Page-a-Week Schedule

[Masterman]

So, I started posting here in batches, 4-8 pages every three weeks. I used them as mini-chapters; each was it's own scene, and had at least some kind of coherence as a story unit (I hope). My thinking at the time was that people would be happier to read an update where "something happened" as opposed to a page-by-page crawl.

While I still like that concept, I ran into a few snags. One, fewer updates means less natural promotion on the site (here and on Webtoons). Not a big deal, but seeing as how I'm already horrible about promotion, I questioned whether it was a good idea. It was also a really fast pace, and while I did it for a year, I think that there may have been some quality lost. Other massive, but in retrospect I think that having just a bit of time to ponder a page and tinker it leisurely leads to better results. I was always rushed, often needing to produce 2 pages a week or more, on top of a 45-50 hour a week job. Just stretching myself a bit too thin, and definitely not having any time for other projects, or even decent concept development.

So, I've caved and switched to the page-a-week model; clearly I did not know better than everyone else in the world. Curious to hear if any of you have wrestled with this question, or have any insight on A vs B. Thanks,

Adam

[moonfixer]

I feel like I've been having issues in this area as well. I used to produce two comic strips a week but due to other obligations, such as work, I am now down to one a week. My comic is very new so I figured that I should try to make more strips and post daily to get more views. Then again a non consistent schedule can be harmful for my comic I suppose. I don't know, scheduling a tough thing.

[storytimebiondi]

I definitely wrestled with the idea of posting scenes as opposed to pages, but backed out of that and am only doing 2 pages a week. However, if a single page doesn't make sense by itself, and requires a scene to be functional, I will upload the entire scene at once.
It is a little terrifying, production-wise, to be producing at a break-neck pace in order to keep up with your release schedule. I think you made the right choice. Not only for a release schedule, but personally as well. If your project starts to feel like work, it's not a good project.

[jpnakashima]

I've been writing another series that makes me struggle with this question, for sure. Specially since, until now, it feels like Slow Burn City. I might call this future comic ''How much patience can I muster from an eventual reader?''

That said, I feel that pages work better then chapters as updates here on Tapas. There are many advantages to it, as you said: natural promotion, a lighter workload... Also, I'd like to assume that a reader that discover later will be able to read it all in bigger chunks, and if you think long term, it's better to slow down production to have a better result than rush it. In the end, it's not the release dates people will remember, discover and rediscovery. It's the story.

So are you glad with the results of the change, @Masterman?

[Delphonse]

That was my biggest struggle for the last 3 years xD I was trying to get content out asap because I felt my audience and myself would hate doing 1 page a week. I was only a writer at the time so production was expensive and I was impatient with releasing so little content. It took a lot of errors and self reflection to finally stick to one page weekly releases. I set up a game plan to only do one page a week for 2018 and then up it to two pages a week for 2019. use the pages from 2018 to make a small issue that will help fuel my local fan base and give me a little money in return to add more pages. my plan is to earn enough revenue each year to add 1 page to the weekly updates until I am producing 5 pages a week by 2022.

I have other small and long term goals planned out as well but in terms of deciding to start small I know that feeling. good luck with keeping to 1 page a week its can be tempting to quit or do more pages but stick to your guns and push through it ^.^

[Masterman]

Well, I literally just did my first single page update this morning. So yeah; so far, so good.

But honestly, I think that it's really all about that little bit of slack time, where I can just lazily finish coloring a page, and maybe spend some extra time tinkering the palette. Or fiddling the layouts in my sketchbook. Or crafting just the right dialogue. Just anything that keeps me from always having to rush, which had become the problem.

[Masterman]

Definitely hear the impatience; I have this story plotted out on paper about 100 pages beyond where it currently is. And in my head, a rough idea for 600-800 pages. Which is fun, but also torture.

[Delphonse]

yup yup I know that xD I have about 20 chapters ready to go but at this rate it will be years before I get even those out.

[joe_galindez]

Slow Burn City

Or you could call it that.

[Saajing]

Interesting. I'm in a similar situation; I've been doing a comic on my Instagram, posting daily, but I've decided to combine three days worth of posts and upload them here on Tapas. I've been thinking of posting twice a week, but because I'm fairly new I know it won't get much exposure.

I currently have 13 pages worth of updates (9 panels each), and since I update 3 panels daily on Instagram and combine 9 of them on this site, I was thinking maybe I should post once a day here instead (there will always be some sort of buffer so I don't have to rush anything)?

(if it's a little confusing, here's my Instagram and my Tapas for clarification)

[Wumbl]

I've managed to keep up with my 3 weekly updates because I've got a big buffer (at least 5 updates are always already done at any given time)

I did used to just post as much as I could on one day of the week but I found that I wasn't organising myself well enough. By making the updates regular and having a buffer, I'm actually working more efficiently and I'm able to even get some art done every day because of it.

I guess my problem was the opposite - I'm a workaholic and if I don't get my comic out quickly and effectively I feel bad.

[revisionstudios]

I think it will more come down to how your story is set up. In my case, I've stuck to 3-5 pages every 2 weeks because my story is long form and does not offer enough on a page by page basis. It's formatted for a graphic novel rather than a webcomic, so if I were to split it up by the page, the pacing would come to a crawl. (Even now I feel like it's crawling but I gotta deal with it) Even when I polled my readers about it, they said they preferred the chunks for my comic.

I totally advocate having a buffer though, I don't feel comfortable unless I'm like 20 pages ahead of my current updates lol;;; so it may give you some peace of mind, too. But at the end of the day, do what's best for you and don't put tons of undue stress on yourself! Updating more definitely has its benefits, especially to be more visible.

I know that the Webtoons culture doesn't take kindly to one page updates though, so be aware of that. You may get a lot of "too short" comments

[Trickster511]

Yeah, it's all about scheduling and what you can do depending on living situation and business. I went for 2 pages a week cause I knew I would spout out one page chapters which are easy, but I also have other projects I want to work on (not to mention dealing with anxiety and writers block if you're not scripting your stuff lol)

I knew from the get-go I had to have a consistent and manageable schedule so I don't burn myself out or miss out on deadlines. And hey, it's perfectly fine to have hiatuses if you need a break to work on other stuff, you're readers will understand

[MelancholicOtaku]

Right now I'm at three pages per month until my finances go up a bit for more reading content. I would love to post a page a week but right now I can't.

[Masterman]

Interesting that Webtoons has that norm, wasn't aware of that.

[Saajing]

Well, I'm not really worried about Webtoons — I prefer the interface of Tapas. I'm posting like this on here, which I consider a page:

On Instagram I'd just post three panels each day (horizontal of course) as a daily excersise. Maybe I should post every other day/3 times a week; I'll always have a decent page buffer.

[Emevsa]

We're once a week as it keeps us to a deadline and helps us maintain a schedule in terms of promotion and looking over comments. If we didn't I think we would risk losing momentum. This way we are in the habit of doing the work. So far it works for us.

[Ghostie]

I literally can't update faster than once a week, n I'd wanted to do a 2-page a week thing when I first started. Unfortunately page quality n detail needed to be stretched out. I still don't have time to do anything else, art-wise. OTL

Honestly, the slowburn is what makes me motivated. "Oh I can't wait to get to this part n share it!" So I like it, tbh, even as a creator. I tried the batch style with a prior comic I had n I found I had way less activity overall cuz I'd show up once on the front page with 8 pages, then be out of a post for 2 months with no activity. It's slow for a reader, but think - if you slowly reach 50-100 pages, then in the FUTURE, your binge-readers will return anyway, while those who can't wait to see the next page next week will also still be tuning in.

That's how I look at it. c: