Which is more important, content frequency or quality?

[WintreKitty]

As a comic critic and a simple reader, I say I'd prefer quality over quantity. I follow enough comics that I'm always satisfied with the frequent updaters, and I always get a nice bit of excitement every time I see a comic that doesn't update often.

In terms of gaining subscribers though, it might be better to find a good in between like @Ringarune said. By having a reliable schedule and a regular one at that, chances are you will attract more people. Just don't compromise the art to the extent that you aren't happy with it.

Basically I'm a sucker for quality, and I'll wait forever if I have to. I know some creators have massive buffers for each chapter. Maybe build a buffer so you can release content often, and then take a break to build it up again when you finish the chapter. That way you can release on a regular schedule. Ashley Cope is the one I'm referencing here.

[PixyByte]

That makes a lot of sense, you are very organized! Your comics look very good too, I love the colors.

[PixyByte]

I'm with you on that, I do like good quality comics. When I create my comic, I post every week, on a Friday. It's basically a gag-a-day. I just don't want to sacrifice the quality so much just so people can see the comic more often.

[lizm]

I don't read gag-a-days, so my opinion is based entirely on story- and/or character-driven comics. In short, I prefer quantity over quality both as a creator and as a reader.

As a creator, that's just what I feel like I have to do--I have a story that will be faaar from done when it reaches its 100th chapter. Can you imagine that getting anywhere at all if I only updated once a week? Slower schedules for the sake of quality work great for some creators, just not for me.

As a reader, I follow a bunch of comics that update once or twice a week or even without a schedule, and just because they move forward slowly doesn't mean I will enjoy them less--but as much as I love their gorgeous art, I'd gladly trade that in for "lower quality" pages if it means I'll get to read more of them. I'm the type who's in it for the characters, so what I want the most is watch them develop and interact with each other. A lot. But in the end I just want the artists to release their comic the way they're most comfortable with it.

[shazzbaa]

"more important" is tough to answer. What's important to you?

More frequent content will almost always gain more attention than slower content with more polish. If you want to gain readers quickly, finding an art style that lets you work quickly and release content more often is very important!

I'm sure it's possible for the art to be so rushed as to be incomprehensible and terrible, to the point where the extra attention doesn't help........but if it's just kinda rushed, or unpolished? most people honestly read webcomics because they want to laugh or to learn more of the story. The more of those things you give them, the more engaged your readership becomes. If your art is still clear and still conveys the joke or story you wanted to tell, then the fact that perspective is off or the lineart is sketchy won't detract from that, for many readers.

HOWEVER

For Runewriters, I spend an absurd amount of time on each page, because I want it to look and feel a certain way. That's what's important to me. So for Runewriters, the quality is more important! However, if I did the exact same comic and spent half the time on the artwork so that I could update twice a week, my comic would gain readers much more quickly and honestly might be more popular, because people would be getting more story and thus getting more into it.
And I don't mean any of this cynically -- the ability to pare down a comic to the parts that are really adding to it and not worry about the parts that aren't adding anything is ALSO a really admirable artistic skill.

Which is why it's hard to say which one is more important. I have respect for both paths! Speaking as a reader, though, I prefer more frequent content.

I only post once a week, and from what I'm seeing among other artists, I should up it to twice a week.

Having run both kinds (I did a humour/autobio comic for a few years before RW), I'd say it's definitely tougher to make a weekly humour comic work. Because gag-a-days tend to be less "engaging stories" and more just a quick laugh, getting only one a week feels like eating one single potato chip and then stopping. Not very satisfying.
Look at your comic imagining if you were a reader, and think about whether, if this was all you were getting for a week, would you feel satisfied? Or would you feel like you didn't really get enough? When I thought about this for my autobio comic, I felt like the strips didn't really give enough to last a whole week, so updating at least 2x a week was important to me, and 3x a week was my ideal schedule.

[brunoharm3]

this is like asking which is more important, air, food, or water?

[Kura]

For me personally when it comes to creating, because my arthritis is getting worse and I am slowly losing the ability to draw, quantity. I want to be able to tell as much of my story as I can before I am unable to do so anymore.

My comic is a story based character driven comic, and it updates once a day. Some pages are not as well done as others, depending on how much pain I am in or how cooperative my joints are (sometimes they lock, making drawing very difficult) but over all I'm happy with the quality I'm still able to manage (and have even been improving on, if you look at the differences between the first and last chapter)

For reading I'm good with both, I enjoy both frequently updated comics and slower updating comics. Exceptionally long hiatus though can sometimes make me lose interest, but even with those I tend to be pretty tolerant.

All in all, update at a pace that works best for you and within your capabilities. Don't try working at pace you are uncomfortable with/can hurt you just because someone else can do it. (It's a point that's often preached to me when I am attending my therapy for disability )

[Kamikaze]

It's not about content frequency OR quality. It's about consistency.
Of course quality of content and frequency of content play a huge role in comics, but neither really does you any favors if you're not consistent in your delivery. A person who as WONDERFUL art but doesn't post for months is gonna have a hard time (the only person I've seen break this rule is Aaron Diaz who makes Dresden Codak). The person that posts ALL the time but has wildly varying quality of content isn't going to do well either. That's why consistency is king.

If you can post your content at the same consistent quality, at the same consistent frequency (be it a few times a week, or a few times a year), readers will know what to expect and when. If you skip over that consistency, readers drop off, because they don't know what they're getting or when.

This is why sticking to a schedule you can keep, and a style that you can realistically work in long term is one of the hallmarks of successful comics.

[AnnaLandin]

Personally, I prefer quality over frequency, but I can also see why people who prioritize frequency are popular.

If you make good stuff, regardless of how often you update, you'll find you'll gain some serious fans - case in point, Dresden Codak. Before 2015, when the creator got hit his Patreon-milestone that ensured a new update every few weeks, it could be MONTHS betweent updates. Like, half a year, sometimes. And yet he had a bunch of fans, because when he DID update, the updates were amazing.

But there's a certain amount of luck involved in that equation working out. If you want to ensure that people remember your comic and stick around to read it, you need to remind them you're there. And the more frequently you do that, the more likely they are to go "Oh, right! I should read this!". Also, on Tapastic, frequent updates means a higher chance of snagging new readers because you show up in the Fresh-category.

I'd say a balance of the two - quality and frequency - is a good way to go. Figure out how much time it takes you to produce something you're satisfied with, and then pick an update schedule that takes that production-time into account.

[CaptainUfo]

There must be some kind of balance, but I tend to favour quality.

As a creator, I'm currently uploading five pages a week just because I have something like 80 pages of backlog and I want the series here to catch up with the original on Facebook resonably quickly. My natural release schedule is once a week.

[GFalconDX]

There has to be a balance. Right now, I've started uploading a page once every other Tuesday, which will give me the time to ensure the pages will be of a high quality, or at least as high as I can make it. And at the same time, I can keep a schedule that'll allow me to update my comic periodically.

[gateofselidor]

I would rather have a high-quality comic than one that updates very frequently (to be honest, daily updates are almost more of a nuisance for me, because I just don't have the time to keep up). However, there's a limit to how long I'm willing to wait, and when it's time to tidy up my reading list, those once-in-a-blue-moon comics are often the first to get cut.

[rairy]

I know what you mean. I also realized sometimes ago when stumble upon super beautiful comic with only few pages but had huge number of readers. I think its better go for quality or just balance it between quantity. Too long to make reader wait is no good either.

[laneord]

I used to think it's quantity.. but I came across pages that has little pages with lots of subs or people that has been hiatus for a long time but the fans still supports them.. So ultimately, I think quality plays a bigger role in this, and personally I'll feel much more satisfaction from making something of quality than just pumping out work regularly..

[zetina]

I'm pretty much of the same mind as @lizm
Also, I read a lot of stuff so just getting a page or two a week can often be totally lost on me because I don't have the mood in me anymore. I really like tapastic for the episode format because it enables people to update in batches ;v; I do that too though I'm still struggling with discipline (updating consistently and regularly).

Anyway, we should honestly talk about what "quality" is even meant to be. Something can be high quality without being something that takes a week to make. It can be simple but refined. Or stylized for ease of drawing. Basically, as long as it ain't sloppy, ya know.
Personally, I just need to be able to follow what's happening though.

[demthorshie]

Quality has always been a top priority of mine over quantity. I can get completely immersed in to a beautifully made comic with an incredible story that updates just a few times a month. Although I can get hooked to a daily comic as well if it's interesting enough, but i'm usually more inclined to cling to a really good comic that updates less frequently than a daily one. I think if you can find a balance between quality and frequency, that's just fantastic!

[ashriott]

I will opt for quality personally, but it depends for frequency... I'm alright with "once per week" updates with good quality, but if the creator is super slow(maybe sporadic updates, once every 2-3 weeks or months even) would be a problem lol.

[mg78]

quality.
without esistation.

about the "post with frequency" im certain that most of the work go "lost" after being read. with the exlusion of REALLY FEX cases (like one punch man one)
when i found some work done quickly, by an artist who could do good or even great quality, i close it. i refuse to read it. no matter what.

imho u have to see what u re, what re u lookinmg for right now and in the future... then choose it.

[Dingbat1991]

I definitely go a ways to make each strip from Lento presentable but I always try for a weekly release (that's all the time I can allocate for anyway.) I am a person who favors quality over quantity myself but not just for the art but the story and dialog too.

The traffic will likely come from your marketing and just getting the world out personally. When I came to Tapastic, I was on maybe my 35th comic? (now up to 47.) episodes prior to the 35 I released daily and while it keeps my comic floating to the top, it didn't help my traffic.

[ToonDoctor]

Both. You could spend a month drawing one page (I have done this once) but it won't matter if your readers have given up on you. It's not one or the other for me. It's both and having the skill and experience to adjust to your current needs in order to achieve your ends. It is a web comic after all where readers only get bits of the story. You can't drag them too long but you can't put crap out there too as that goes against you goal to entertain your viewers.

Never an easy juggling act!