Thoughts on the new Webtoon Contest?

I have a question. I'm looking through the rankings and I'm trying to understand how they work. Is it by comments, views, subs? Does anyone have any ideas on how they work it out?

Yeah, you can do this. Many other creators did it too and we have confirmed it by emailing webtoon about it.

Ahh good to know. Thank you!

I dunno about you guys but for new artists, the contest can just be an excuse to finally post something if you've kept holding back. I was about to upload around sept-oct this year anyways and when LWT announced the contest, the timing was just too perfect! For me just uploading is a victory haha...

www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/pseudo-wings/list?title_no=20863540 <--I just posted my work there (prepping for downvoting now ugh pray for me) but otherwise i liked the contest, and I'm grateful for every 24 subs I have though it's low, granted I only have a cover up as I'm typing. So far I haven't recieved much negativity and I get more exposure there than I do here, but I'll admit its hard to get users there to go to other sites. And the already popular artists with big following from old comics just won't budge from the most popular which sucks. But I'm also thinking their angle is probably just to get new artist topost there, maybe letting existing comics participate is a farce to avoid backlash from established discover artists? AND 40% audience is way too high, should be no more than 30%. Anyway maybe my POV is different cause I was about to post there around the contest period anyway, but I'll admit the 80k did get me excited for a bit, I thought I had a chance for a while when reading my pages, then I realized I'm not just going against newcomers. But hoping that if I find people that'll connect with my story then maybe this whole rollercoaster will be worth it.

I will check it out! Sorry also for the late reply XD

Hmm It's kinda nerve wracking thinking about all the entries in the contest. Especially cause this is my first time making a comic, but... I think I would regret not entering even if my chances are low. Trying to update weekly. Either way I've gotten farther then I ever have before in any comic idea i've had. Just by entering, so at least that is something...

And as for some other opinions on the contest. It seems like a lot of people are extremely weary of this contest. And with good a enough reason but I do think you should cross off the idea of entering right away.

What I don't think is so good about the contest. And how to work around it.

1. Downvoting- Has happened in other contests and will always happen unfortunately. People will downvote your comic into oblivion if they think it will alter your score and your chance of winning. Compared to other contests from other years it seems like rating will play less of a role in choosing a winner. So that's better I guess.

2. Impatient readers/ Longer chapters?- You will have a lot of people asking for longer chapters it's going to happen. Take is as it is. People are excited to see more of your work. Does it get frustrating? It will, but don't let it effect your work.

3. Less exposure/recommending smaller creators- I see where people are angry and frustrated. You just started creating and here are all these comics being recommended far more then yours will ever be. It might seem like webtoons is just playing favourites and doesn't care about other creators, but also remember that they are mostly recommending titles who are posting weekly/have almost met requirement. It makes sense. There are hundreds of people uploading daily. It is going to be impossible to feature them all. And what is the point if they don't even meet the requirements enough to even become a winner? Recommending someone who is going to drop the project halfway. Keep in mind they want to find a consistent creator who they can trust and get along working with.

4. Prize money- The big cash prize. Really don't get too focused in the cash prize. I mean it. Webtoon is looking for artists to add to their featured list. If you are only entering to get the sweet cash and have no plans on actually working with webtoon you will be disappointed. Enter if you can upload at a pace that works with webtoon and if you would like to work with webtoons as a company. That prize money should be an extra bonus instead of an end goal. It will also help if you think you will be dissapointed if you don't win.

Good things about contest!

1. Exposure/gaining an audience fast- You will gain an audience faster on webtoons than on any other site. If you update at a regular schedule you are more likely to gain a good audience especially with the contest. Many amazing comics are now being created due to the contest. There is interest and buzz about webtoon at the moment. Take your chance.

2. Better chance of being seen by webtoon staff.- Okay compare recommended titles now then compared to before the contest. It would often take a lot longer before you might reach the viewerbase enough to be noticable to the webtoon staff. But now with the contest? A lot more titles are being seen and recommended to others then before. And I've noticed some are newer creators as well.

3. The big Push- Hey finally you might start your comic if you haven't yet. Most people (myself included) wouldn't even think to start publishing their comic right now. But if you are entering the contest. Now you have the motivation and the drive to finally start your comic. Even if you don't win, you will have something to be proud of and chances are you may continue updating your comic. Don't forget! A bunch of featured creators have been picked up later by webtoon after their previous contests. If you are eligible to enter then you can be eligible enough to be picked up later on. So keep creating!

4. THE CHANCE TO BECOME A FEATURED CREATOR/PRIZE MONEY
   Really don't sell yourself short. If you never create your series you might never know if you would win or not. A chance of winning is better than not at all. I remember watching a series where the creaters of Spaceboy, Sithra and Jakie Rose were talking about webtoon and where even they were skeptical of winning. And spaceboy won a previous contest. Can you really guarantee that you can't possibly win? If you stop creating just because there is a small chance of winning, then chance is you probably won't be able to go far. Work for the chance of winning but make sure you have another goal to strive towards instead. Like for example: I would love the chance to win, but, if I don't that's okay. I want to strive towards making at least one volume/part of my story and maybe in the future I can get it published in print. So don't give up!

I actually agree with your points there too, Iv'e been using webtoons a long time and they really went through a lot of improvements and changes to try and give better chances for new or less known creators. Albeit its such a big platform with such a large creator fan base that its hard to get spotlight or stand out from the rest. But the competition is good for new creators, it helped me push myself to publish my comic sooner rather than later and also helped me improve my art and format very quickly. The competition is definitely a nice motivator for me anyway.
I also checked out your comic and I really like your narration and flow, its a very nice transition with the use of colour that compliments the tone of your comic. Keep it up, id like to see more.

With only a few weeks to go what are people's thoughts on the contest? Have you met the deadline or are you still trying to get there? Do you think you'll make it time? How have you found the exposure?

We hit the minimum requirements a couple of weeks ago so anything from here is a bonus in terms of content. We were in the "most feels" category and honestly we picked a really hard one to compete in if only for the long panel length. We had a bit of a buffer but even that needed to be expanded so there was still work to do.

We have nearly hit the same amount of subscribers in half the time when we originally uploaded and our pageviews are going up consistently so that's been a big bonus of the competition. The fans we've gotten are really nice and supportive and we've had a great time chatting to them.

It's been hard to not get discouraged by the rankings as after a certain point it seems like anyone's best guess when it comes how your placed. There were too many occasions where we were out ranked by comics that had a lot of comments because they were obviously bad, stole artwork or were meme heavy. But we just stopped looking after a while because it was doing us no good.

All in all we made it a positive experience. How about everyone else?

I'm still trying to meet the deadline (Started mid-August) but I'll still give it a go!
I'm also kinda dissappointed with everyone under rating and stuff.-.
But I don't have as many subs/pageviews as I wanted:/

Decided to drop out and relaunch my comic MY way next month. For some reason, I can't make a new series because the series icon I submit just loads forever.

Hey this might sound random but does anyone know if the entries are taken down after the contest? It’s my first time making a webtoon and managed to gain a bigger audience than I expected. I want to continue uploading even after the contest is done so it’d be a shame if I suddenly lost all of my audience and have to start from zero again..

Hi everyone. LOTS of great entries. Her is mine from my artist Melissa Dejesus and I. It's called "Cute Force and The Planet of Mutant Toys":

It's kind of like "What if 'Toy Story' met 'Adventure Time'?" if I had to use one of those comparisons.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks!

-Ed Power, Cage Writer

Hello all!
Here's my webtoon ^^ It's called "Barodiso" and it's about daily life ^^

It's still new so I only have one subscriber..
I would really appreciate your help and support and I am looking forward to receiving your feedback (Whether you are an artist or a reader)

Thank you so much

Next week is the deadline GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS.

How are you guys' comics?
Did you make the minimum requirement?
How's your overall experience with this?

I have 2 eps to go to make the requirements. TuT
These months flewwww by! Good luck to everyone.

We made the requirements a couple of weeks ago so everything else is a bonus. We've got one more episode we want to put out though. It's been tough though! We're really looking forward to taking a bit slower after its all over.

We made the minimum requirement but hardly any inroads with new subscribers. I think most of our readers are loyal fans but hardly anyone new has discovered our work.
That’s a bit of a bummer tho. Yet, I’m looking forward to see who makes it into the new round, even if it won’t be us for sure

This contest is like a race to the top. when we use your own feet to run, a few lucky ones are riding in LW's private limousine. I don't know about you but a lot of artists have already giving up because of this.
Anyway, Good Luck to all of you who's still enduring til the end.

I decided to give up on the contest because my comic is in the most feels. It's obvious who will take the first spot and I can also predict who will be second. I completely regret wasting my whole summer for a contest that wasn't worth it.

Personally I am not going to give up, even if it is hard work, takes a looot of time and the chances of winning are nearly non-existent (but that was clear from the start, so...) I would just regret not trying. I think to push-through, one must enjoy the work, and I do. The contest also gave me the push to start creating the story I wanted to maybe start drawing one day
Aaaand... the winner is never clear! (: Although I admit, some entries in particular seem very likely to win....

I still find it unclear how the points for audience engagement are going to be distributed, though, and what stuff in particular are they going to look at. But no matter who wins, I am sure they put a lot of work into their comic and win fair and square. I am really curious. I would, of course, also wish to win, but... I am trying my best to stay optimistic if it doesn't happen (haha :D). Good luck to you all, guys!

Made the requirements! Through this contest I ended up publishing my first webcomic ever, so it's been quite a ride. Lol that downvoting at the beginning dou...

I agree that lowkey, the winners of the contest are pretty much cemented (not that I had high hopes in the first place haha!) so I'm more excited to see what happens once the contest ends and the webtoon environment is a bit more 'natural' and 'normal'; quick question for the veterans, how different is the webtoon environment during the contest vs. during normal operative conditions?

I think I made the minimum requirements, I really wanted to upload more but life have been cruel.
My experience? well, it helped me not to lose my mind. Where I live is hell right now lol.

@soxu @Emevsa
Good luck wish you the best!

@Nachi
At the beggining I was downvoted too (who not? xD), well I've even got downvoted because I missed two updates ;_;
I really hope webtoon see all entries regarding of popular and not popular.

@bear1
It's so difficult to get discovered. people have to be updating every week and is not easy.

@Dani
I really don't know who these winners are. But even with everything I wanted not to give up. And really helped me to develop fast drawing and coloring skills. So your efforts are not wasted. I bet you got some new skills in your practice.

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope things will get better

At the beginning? I am getting downvoted still... Not terribly much, but at least twice last week. I don't really care, though. Just don't understand why anyone things it will help anything

About the popular things... I think being first popularity-wise doesn't mean victory. Even getting promoted a lot may not. I think webtoon wouldn't simply take the two most popular series and let them win, that would probably look strange, too, since 60% should be on the judges. And it probably is so for a reason. I really am just curious how the judging will go. Since it is probably not stated anywhere how the popularity will be judged, theoretically they can do basically anything with it.

That moment when you thought a popular author gave up on the contest( which a false romance disguised as a comedy entry for the sake of drawing a lot less of panels) because he just published two episodes until now months ago, suddenly he gets promoted on recomended titles and then decided to upload more chapters in the last week probably due to Webtoon's indirect "advice". Pretty Line-ish, yeah.

i woke up this morning to see my comic on the recommended list xD it was a really nice unexpected surprise. I still need to release one more ep to meet the minimum requirement, luckily it's already 50% T_T. hoping to get it out a few days before the contest ends.