Dec 2018
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Dec 2018
Dec 2018
Jenny-Toons
Dec '18

Well...it's a bit more complicated than that.

A lot of people on here are more hobbyists that anything else. They've got outside income aside from the comics (part-time job, career, freelance, etc.).

And those that are trying to make a living with their comics don't just rely solely on the ads and tips you potentially get. When people say "peanuts", they mean change, not dollars. A lot of times, the amount you get for ads will be in coins and slowly accumulate into dollars overtime.

Course, that depends on how much promotion your comics gets and how many eyes are actively reading your work and tipping you. Some people can make $100 a year from this site along. And some only get $2 in one whole year.

Which is why a lot of people have different ways of getting income. Some post buffer on Paetron, and people who want bonus content and want to read ahead can pay to do so. Others have commissions, where they do paid requests. And then there's also Ko-fi and other paying sites, as well as getting contracted by Tapas or Webtoons.

It's not impossible to make a living with your comics. Buuuut it's not entirely easy. You have to have a lot of different places to get income, especially one stable one you can fall back on in case the others just aren't making enough money.

Like, for my example -- I'm still a college student working towards my engineer degree. But, I've made some money doing commissions and taking up paid internships. I kinda have something to fall back on if I don't make a lot of money on my comics. Though, I'm also a hobbyist anyhow, so I'm not really, really, in it for the money that much.

hades
Dec '18

Hi! I've been in webcomic circles since 2013 roughly.

My current ongoing comic has 2k subs on tapas and 6k on Webtoons.
I earn very little off ad revenue.
Here is a snapshot of my overall stats, keep in mind ive been enrolled since the start.

Screenshot_20181225-120804_Chrome.jpg1080x378 52.1 KB

I currently make $88 on patreon per month without patreon's own fees. Most of my patrons pledged to read ahead or simply support me.

My comics do not pay my bills. They help, but dont cover them.

However, things grow as with time. I wasn't making this amount in 2013. It's not much but im grateful for it.

When someone says you'll make peanuts from comics it us due to the fact not everyone has luck or even momentum. Things take time and so it's hard to give a number when most themselves are still finding out just what those peanuts are.

DiegoPalacios
Dec '18

so in 3600 ad impressions it is still $0.11, that`s curious....

I am at around 2600 impressions and i am at $0.11 too. I wonder if there is a max ammount of revenue or if it requirements for more revenue grow exponentially or if it is some kind of bug....

soyasholm
Dec '18

I think it depends on how many people got their adblockers turned on perhaps? Unless the ad impressions only count people who don't use adblock

DiegoPalacios
Dec '18

Good point, i didnt took that into account. Not sure if blocked adds are counted though.

ben
Dec '18

Hi, I've been doing comics full time for a few years now and I can honestly say I don't know anybody earning a living off of ad revenue in 2018.

It's different for everybody, so I can only really share what works for me and how I've managed for the past few years and a few things that seem to be common all across the board.

Most other full time folks I know don't just do one thing. They sell merch, printed collections of their webcomics, work with traditional publishers, have a Patreon or other similar service, and do other freelance work. They're also not usually trying to garner audiences on comics hosting sites and instead focus more on social media followings they can funnel into their creative ventures.

Physical products have helped me a lot. My first printed comic was self published and I took it to a smaller comics convention where someone bought it and took it to a publisher they knew. That spun into one of my most important professional (and personal) relationships. The comic I self published was also the comic I pitched to Webtoon as a featured comic. That gig payed me $2000+ a month but didn't last forever.

I was also doing a weekly webcomic for a popular news site that pays $600 a month (that I'm currently doing again.) A lot of art editors will have their email somewhere on the website and they accept pitches via email and that's how I got that job.

The comic I was doing for that website was collected into a book by my publisher that gets me a few thousand dollars every quarter in royalties. That's one of my big sources of income. We're also working on a couple more books this year which they offer me advances for. I'm also pitching to another publisher who offers even bigger advances. (My goal for 2019 is to start accumulating more royalty checks.)

On the side of webcomics again, I just started experimenting with a monthly subscription model for a webcomic I do this past month and so far its at around $500 a month, though it's been going up +$100-150 every week so I imagine it'll be higher than that soon. A lot of the reason for the success of this comic so far is that I've gained a following on social media from my higher profile comics gig with that news site and just the sheer amount of updates I make on my comic. I was originally posting four pages every weekday for a month and in that month along my almost following doubled. I've scaled back to 8 pages a week instead of 20 but it's still going strong.

I think the things that have helped me the most was doing whatever conventions I could and selling and networking (and by extension, self-publishing), not being afraid to change what I was doing if I noticed it wasn't working (some comics I tried to push just weren't interesting), and focusing on my following on social media.

Yulek
Dec '18

thank you this has been actually really insightful!

I'm starting conventions next year and am working on the scripts for a few things, one of them a short story that I want to print till july and try to sell it at cons and my twitter

so maybe I am on a good path ... at least from what my next smaller steps will be
I'm studying art and while that doesn't mean anything really and it'S dev not neccessary for making good comics... it still means that I will have to find work in an art field. and I would just love to work towards story telling over the course of my life

ad rev seems tough. but I guess its more of a nice bonus than a proper income... thank god nowadays theres patreon, ink and kofi

overall it sounds a lot like there will be a lot of patchworking your income together... that honestly sounds more like a plus than a con. like, when a site changes policies etc, it will hit you, but it's not your only leg?

SleepingPoppy
Dec '18

Definitely this.

And for my answer, I think I usually get a few dollars between ads and ink if I'm not doing anything to encourage tipping/support. That's with about 3k subs.

I know you're not there yet, but I highly recommend checking out LordVincent's topic on making the best of tipping. Whether you follow the advice exactly or adapt it, it's a very useful thing to keep in mind. Tips have more potential profit. (Also Vincent is a good example of someone who is making a living off comics)

ryoko
Dec '18

Talking strictly ad revenue, here's mine:

Screen Shot 2018-12-25 at 11.05.10 AM.png1014x330 30.6 KB

My other stats here on Tapas are weird compared other creators, I've only got 503 subs, but over 344K views. I think the ad revenue is that 'high' because I've got over 600 pages, so that adds up to a lot of ads. Ink support is almost triple the monthly ad amount, but it's Patreon that gives me the most financial support. All in all, I can't live off what I get, but I appreciate these forms of support because they help me squeak by each month.

The creators that I know who make a living off of their comics are the ones that only do comics/commissions and have no other job. They go to as many conventions as they can, they dedicate all their time in-between creating art and use all the social media platforms they can to get the word out. They also didn't instantly get there, either. They've spent years, some decades, working very hard to make art their 'job'. It's a hard, long road, but worth it if you tough it out.

ble
Dec '18

I don't think ads will give you a big money. There are some people making full time job making comics with patreon (this is the minority, BUT it shows it is posible to make full time job with comics).

Here's a list of the top earners webcomic authors according to grapheon (it doesn't show Merryweather, who makes around 11-12k a month).

Now, this takes years, and the important thing is to build a loyal fanbase before having a patreon. I launched my patreon when i was starting so...it was always on 0.

punkarsenic
Dec '18

nobody earns a living off ad rev - even on youtube, where ad rev is significantly more money, only the biggest creators get by without a patreon as their main source of income

to make a living on webcomics is possible, but it requires hustle, good business sense, and multiple avenues of income. its also a living that is:
- unstable
- small
- lots of work

friends of mine who make webcomics full time are primarily supported by A: patreon and B: premium series - with extra support coming from tipping, merch sales, and previously webtoons revenue but idk whats going on w that now?? and theyre often thrown into panic when theres a change that could force them to take a second job. its a rewarding life (emotionally), for many people its worth it to do something they love, but it is not without hardship.

at 10k subs you could have a supplementary patreon and tipping system that covers up to 50% (being generous, more like 30%) of your monthly expenses, but youd still need a side hustle for the while - and it would mean being good at geting people invested in your comic, literally, with money, and having robust reward systems.

then the idea is that that can grow exponentially until youre earning maybe $1000 a month (id project that figure at... 100k subs?) - enough to live somewhere cheap, though prolly supplemented with freelancing or part time work, and not enough to live most places (say goodbye to san fran or new york)

personally, i make peanuts from comics (yesterday i got my first $30 from tapas!!! after... 2 years??). although for most of my time so far ive been a teenager without the actual skill or the business skill to make money from this.... i still dont have the business skill...

my vague plan is that when i finish uni ill either stay up at uni where its cheap or live at home and fill my time with a balance of Lots More comics work and business development and also freelance work in the arts sector of the area (where, at home, i already work and get jobs) - that means i can kinda sorta negotiate my own hours, rates, and jobs to either pick up more work or take time off when comics are going well. its a pretty optomistic plan and would prolly in reality lead to a part time job plus running around the place doing bits and bobs - but if i get the hours in and abt 6k a year of work i can register as self employed and get tax credits to smooth things out a lil bit. idk, ill figure it out.

PaulieBlade
Dec '18

Do people that want to make money ever consider releasing their books in physical formats? I mean I've never tried to pitch to a publisher, but I guess that's the way to go if you want comic creating to be your job...

Yulek
Dec '18

yea that'S a plan for later down the road, but eesp if your art isn't all that consistent yet, you got more liberties when you do self publishing

I plan on printing a physical comic next year to sell it at a con. but idk if I'll take it to a publisher
maybe it's worth a shot tho

ryoko
Dec '18

Amazon has a print-on-demand service called "Create Space" https://www.createspace.com/8

You can upload your pages and print out your comic for a reasonable amount if you're a first time con-goer. It's pretty easy to use and cost effective when you're just starting out as you can print and mail yourself copies to sell at a con.

ben
Dec '18

Createspace is what I used for my first book! They’re very cheap for b&w but doing higher print runs in color they’re a little less competitive that other printers but they’re still probably the best bet for small print runs.

kimketli
Dec '18

Btw talking about financial stuff can improve everyone's financial states. Typically talking about financial stuff counts a "shameful topic" or "so private area" but this secrecy is only good for people who wants to take advantage of people, or big companies, studios. If you work for yourself maybe it has less effect on you but still good to know.

Adam Ruins Everything - Why You Should Tell Coworkers Your Salary
StorySeamstress
Dec '18

Re: publishing books...

Createspace is now moving to KDP print: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ so it's probably best to start out with KDP print rather than being required to move there from Createspace--I was just required to migrate all my stuff to KDP--which is fine, as it's virtually the same service under a different name.

For color POD books, IngramSpark's prices can be better, depending on the print quality (https://www.ingramspark.com/) although you have to have your own ISBN and they're a little pickier about file types. I haven't done a color book with them yet, but I plan to soon. (They also have hardcover options!) You can ask for samples of their printing options, which was very helpful for me to see their three levels of color printing, what their cloth hardcovers + dust jacket look like, etc.

Both KDP and IS will make your book available on Amazon and other places online, which is great if you don't want to be in charge of fulfilling orders and keeping an inventory on hand!

(Heh, sorry if this is off topic...I get a little excited about self-publishing!) :smile:

nostalgicroxas
Dec '18

Kablaam is another comic printing service and after seeing CreateSpace comics in person compared to Kablaam, I'd never recommend CreateSpace for a comic.

Also if you're in the US be sure to check copyright to file for your art /comic, and ISBN's if needed, and if needed a Trademark logo which is seperate outside the realm of copyright since it's used for business.

I made myself a handy How To Purchase Copyright Guide anyone can use

LordVincent
Dec '18

Having a lot of subs does not guarantee stable finances, and low sub counts don't hinder it. If you are good at hunting down commissions, you can do art full time even if you have a small amount of subs. If you have a lot of subs but don't know how to keep them engaged or you dont have products for sale that are attractive enough to purchase, then those subs are useless from a financial standpoint (of course they aren't worthless in general; having eyes on your work is incredibly valuable if that is your intent).

So noone can give you a specific subcount and say "at this subcount you will earn that amount", because it will differ vastly even among people of similar subscriber amounts. Some people in the webcomic industry earn $6-10k a month on patreon alone monthly, others of equal subscriber amount may struggle to earn anything at all because they update too rarely or don't utilize monetization tools properly.

I do webcomics full time. I have multiple income sources, and the biggest advice i can give you is to do just that. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket, because sometimes unexpected things happen and when it does you will need other income sources to keep you afloat until the situation is figured out.

I have 60k+ subs on tapas alone as of right now and my total income average this year that passed has been $1.5k monthly. Next year looks like it will take off on $2k monthly and hopefully slowly rise from there.
There are artists with fewer subs than me who make more money.

If you wanna make it in webcomics, though, do keep monetization in mind but don't make it your main goal. If you think you have to compromise your happiness, health and artistic goals at any point in order to make it then you are 1. Headed for a toxic mindset that isn't even necessary in this business, 2. Doing things the wrong way, and 3. It's just not worth it, especially not with money as your sole motivation. You will undoubtedly end up unhappy if you do this.

Work primarily with things you like but dont be afraid to go out of your comfort zone at times if you have to in order to pay the bills. But basically, if you go so far from what you want to make that you find yourself absolutely hating what you create, then you may as well skip it and get a job in fast food instead. Respect yourself, respect your wishes, respect your own health, nurture your dreams.