To regularly updating folks - Do you have a buffer?

[TGping]

HAHAHA! No, I don't have a buffer, I had a 1 page buffer, used it within 2 weeks

That said, I would like to have a 1 page buffer. My plan is to level up my drawing speed. Which I think is working. What's been keeping me on task through a full time job and weeks of an ear infection/bronchitis for myself and viral infections for my two year old daughter has been a combination of the "pomodoro" technique and the "don't break the chain" technique.

I started out with "Don't break the chain" only, but it wasn't enough, the "pomodoro" technique seriously leveled up my time management and focus. Right now "Don't break the chain" reinforces my motivation... love that string of red Xs on my calendar Do yourselves a favor and research these two things.

[NiLukka]

BSandL updates are rather long so usually I don't have any buffer... :'D It's a bit stressful, but I've kept up with a weekly update schedule for a year and I've learned to schedule my life so that I have enough time for making the comic. And on those weeks that I can't update the story, I upload a full-colour illustration, Q&A, or something.

[keii4ii]

Yeah, everyone makes mistakes and some of those mistakes can be critical! Fortunately, I have a couple of Patrons who speak up when they spot things, but even they can't see everything...

[SirGutsalot]

Buffers are good until something dramatic comes up in your life. I used to have a buffer of 15 episodes - but then some family stuff happened and it went to nothing...

[BitteRjelly]

I'm on team buffer. I worked my ass off during six months to build it, ended up with 36 pages ( which is really 31 pages in terms of updates, since the five first pages were posted in the same update ). I agree with the fact that at time it's really complicated to be so disconnected with what you are drawing and what people are reading, but having such a big buffer actually allowed me to take two month to plan the next part of the comic and actually take a rest ( which turns out is needed after churning so many pages in so little time when you're the person who does everything from start to finish ). Now I know I'll just go back to drawing pages at the start of september without having to worry about wether or not I will be on time because there will always be at least on page to fall back on.
So yeah, you kind of feel left out of the fun because you're so ahead of time and you cannot share the cool things you're doing right now, but I feel it's worth it, because I personally despise stress. The worst thing will probably to look back on the quality of the first pages of your buffer and realize there's so many mistakes you can't fix now, but heh, it would end up happening without buffer anyway, the first few pages of every comic are meh in retrospective.

I would say maybe have a little buffer at least. So you're not too ahead of your readers but you also have a fall back in case something goes awry. As a reader it really bums me when I go to check the comic the day it updates only to be greeted by nothing and/or a message to say sorry. I'm ok with announced hiatus, I'm ok with a few weeks of little doodles/bonus illustrations instead of comic pages, but just going to see the update and getting nothing ? If it happens too often, no matter how cool the comic, the chances I go back every week to read gets slimmer and slimmer.

so yeah, keep that in mind when choosing wether or not you want to go buffer-free

[Heliox14]

I always try to make at least 1 chapter as a buffer. My only problem, is...well, I don't write so fast. I always try to set a deadline of at least 2 weeks though, so I have something to gove to Tapas.

[revisionstudios]

I personally like having a big buffer (20-40 pages) so I can make sweeping edits across all the pages before they go public. If I had to post them immediately at finish and then realized a design didn't work 6 pages into the scene, the thought of having to explain the change to the fans and halting regular updates so I can go back to change those pages would stress me out SO much and be super embarrassing. I'd rather have everything finalized and done when I post, which usually doesn't happen until the 40 page chapter is complete and swept through for last minute changes.

I know I can produce 6-10 pages a month depending on life circumstances (I average 8) so I have it scheduled out that a chapter is released over ~5 months, and then I take a month break of updating on Tapas once the chapter is over to give me some wiggle room for writing, concepting, and thumbnailing. That means I need to do everything start to finish for a chapter within 6 months to not fall behind. To be honest though it took me awhile to even get that fast, I'm still working on it ;;;

Just do what ends up working for you and your process. The nice thing here is that you can see into a ton of more experienced peoples' workflow and try out different things until they stick. There's not one solution for everyone!

[Aura-Redwood]

I did... but it's all gone ><

[modrawmanga]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one here with a large buffer!!!
But yah... as others have mentioned, the excitement rolled down the hill faster and faster
the more time has passed by

[purrlpankras]

I like to have a whole chapter ahead of when I update. <_>;

[echohanny]

I wish I had a buffer!! I was 1-2 pages in advance when I wasn't working full-time, it was cool, but nowadays I often finish the page on the day of uploading. Not recommending this

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

I tried to have a buffer but then it... didn't.... happen....
I think because of art school I learned how to do things last minute so it I learned a bad habit.
But I think whether you have a buffer or not depends on your confidence in your consistent drawing speed and the event-ness of your life

[BlackRoses_RedRavens]

What I'm doing is Doing all of the first chapter which is 7 or 8 pages long at least and probably sketch out some of the second chapter then I will start posting it one every week. Then for the 8-9 weeks I have I'll start working on the second chapter if I haven't already. After all of Chapter 1 has been posted I will most likely take a few weeks off posting a few quick non canon comics about the characters/concept art to keep readers interested (Depends on when i start posting as this time might run into exams so I will probably take longer off and post less random stuff) and probably work like crazy in those few weeks getting chapter 2 done and keep doing that.

I draw with my laptop and only half the time use a mouse and do everything myself so even though the colours are basic is takes me a while to draw (I also get distracted easily.... i should be drawing now) and I have another comic I was going to start this time in full colour and a different style as well as a game I'm making and I also get a lot of homework.

[ISNEKO]

...

You can create a buffer on this website?

I kid.

I have terrible work ethic and do everything on the spot.

[agentfink]

I am working on a buffer right now before I start posting pages next month. I hope to have a 30 page buffer.
And planning on posting 2x a week for my patrons, 1x everywhere else.

[MST3KFan]

I had a buffer when I started my current story arc. It was around 15 pages, but then it quickly dried up. Now I do a new page every day. ^_^;;

[akemikae]

I eat my buffers for breakfast. Aka, I tend to get a buffer, then slack off/get sick, then BOOM. No more buffer. I need to stop this. Haha. Someone tell me their ways!

[Mr_B]

Wow, reading the majority of the replies here makes me feel like I'm being super-cautious. For one of my two series, which updates with 2 pages a week, I have a buffer of more than a 100 pages, and the other series is finished and I'm just posting it on Tapas a page at a time.

I'm completely with @BitteRjelly on this one. If my buffer was smaller, or absent, I'm sure that I would panic, because then drawing the comic would start to feel less like a hobby and more like an obligation to uphold. I'm really no good with coping with stress like that, so a huge buffer that allows me to work at a leisurely pace and plan everything is my best friend. This way, I only need to keep up with the updating schedule and create two pages a week, which is well within my ability, but also gives me time to cool down and relax. I have a full time job as well, and while there are periods when I don't have much work, it still takes its toll.

[herssian]

Buffer? Responsibility and taking in account your mental and physical health being?? Preparing for the future????? Never heard of it..

[Masterman]

I would say that, yes, you need a buffer, but also there will be times when it's gone. That's what it's for, to accommodate the ups and downs of life. I'm in a really busy time of year, and my buffer is gone. I really have to focus to hit my updates (I've never missed one, but did do a two week hiatus, announced well in advance), but that's fine. I believe very strongly that you should update at production pace, even if you have a buffer, because the buffer is not there to make you seem faster than you are (comic book publishers use buffers and overlapping creative teams for this reason, but that's a whole different animal). So even though I have no buffer, my update pace is about what my life can accommodate (4-6 pages, every three weeks). Come winter, when things are less busy, I hope to rebuild some buffer, as I generally have more time to do so. But averaged over the whole year, I'm using a buffer even though there are times when it's used up. Kinda like overdraft protection for a checking account, if that makes sense...