Where do you find your spot?

rajillustration 2020-06-03 01:17:05 UTC #1

Hey all, I was working on writing up a little worksheet on steps you would take in forming a comic (since it's a question so many new artists ask all the time) and as I was researching different creative business plans and other things like that (there are like virtually no comic business plan templates which is why I felt like making one. Mostly for myself.) It occurred to me an idea that is really common in the business world, but I don't ask myself enough as an artist, and it was to make a list of everything you do that is an overlap of both your interests and whatever your market may be.

I think it's really common to feel like you don't have a place, like an outlier, like there's something wrong with you because you don't like what everyone else seems to like--and so sometimes it helps to actually list it out and see where that overlap is. Because, there will always be an overlap.

We have a tendency to bog ourselves down with what isn't working--and that's not necessarily a bad thing, because it tells you where you need to change (and it also tells us if maybe we're on the wrong platform or making our story in the wrong medium--which is a fine thing to figure out, we've all been there). But at the same time, I think it's really important to remember that you have strengths and to talk about what those strengths are that match with the wants in your market. And, to make those particular strengths more of the main focus of whatever you may be writing so people won't be so turned away by how weird you are.

So, for my own research in making this little write-up - What is your experience with this? Where does your weird meet their wants? How do you make sure that people can see that? And when forming your story, how did you make sure these strengths were not overpowered by your weaknesses/less marketable desires?

skicoak 2020-06-03 01:24:23 UTC #2

I like the way you're thinking but it's generally acknowledged that the tastes of this very platform underwent a radical shift just a few years ago. So I think there's some reasonable doubt on if current trends are stable enough to dictate long term planning.

We had hoped to tap into the anthology trends on TV and hearken back to a golden age of anthology comics.

Hasn't worked out that way yet...despite them being a great match up for the medium.

rajillustration 2020-06-03 01:29:52 UTC #3

yeah, which is why I think it's good to do, because you have to be honest about the platforms your using, and you have to be honest about...what may be dead in the water before you even start uploading. Like if I had just done a few weeks of research before I started posting my current comic here, I could have saved myself a lot of time, and just saved it for another time, another platform, something else.

Like I don't disagree with you that trends change an awful lot and just so, so quickly (rip steampunk, amiright?), but if someone's goal is "I want to make it on tapas" then they do have to see what tapas likes right now in order to anticipate the markets needs, and if they change, they need to be equally honest if those trends have changed.

skicoak 2020-06-03 01:33:41 UTC #4

Sorry, @rajillustration.

I edited my post to include more relation to the topic but hadn't seen you already responded. My bad.

rajillustration 2020-06-03 01:35:17 UTC #5

no prob no prob, I definitely feel you.

DiegoPalacios 2020-06-03 01:53:46 UTC #6

The people who make it big are not the ones who follow the trends, but the ones who create them in the first place.

While we can anticipate the directions of people's interest to certain degree, this is not a guarantee of trends staying for long enough to be relevant. The problem with following trends is that it is the direction lots of people are doing the same thing. If two hunters go after the same rabbit, the slower one will not get to eat.

The irony here is that playing "safe" by following trends can be way riskier.

ar-ninetysix 2020-06-03 01:59:27 UTC #7

Strengths and interests? Writing stories and writing music. To be more specific, I enjoy writing action stories with quite a lot of drama and bits of potential romance.. when I'm not procrastinating like hell. I'm really fond of character studies, apparently, so I also like diving deep into characters even if they're simple. I also have this bias for writing female leads despite being male. I don't get it, but I don't mind. Music-wise? Hell, if I could I'd write everything that appears in my head, but no, I'm good at writing moody stuff whether it's loud or soft.

What do people enjoy? At first glance, right now it's tons of BL and if it's not guys in love that they like, they really like following single women deal with a lot of stuff. People seem to like slow-burn material.. But I definitely think there's a bit of a free market for fast-paced stories as long as they're actually done right. The big genres I see people liking are romance, slice of life, and fantasy (medieval or modern). There's also some love for supernatural stuff. People don't mind a hiatus, but boy would they love a story that actually finishes. Music-wise, idk.

Where do these meet? Short story, modern fantasy and action that revolves around a girl who thinks a lot and a spooky spirit who's kinda involved. Were it not for my lapses in motivation, I actually can see my current project working well. My only weakness here is literally me. The music's all up to me and that's sadly the easiest part of all this, so whatever lol

DokiDokiTsuna 2020-06-03 02:24:38 UTC #8

I feel like, although there is usually an overlap, oftentimes it's not large enough to make any kind of significant marketing difference. '_'

For example, romance always sells well, and as someone who enjoys writing character interactions, I actually have a lot of fun with romantic antics. I could easily write my own popular BL story with some of my own unique interests sprinkled in...

...Except, I could never really be satisfied with just "sprinkling in" my unique interests. Although I can have fun with romance; I couldn't have fun with a story centered around it and it alone. It's not THAT fun.

I like other stuff more: action, tragedy, twisted lore...I'd probably either end up writing an unintentional bait-and-switch (like, here's a comic about hot youths falling in love...OOPS ACTUALLY it's about the fight for survival in an existential post-apocalyptic hellscape)...

Or, I'd just write myself into a wall and end up having to cancel the comic due to boredom or simply not knowing what to do after the first kiss. =/

Like, this:

...Is much easier said than done. Especially when your 'less marketable desires' also happen to be your areas of greatest enthusiasm and interest.

Riisana 2020-06-03 02:27:39 UTC #9

I'd actually enjoy a story like this

rajillustration 2020-06-03 02:54:36 UTC #10

Yeah, I'm not saying you should completely follow a trend either and make something you don't like that much, because that would be in the part of the venn diagram that isn't overlapping, but instead, asking where the overlap is of what is currently hot and where it blends with what you like to do, and what you're already doing, and what you have a solid interest in. Because, I think that's how artists predict new trends, they see where there is a vacuum of interest that is close to what has come before--but different enough to spark something new.

rajillustration 2020-06-03 02:57:00 UTC #11

I mean that's kind of exactly what I'm saying though. Like there's no bait and switch really, you just have both.

DokiDokiTsuna 2020-06-03 03:30:42 UTC #12

Well, if you start off trying to write a typical slice-of-life romance and end up writing an action flick where the characters maybe hug once in a while, I'd call that a bait-and-switch. I mean, if you came to the story expecting the former, would you really be satisfied with the latter?? Most people would just unsub (after spending a couple chapters demanding to know where their ships are).

And as for "just having both", that's exactly what I was talking about when I said the overlap might not be large enough to make a difference.
Like...most of us have romance elements in our stories already. And fantasy elements, and cute guys/girls...but when they're not the main focus, they're easily overlooked.
And it makes sense. I mean, how can you anticipate that an author will have a steamy love scene in Chapter 11 when Chapters 1-10 are all gritty western fare? Or vice versa?

When people want something, they go to where they're most likely to find it, they don't pick a random series and wait to see if it comes up. So unless "what people enjoy" is your main focus, simply having both won't do you much good.

DasIstWunderblyat 2020-06-03 03:38:55 UTC #13

Strengths and Interest

Nothing is completely unique and original, but I do think my series (despite containing the some of most detestable clichés and tropes) is managed to be something unusual (weird) in its own way that I always have a hard time trying to describe it or comparing it to another fiction (Any help? There must be something similar with mine, right?).

I also probably can fit the hole for non D&D, Isekai, RPG (MMORPG, JRPG, etc.), or heavily European-inspired fantasy (although I admit, European inspiration still exists). It is a low-fantasy story. The setting is set in another planet that are very similar to our earth with native human and non-human as inhabitants, but our earth still exists with also human and non-human inhabitant. I try very much to expand the world history and lore then incorporate it heavily in the story, although it have not shown now.

Also probably it will appeal to people who like grey morality or just protagonists that are not completely pure and good; without being dark, disturbing, or violent.

It just... My series is not "whole." Not purelu dark or light, not purely heavy or light, not completely mature or juvenile, not epic but also not simple. It is just weird.

What people like

Probably a normal and acceptable story that contains familiar elements used in a familiar way. We can trash all we want for cliché, overused tropes, and archetypes, but admit it when you just want to be entertained sometimes you just ignore those. Plus, we are prone to look for things that is similar to what we have consumed.

I think most of them understandably also prefer faster-paced series that will not potentially confuse them once the new chapter comes out with a newer and weirder information/plot point (I admit my series can require some memorising). My series is slower-paced (which is based on my own preference), and have no clearly announced premise (e.g. finding the characters' parents, saving the world, etc.) in the story. It is more like "Just watch what all of these all about."

Some folks prefer their fantasy to be either pure high fantasy, or none. I had been questioned in earlier versions about why the characters are going to school and having a smartphone, and said it made the world-building less mesmerising and more confusing. Some called it "Not really fantasy," this makes me thinking of putting it into a supernatural category that is nonexistent in Tapas.

I also observe some people prefer a romantic plot/subplot that is introduced early and being clearer than day. I have very little interest and poor understanding about romantic things, so I tend to dislike it and downplay it.

The spot

Probably my series can work for people who just want to try reading a weird fantasy story with a weird world-building, and weird characters. I do not know what else can I offer, as I do not regard myself as a good writer.

It might be niche as hell and I kind of (sadly) get it when people leave upon reading the first chapters. Of course it have come to my mind that I want to make something more likeable, but it is not as easy as that and I just cannot hide this weird voice even behind layers of mainstream likeable things. As if everything I create has this "weird" cloak of aura around it and there is no way it can be normal.

The conclusion

Try it for yourself