reader to the first page or last page depending on which is more sensible to their comic.

I think this is one of the cases where we can't satisfy everyone. By the way, did you notice we have the "go to the first episode" link on the side for the readers? (the little double arrow on the top, right side)

[minzinger]

t would be absolutely wonderful to have that feature where you add to existing episodes and it sends notification to the readers

Coming... Yes, one of the most requested feature. thank you for your patience.

[PotooGryphon]

To build on that, it'd also be nice if there was a feature were we could organize/rearranging already posted comic pages.

[yuliusefferven]

@ck_tapastic yes I noticed that, though I can't say all the readers notice but it's not a matter of huge importance I guess... If they are interested they will go back the beginning.

@minzinger I guess an easy way of distinguishing between short and long form comics is nice, I think the genre and tagging is supposed to do some of that? What other ways do you think the site could make distinctions between them?

[minzinger]

What other ways do you think the site could make distinctions between them?

Good question. We'll need to do some research, make some mocks, do user testing...before we can feel good about the direction.

[thebrosse]

@minzinger @yuliusefferven @CyndiFoster

It could be as simple introducing a new genre called something along the lines of "long-form serials" or "acquired taste", meaning it takes some investment to appreciate these stories, and selling them as "stories catering to the serious readership". This creates a clear distinction between long and short form comics and allows for readers to distinguish themselves into different zones of taste. It's a means to divide and conquer readers without losing traffic to the website because many readers enjoy long form stories, exclusively, especially in the culture of manga i come from. So for an individual like that to visit tapastic and be bombarded with western-style Sunday strips on the front-page will cause them to turn away and never come back. If Tapastic takes steps to capture the more serious, more lucrative, more proprietary readership, nothing but good will blossom from those efforts.

[ck_tapastic]

So for an individual like that to visit tapastic and be bombarded with western-style Sunday strips on the front-page will cause them to turn away and never come back. If Tapastic takes steps to capture the more serious, more lucrative, more proprietary readership, nothing but good will blossom from those efforts.

This is a good point. Also I think it's important to give enough context to the users -- i.e. labeling long form serials as long form serials, though it would be fairly easy to recognize them as long forms. In general, users want to feel reinforced and empowered when they use a service and putting clear labels is helping that.

[greatnessiam1]

I've been posting Infinite for a year now or close to it.

And there aren't many places of good readership and professionalism for most to post their comics
and make it worth while. As well as there aren't many places that entertain or cater to the long form serials
besides the prestige ones where you have to pass through submission guidelines and offer your story for payment
instead of allowing the readership to decide on their support to you.

I think this would be a great step for tapastic to find a way in putting long-form serials in a spotlight that way other's will look to tapastic as a beacon of light for them to bring their longer stories too a good place to flourish!

[thebrosse]

Tapastic is the coziest place that I've come across on the internet to post my work so far and I love the community. It's too soon to throw all my eggs into one basket, but if the changes I'm hoping for come with due time, Tapastic may become my comic's permanent home. There's a sense of optimism on this site that allows me to bet on my comic's success here rather than any other site but for now, I'm keeping my options open.

[elixiadragmire]

This I can relate too. Out of all the the places I've looked at on the web this one is by far the most friendliest and 'open' I think is the right word.
For an example, on tumblr, twitter, facebook, inkblazers and a few other sites I barely get a few hundreds readers. Here I've hit over 1000. Ther upload system is the easiest I've seen since DA! (and thats amazing! do you know bloody irritating it is to have the same image in multiple minor format changes? My hard drive weeps!) I think labeling long formats might be a good idea, gives a category for people to head for when they want to get in deep with a good story

[ck_tapastic]

Tapastic is the coziest place that I've come across on the internet to post my work so far and I love the community.

Awww... let's begin the bonfire!

[Raven_C]

I agree with the sentiments about Tapastic. Now that Inkblazers is calling it quits, I truly hope Tapastic is here to stay. I love its format and clean looking interface. And the community is very responsive and warm.

[minzinger]

Inkblazers is calling it quits

Yeah, it's very sad. We've been talking with some creators. Breaks our heart. Hope to help them get settled in.

[minzinger]

I moved 4 posts to a new topic: What is Tapastic looking for Front Page featuring?