Long-Form Comics--An unnatural fit for online posting?

[JRHoch]

Interesting! Something to think about. I'm not sure which camp I fall into--I just started at the end of March.

[GabiWolf]

I only read long form comics. I usually wait a couple of updates so I have a batch to read. A lot of the time once one chapter is done the artist condescends it together so you don’t have to weed through a bunch of little updates when the next part starts.

[AniStaciaArt]

Plot twist! Whooo!
I wish I could work fast enough to have my story to be told quickly. A chapter a month would be roughly a page a day? I am just not fast enough nor have I achieved quite that level of workaholism yet. But it would be nice so the plot of my story isnt lost between posts.
If you weren't doing webcomics would you instead create those old paper book things?

[ble]

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[vothnthorvaldson]

I ask myself the same questions. My comic will be very long, there are stories within stories within stories, and I post regularily but infrequently (1 page every 2 weeks). As a creator, I have no advice for you because I don't have answers (yet) for myself.

As a reader, though I rarely have huge issues to follow long-form comics. Sometimes I have to re-read, but generally, that also means it is rich enough to be pleasant to read more than once, so that's not really an issue.

I also see sometimes people summarizing past events in the author comment when there is a huge plot twist: I find it a good solution, as the author comment is UNDER the page(s): people who got confused when reading can understand what happened, and people who don't need the reminder will read it after the pages, so no spoiler.

[JRHoch]

Yes, thinking about just doing it as a collected graphic novel. Webcomics are very manga-centric--and the Scandinavian equivalent--whereas my book is it's own thing.

[AniStaciaArt]

Where do you sell graphic novels and books?

[yondoloki]

I don't think longform comics as such is an "unnatural" fit for the internet. You just have to be aware that it comes with different challenges than the gag-a-days.

As a longform comic creator myself, these are my experiences (BTW I post one page at a time, and not in chapter form):

It takes longer for you to get people to like your comic.
You don't get much of a following from your first couple of pages, because not much happens if you choose only to release a page at a time. Patience is key. And I MEAN patience. Don't think weeks. it's months if not years, unless you really know what you are doing marketing wise.

ON THE OTHER HAND The readers you do get seem to be much more loyal.
First off, keep in mind people who read longform comics may have a different reading habit than others. Instead of reading every page as soon as i comes up, they may wait for longer for a larger chunk and binge that (this may be mitigated more if you post chunks/chapters at a time).
I very rarely see my sub count go down. It's always climbing, slowly but steady, and there's some really faithful followers who always comment and like.

I really think the key is patience, and getting the word out about your comic.

Now, for my personal reading habits, I read a lot of longform comics. Both those who upload in pages and in chapters/chunks. I've subscribed to a lot of them, but wait for months between reading them though, to be able to read a large chunk at a time. That is easier with the chpater updates, than page updates, but I still think both are valid.

It also depends on your own personal schedule, how much you can make while still balancing life properly. Fx. even thoguh it's recommended to upload a page once a week, preferably more, I only upload a page everyother week, cause I also have work and other things to take care of, and that's what I can fit in.

I hope this was helpful to you

[yondoloki]

... Reading your original post I realize I may have gone out on a slight tangent... Well hope it's not completely off topic ^^;

[JRHoch]

Amazon*********************

[JRHoch]

You did just fine!

[ryoko]

I personally love long form comics with epic storylines that have multiple story arcs. Most of the manga I read are long form that take years for them to complete. Long form comics can take a while to gather reader momentum online so it can be frustrating for new creators when they first start uploading their work.

Having at least weekly updates is the best way to keep readers engaged and interested in your story if it's a long one. If I've forgotten about something in a comic I'm reading, I just go back and re-read parts or all of it, to refresh my memory. Also, when a new reader finds your comic, they can binge for hours ^_^

[TACOBERTO]

Might be harsh but the internet doesn't seem to have the attention span to really get invested in long form, narrative based comics. Gag-a-day/Comics that get the point across in one page seem to be a more suited for the pace at which the internet runs. Not to say Long-Form comics CAN'T be successful online but they are pretty few and far in between

[JRHoch]

There seems to be a debate!

[Rhonder]

While they don't typically (or ever?) get the same level of popularity that shorter strips do (in large part due to share-ability and accessibility) I do think that there are enough popular and successful long form webcomics to serve as a basis that they can work. Buuuuut I do think that it's worth spending some time thinking about what size upload chunks make the most sense for your story and figuring out a work flow/upload schedule that works with that!

For example, stories with slower pacing can really be hurt by only posting a "1 page a week" type schedule. If it takes your story like 1-2 chapters to get going, it might be several months to a full year of uploads before you really "get going", which is hard to hook readers with.

But on the whole I read and enjoy a lot of long-form stories with that type of schedule and it's never bothered me too much and in fact my own comic is like that (well it's more like... medium form I guess lol. It's like a 60-70 page one shot). I'm already realizing I'm not a fan of the 1 page a week style uploads though, as I do feel like my story would be better told in larger chunks and the work flow of constantly struggling to get pages done on time is kinda stressful lol. When this comic concludes I think I'm going to try a "draw it all up front and then upload after" type project. Like that way I can pick and choose the size chunks that fit the story/episode best and don't have to stress about constantly producing to keep up a schedule. Still got a ways to go on the one shot but I'll give this style a shot this fall or something

[danitasibert]

i think that a long story is awesome for web comics, i'm like others here I'm ALL ABOUT story. Shorts can be fun to read but if there's a story that gets me, then I'll stick with it for as long as its going.

[LT1986]

I like reading longer works in pieces. It gives me time to digest/understand the material, before moving on.

[AceRagz]

I did the whole gag a day strips when I first started and quickly got bored with it. It got a small following but I was overall unsatisfied with it. I lost some readers when I asked Typh to help me develop an actual storyline to the comic and like mentioned before it was a bit slow at first but after a month things picked up with two weekly posts. I don't think I could really enjoy doing anything but long form stories seriously now. A gag comic here and there sure but not a full on project.

[claiborneart]

I think gag and longform webcomics both have different strengths.

Gag strips need less content to be interesting, and grow in popularity faster. It's easier to become popular fast with a gag strip, and people stumbling across a random strip on social media/reddit/imgur are more likely to become readers than if they had found a random OoC page of a longform story.

But longform comics tend to do better in the long haul; comedy strips rely on regular updates, and readers will be often more frustrated with a couple weeks' hiatus of a gag strip than of a several-month hiatus of a longform story. There's a story comic that last updated in sept. 2014 that I'm still awaiting an update for; I can't think of any gag comics I'd still be a reader for with a 5-year gap in updates.

As for updating larger chunks of story less frequently, I think you'll be fine. I (and plenty of other readers) will often wait for a chunk of pages to be released and read them in one go; There's even comics like Call of the Sentinel that update by chapter instead of by pages, going months or even years between updates. (it is a lot harder to gain/keep readers this way though, and to maintain motivation to keep working on it, so unless you feel strongly I can't say I recommend doing it this way though)

[GaBe]

I totally struggle with this as well. I love long-form comics, but trying to juggle a full-time job AND post enough content each week to keep it interesting is soooo difficult!

I think if I was able to redo it all and start over, I might release my content in "Seasons." (I.E. Post several pages a week for 3 months in a row, then take 3 months off from posting, etc, etc...) Maybe that way the reader experience would be better.