How much buffer is enough for a webcomic?

[Afrofairy96]

So when I first started my comic I kinda just jumped right into it with the posting. I had the prologue & episode 1 done then went right into posting now after a bit more wisdom & seeing how other creators opporate I feel that was a bad idea. I've been posting episode on webtoons soon after I do them but from now on I'm gonna take a break and not do that anymore. So how much buffer is enough buffer? For the more experienced creators how many episodes do you usually have already done before you start posting? What's a good number?

[SleepingPoppy]

The most important thing is to figure out the schedule that works for you.

For me, I usually average about four pages of buffer, posting a page a week. You want to creat pages as fast or faster than you post them, or else your buffer will get eaten up. I also have planned breaks mid chapter and between chapters, which gives me time to play catch up if I need too.

There's no magic number!

[apexdraws]

Not an expert, but imo it depends on how often you update and how quickly you can make new pages.

A good rule of thumb I heard is to have 1-2 months of updates in your buffer. Admittedly I didn't follow that advice, I think the most I've had in my buffer has been 3 weeks. But I would definitely shoot for something along those lines. I recently had to take a week off of working on my story in order to prepare for an online convention, then immediately after that I took another week off to spend time with my family. And it killed my buffer lol. So my advice would be to expect yourself to have to take at least 1-2 weeks off at some point for some reason, and prepare accordingly.

Thankfully it's not difficult for me to build my buffer back up... But we'll see what happens when school starts next week x.x

[shooshell]

Absolutely agree with @SleepingPoppy , the right answer is going to be different for everybody- and whats right for you now can change! When I first started posting my comic in May, I had no buffer at all. I work full time and it took me a few months to get into rhythm where I was even able to reliably post an update every two weeks. It was ok when I was starting out, but it didn't last, I fell behind, and i had to take a small hiatus. Only after I started making my comic was I able to turn an analytical eye to my work flow and make the most of my free time. Now, I have a small buffer which is growing now that I've tweaked my habits to be more productive, but i wouldn't have been able to do that if I wasn't open to learning as I go and making mistakes.

Meet yourself where you're at now, and make what you can when you can. It'll work out - you'll be surprised at how patient people can be when you're patient with yourself. No magic number, just empathetic, steady progress!

[kinleypavone]

I feel like there isn't a right or wrong answer for this but here's what I did:
I had 10 episodes ready to go before posting episode 1. I do one episode every 3 weeks(with 3 episodes available at launch) so for me, I had about 5 months worth of uploads ready to go. I can do 15 pages every 3 weeks(though if I really push it, I can squeeze out 19) and my uploads are 12-20 pages in length. I wanted enough wiggle room so I could take days off as needed, have lots of time to really nail the sketches/fix issues before posting, etc. I didn't want to be in a position where I had to rush and potentially hurt the quality of the story/art. Like I said, there's no exact right answer here, I imagine not everyone needs a 10 episode buffer like me and that ANY amount of buffer is useful.

[rajillustration]

I made a years' worth of buffer and now it's allll gone. Life just HAPPENS and when it does, that buffer carries you. So, be reasonable about it, but make as much as you can, because if your life is pretty unpredictable and you move a lot/get sick a lot/do a lot of freelance work (which is my situation) then you need that buffer and you need a lot of it. If you have a stable situation then you're fine with less.

[PaulDevers]

I have about maybe 8 weeks worth of buffer at a time? Between chapters, I take one week off on posting but still do one page during that time to try and make the buffer bigger.
Again, like what everybody else is saying, that works for me. You gotta find what works for you.

[alinlaphel]

I have no buffer lol. I wanted to make a buffer period but it was tough since I declared a release date. I've been going release by release on schedule finishing the chapter by that day. It's hard for me to declare a haitus too since I have a small viewer base that's steadily growing. If I take a haitus, I'll lose all my momentum. I've been going like this for the last two months.

I think the best buffer should be how much you feel is good for you. Think about how long it takes to make a chapter or a page and double or triple that time. Personally I feel like a week or two week buffer would be good.

[toonben]

I started a webcomic with a 70-80 pages buffer (almost one year buffer) and I found it very useful for me so I can be on top of thing and worry less about missing updates. But everyone has a preference. A large buffer is my thing.

[jamontoast98]

I fell into the trap of making too much buffer and haven't actually released my comic yet...

I'd say as long as you're 2-3 episodes ahead you're good. But ultimately it depends on you. Unexpected things happen all the time. So whatever number you end up with, double it.

[GesuGesu]

never enough. You never know when you have a bad week or something unexpected pops up so your buffer shrinks.

The only time I felt rather successful and stress-free was when I fully completed my series before posting them.

[jcmraz]

When I start Runner there was 0 buffer and at that time I didn't even feel like sticking to a schedule so I just posted it whenever I finished a page. Eventually, after figuring out about how long it was taking me to finish pages I set myself a regular schedule a little passed that. i.e. it was taking me about 10 days to be able to put out a page so I decided on a biweekly update schedule. This put me a little ahead so I could start building a buffer. Right now I have about a 2.5 page buffer because I had to slow down while I was working on the webtoon short story contest simultaneously and now I have a baby which eats up my time. But as long as you continuously are working and you love doing it I don't think it matters all that much. You'll get it done as you're able.