What have I learned? Well, both of us actually have learned that this webcomic industry is slightly larger and more competitive than we thought. But in a way, that's okay, because it's given us a chance to see what other people are doing, what a LOT of other people are doing, and we're able to look at our own work and think, "Okay, this hasn't been done yet, we're okay!" I mean, seriously, people just starting out in comics have a lot to be worried about. We keep worrying someone's going to take a look at Iotters or TheDepths someday and email us up.
"YOU STOLE MY IDEA!"
It's just frustrating too. We're not able to draw, so we count on three amazing artists to draw for us, and that means paying these people money per page, and it adds up fast with three webcomics to track and maintain. So it's expensive, folks. Probably around $1,000 a month, and our Patreon only does about $650 a month, so we operate at a loss every month.
But we keep doing it because we don't know any better.
Which brings me to another point: what we've learned most about webcomics is you have to be in this with your whole heart. If you're not happy with it, if your pursuits aren't to perfection of them, if you have any doubts about what you're doing...you need to step back and re-analyze. You could be making a huge mistake.
Tapas is seeing about 2.2 million active users here a MONTH, so yes, there are plenty of opportunities still out there. But they're going to be mostly mobile and in a hurry. You've got maybe 3 seconds to catch the interest and keep it. And that's another thing we learned about this industry: it's lightning-quick. if your comic doesn't dazzle on the first page...they won't come back for the second.
Just keep working at it, if you believe wholeheartedly in it. if you've got the heart and mind for it, you can do this! 