How well do monthly, full chapter, updated comics do?

[akitsukino]

A while ago I put up a topic asking what people would do if they had a larger section of their comic to update. A lot of people said they'd just upload bigger updates, some with whole chapters. However, a little after that I found another topic asking how people felt about bigger updates and a large number of people said they didn't like it and that it was a bit overwhelming.

So has anyone seen a comic do this and gain a positive reception? Would you upload full chapters if you could? What would you prefer if you had the choice; big, full chapter updates one a month, or small multi page updates every week?

[UzukiCheverie]

The difference here is sort of funny to me, based on my own experience, so I'm interested to hear others' input as well.

Like, I typically post 3-5 pages per update, 1-3 times a week depending on what I'm able to keep up with (when things work well, I get 5 pages per update, 3 updates a week). I haven't had anyone complain about it, so I don't know if that's actually the favorable setup?

But over on LINE, I update half a chapter a week (and they're often a chapter or half a chapter behind Tapas). So typically 10-12 pages over there every time I update, once a week, and .... they really seem to like those longer episodes with more content. To me, Tapas' audience prefers small bits of content per update, whereas LINE is fine with waiting a week for bigger updates. I can bet this is due to Tapas and LINE's different types of promoted/paid content - Tapas is mostly gag-a-day comics and stories with only a few panels per update, whereas LINE has a lot of story-based comics that have long episodes with lots of content inside.

[punkarsenic]

i know that witchy posts more or less full chapters / large updates sporadically on tapas, and that comic does very well. buuuut the creator does update more regularly on tumblr.

while its really tempting to do full chapter updates - its good practice for the print industry, it keeps each update complete and satisfying, theres less worry abt pacing - i think its difficult to maintain, or do well out of on tapas. it puts you in fresh, and the forefront of your subscribers minds, significantly less, and makes updates overwhelming for a lot of people. i love reading full chapters, but even i have to brace myself before clicking on some webcomics i follow that post full scenes or chapters. its also really hard, in my experience, to keep up w that update schedule, bc you have to have it ALL done on time, and its easy to fall behind like six pages over a month. if youre posting smth like two pages a week, its very easy to keep up with a good buffer.

that said, an upside to posting full chapters is the readers have to really engage with the plot. w two page updates, sometimes people can end up just glancing at it, forgetting to Properly Read It, and the impact isnt as significant. thats why its so nice when ppl comment imo - its a good sign that theyve properly read it, and theyre following the story.

personally - buffers and my speed limitations aside - id wanna do an imbetween and post a scene every week or two weeks. i dont like how long it takes for a scene to unfold with two pages a week, but bc thats how much i can draw a week, i have to do it that way to have a sustainable buffer.

[R.n.P]

to me its really slow, monthly I upload episodes of about 15-27 pages n don't get much traffic

[revisionstudios]

I think the biggest thing you have to consider is that the less you update, the less it appears on the fresh section and the less exposure it gets. It's possible, but on the whole you get less attention, especially if you're only updating once a month or less.

There are always exceptions to the rule of course, but comics who do well with it usually excel in several other areas that make it worth it for people to wait and stay invested.

I personally advocate for updating more with less pages, because if a reader DOESN'T like just reading page-by-page (or in small chunks), they can always wait for a few updates to stack up before they read it again. It's what I do--I really don't like reading a single page of a comic each week, so I usually don't look at it until there's more for me to see.

Your update schedule really comes down to your rate of production, though. If you can consistently produce several pages a week and have a chapter done in a week or two, sure, you can get away with posting in chapters and still get good exposure. But if it takes you 1 month + for a new chapter... might as well do chunk (3-5 pages) or single page updates to keep people into your series.

[UbePie]

I have struggled with this myself. I have my comic on both Line and Tapas. My comic is updated by episode, three times a month. I started on Line, people are willing to wait, people comment, and are excited for updates, and usually the majority comes and reads on the expected day of update. Here not so much. I hardly have any comment, it's been a struggle trying to get readership, and I have been given the advice to post in smaller chunks.

I'm against posting in smaller junks because my comic is plot heavy. Every episode starts with a scene from my characters childhood linking to the current plot of the episode. To break that all up just to have more exposure seems like bad story telling. I rather have less updates and great pacing then change the way I write and draw my comic.

With the three times a month schedule and my personal life, i am able to produce 32 panels for each update. I don't go by page count but that usually ends up to about twelve pages per update.

As a reader I'm not fond of more updates and less content. Usually what I end up doing if an author creates like that, is wait several weeks so that I have a good chunk to read.

[shaylafarley5]

Sounds like line webtoon is better for you. I binged read there a lot!

[UbePie]

I like Line, not only as a creator but as a reader, because I get more, and they have that bookmark thing that keeps your place.

[mpiradarada]

If you're looking for an optimal setting, I think it's best to consider each comic individually. Plot, genre, progression, build-up, payoff, etc. There are a lot of factors to account for.

I can think of a couple moments in some webcomics I follow with a weekly update schedule, where a scene would've been much better if had been delivered in its entirety in one go but because it only updated once or twice a week, it never caught momentum. Inversely, the last pages of Thicker Than Blood were really tense and the weekly update didn't take that away at all, maybe it even enhanced it.

Personally, I can see that I subconsciously try to give some pay-off or put a cliffhanger at the end of each of my updates. 'Dunno if that's what's best in the long run, it just kinda happened.

But yeah, I think every comic is different and every comic is affected by update schedules in a different way. Thinking of what's best for your webcomic is an important part of the process of making it.

[rroomboy]

I don't really know where to ask this, but for those who do long form webcomics and upload a long update every week, how do you do it? I mean, I've looked at LINE Webtoons and the featured comics there have an average of +70 panels per update. And that's something they work on for only ONE (1) WEEK. Are they machines? Is it the norm there to hire assistants to help them keep up with the releases? Do they even rest? I know there's a thing called ''buffer'', but it's still insane they output that much content per update/week. I suppose the best guess is they do it as full-time and don't get enough sleep?

[LordVincent]

What you're looking at is the work of professional comic creators with loads of experience.

Being a professional comic creator is not only about providing good looking or well paced content, it is also about being able to do it in a reasonable amount of time since you need to create a certain amount to pay the bills.

I am a premium creator for tapas and make about 60-70 panels a week for my premium comic nowadays. On top of this I run three other ongoing comics: One that I had before my premium comic that is currently at 3 pages a week, another one I had since before that I post more randomly on, and then one that I launched just for fun.

All in all I make like 100-200 panels a week and many of those I just do 'cause I'd get bored otherwise.

Don't compare yourself to Premium or LINE Featured if/when you are still finding yourself artwise. Start doing it when you begin working on your speed, and expect it to take years before you get there, assuming you work hard at it every day.
If it sounds too tough, like too much work, or like too long of a struggle before seeing any success, then you would probably be happier keeping art and comics as your hobby.

But yes, they do most likely get enough sleep, so don't worry about that part

[eyewater]

please delete everything

[escente]

I've been updating by chapter for about 3 years now and it's cool. So far I haven't received any complaints about updates being too long, and my readers are always glad to see me back. I've also been featured 3 times over the past year, which has helped a lot

I'm sure I'll get more views if I update in smaller episodes, but my comic is a long-form story and I'd hate to break it into itsy pieces.

[akiocha]

It's true what other people have said. I'm a full time college student as well as a freelance artist on the side on top of being a comic illustrator and I get about 30-35 panels done a week for a chapter. (my chapters are about 30-35 panels) So while I certainly can't keep up because I have school and work, it is very feasible for a professional who's job is drawing comics to do 100. Mainly because of practice. At this point i've cracked down my timing to about 30 mins a panel. So doing the math 30 x 30 = 900/60 = 15 hrs over 7 days. Feasible to do. But it's all in the practice. (although to be fair, I don't sleep. I'm soulless so....)

[Croik]

There's a lot of middle ground between 1 page at a time and entire chapters. Our comic does 6-7 pages each update with breaks between chapters, which we fill with extra content. Haven't had any complaints so far.