How do readers actually prefer one page a week?

Elliart7 2024-12-13 17:15:48 UTC #1

I've heard updating one page a week is the excepted standard. I know it's best for getting your work to be noticed, especially when you don't already have a large following to promote your comic to outside of Tapas, but from a reader standpoint I don't know if I can bring myself to do that. How the heck do people stand reading one page a week? The pacing of a story told to you pretty much 3-5 sentences at a time sounds like a nightmare! I only really read comics that have a decent amount of updates already.

edit: I'd love to be able to do at least 2 pages a week, but I can't work that fast

BoomerZ 2024-12-13 19:06:25 UTC #2

How much is a page? I wouldn't read a story unless each episode has a point, a beginning and end to a mini story with a cliff hanger to the next episode. That is the bare minimum. That is what a serial should be.

Azifri 2024-12-13 20:07:45 UTC #3

As a reader, if I want more pages to read at once I just wait some weeks or months before picking up the comic again. That and I'm very grateful to the author for posting stuff for me to read for free And as someone who posts one page a week, I have some readers who catch up every time the chapter number changes, so they're probably doing the same as I do ^^

Now, if you do want to post more at once, then find a way to make it happen like finish a chapter before starting to post and then take a break between chapters as you work on the next one. It's not a job after all, you decide whatever schedule you want and works for you.

Elliart7 2024-12-13 20:32:21 UTC #4

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

Elliart7 2024-12-13 20:34:36 UTC #5

I never thought about that. I suppose at the end of the day just one page a week is the same as a few pages per month. The wait would just have to be self imposed if you want a more complete feeling experience, lol

Elliart7 2024-12-13 20:35:26 UTC #6

bro sorry I accidently replied to you like 5 times, I got confused

kyupol 2024-12-13 20:36:26 UTC #7

Depends how long is a page. If it's just one panel at a time I'm like nvm...

Used to do a page a week when I was too busy with work. Comics isn't my day job.
Example of my pages then...

ThunderChicken 2024-12-13 21:17:52 UTC #8

I don't mind a short update so long as it has a few panels and something actually happens. If it's just one panel at a time I'm outies.

giamarvelousunime 2024-12-13 21:58:44 UTC #9

Idk, but I prefer 10 pages every 2 weeks and still updating lol. Good morning/afternoon/evening! If you are searching for something to read and see, check our graphic novel! Please consider subscribing and giving a like. We also have our own youtube channel where there will be the animated series of this graphic novel, so subscribe please! Its called Unime Studio, thank you for checking. If you comment for a shoutout in the graphic novel, you will be called in a shoutout in the channel! This novel will have realistic and raw situations that happen in real life in actuality!
Here´s the link:

Youtube channel:

Wattpad:
https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/386418614-before-man-mistakes
webtoon:

Leyelle 2024-12-14 13:00:50 UTC #10

I say stock up and release full episodes rather than one page. I always find one page frustrating as a reader, but as an artist I know it's hard to manage more

igneriss 2024-12-14 13:23:37 UTC #11

As a reader, I don't mind (and actually prefer) one page a week. Well, 2-5 pages are also good, basically anything I can read during a very short break. For me it's perfect because I read comics while waiting for my tea to be ready, or during short breaks at works. I like updates to be once per week, because I tend to forget what happened previously if there's more time between episodes. AND if there are a lot of pages in one episode, I might not be able to finish reading it during my break and then it's troublesome to find where I stopped.

2DLenzy 2024-12-14 13:51:49 UTC #12

Pardon my brain dump. I could write a book on this based on my nearly two-year experience as a creator/reader on Tapas.

I personally feel that publishing one page per week is EXCELLENT advice to beginner/novice comic artists in order for them to learn the craft and have a maintainable publishing pace. When I first started, I tried a more traditional layout which allowed me to experiment with compositions and not worry about having to meet a panel count. Each page essentially ended on a natural point in the story/arc, and leaves just enough intrigue for the reader to continue reading if they are interested in the story.

Now, here's the kicker, least for my experience. After one year, I decided to do scroll format and increase the number of panels (20-30), far beyond one page (6-10 panels ideally), due to my increasing experience and better skills and more paced storytelling. I ended up regretting it partially, a weekly schedule was unmanageable and I ended up burning out more often and leaving my readers with long waits. My last publishing streak was only two months before I burned out in October and hadn't worked on an episode since (I'm recovering though, just need to work on a buffer and Christmas thing and I'll be active again)

I guess what I would advice is however many panels/pages you want to do, make sure you have a buffer so you don't have to suffer, and weekly pages are the minimum, but most preferred, even with binge readers such as myself. You can experiment with episode length as far as leaving them off where it makes the most sense, BUT don't make your episodes too long later on down the road, or your readers will be expecting it and it may set you and them up for burnouts and disappointments (and yes, readers get burnout too)

jwabeasley 2024-12-14 15:16:04 UTC #13

I think the readers would like to have the whole thing, right now. One page a week is the creator side compromise because it's what I can sustainably produce in my free time. If the readers want me to put out 3 or more pages a week, they'll need to pay me enough to leave my day job.

As a reader, I'll usually read a bunch of pages at a time, then leave it for about 6 months and then come see what's out then. But before I even start a story I'll check to see whether it's either complete or active (more than 1 update within the past 2 months), because I'm not interested in investing in a story that the author has abandoned without finishing. Gag strips I'll follow per-update, because you don't have to remember the plot exactly in order to enjoy it.

My authorial compromise for my weekly readers is to have a joke or a story development (or both) on every page - no wasted space!

A "Plot" page:

A "Joke" page:

A "Both" Page:

How'd I do?

Elliart7 2024-12-15 04:36:07 UTC #14

Yah that's the thing. I've made comics before for school assignments and I enjoyed the process, but it was overwhelming because my speed isn't great. My profs were gracious though and let me turn in plenty of pages still in the sketching phase. I want to practice building a steady routine with it. I'd also have a decent size backlog because I know how slow I can be.

toonben 2024-12-15 04:43:29 UTC #15

The way I update is at least two pages a week. It's two to four pages that make up a part of a chapter rather than one week a week to give readers a solid story progression rather than a small one. I was thinking if I'm doing this right.