Why so many comic here are not on mobile format?

[Hodge]

Thank you for this I understand you're trying to look at this industry practically, and honestly, I agree with you in many ways. I read manga and webtoons on my phone mostly. Sure I have a physical manga collection (which I love), but I've also spent money on webtoon sites like Lezhin or supported people on patreon. I want to make comics and help the industry grow, and if it means printing my comic is a lower priority then so be it.

[revisionstudios]

I appreciate you posting a more comprehensive reply about your feelings on the subject!

Personally, while I do use my smartphone like you (lounge on the couch and read, check social media, etc.), by and large I am sitting at my desktop because it's where I work as an artist. I prefer using the internet on my desktop overall because it's not as clunky feeling to me. I feel like mobile versions of websites are often really squished and cluttered and kind of a pain to navigate.

And when it comes to Tapas, the mobile app just doesn't have all the same functionality. They closed the gap a little recently, but the app still doesn't have notifications, wall posts, or the forums... so by default I just prefer using the desktop version if I'm interacting with the community or finding new things to read. I mostly just use the app when I'm out and a comic I'm subbed to updates.

But, I also am old enough to be one of those people who remembers webcomics before there were platforms like Tapas or Webtoons. So that could be part of my preferences as a reader. To be fair though, I also didn't read many webcomics back then because of how tedious it was having to click "Next" for every page and had to remember to check the sites for new updates. Finding Tapas changed that for me and made it easier to read, even on desktop. I read more webcomics now than I ever have.

[silencelibrarian]

I came across Lezhin a week ago, I have not spent much time in it yet because it seems like it is heavily geared toward BL and sexually explicit content? or am I wrong?
What's your thought on Lezhin?

as far as print format, I've seen that webtoon featured artist Jason Brubaker who made Sitrah draw everything in book format and converting it to webtoon afterwards, so that if you ever get to have to print it one day, you already have it in print format
If you read Sitrah on webtoon on a mobile app, you would see how beautiful it is and it is not a lesser artistic medium than book format.
I can't say the same for most other webtoon/webcomic in mobile format.

I realized it is extra work and creator would rather spend time on making the comics instead, but considering the amount of extra market you can tap into in the future, it might not be a bad idea.

@revisionstudios tapas app seems to notify me when a series get an update, it might be in the setting?

[revisionstudios]

No no, not notifications of a series updating. I get those. I'm talking creator-end notifications about new subs/likes/comments on my series and when other creators post something on their wall. I hate having to wait until I get home to check all that.

[silencelibrarian]

oh from the creator POV, that make sense,
that explains why the creators prefer the desktop vs the app

[Hodge]

Ahh I love Jason Brubaker~ And Lezhin didn't used to push BL but it started doing really well in the past year so they've been marketing it more, think Killing Stalking. Lezhin does have more sexually explicit content (though it does have other genres like action, comedy, etc), that's one of its main differentiating features with LINE which is their main competition overseas. They target older readers. Also, it only allows a certain amount of free chapters until you have to pay, but this also means the quality is kept rather high. Very few Lezhin comics have dissapointed me.

They did a few contests and they do take in submissions from creators (4 episodes I think) but they have to me mobile friendly and usually around 70 panels long. So rather high standards and it would take a creator a significant amount of time to create the submission. It's more exclusive than the free-for-all that is the Discover section on LINE, but the art and story have to be good. Personally, I don't mind the paywall (their readership isn't as young as LINE probably and so more willing to pay), though I think english readers will take time to get used to it since we're spoiled I've also heard that Lezhin artists are paid or treated better and so many Korean artists have moved there.

Ahhh sorry for rambling, but Lezhin doesn't get much love in this forum but I like it and wished people pursued publishing there more.

[silencelibrarian]

oh wow! Lezhin sounds like a pretty good company, I shall check em out!
on a glance, they seems to be pushing sexual BL stuff, so I was a bit put off by the first impression.

I love reading seinen manga, but I don't specifically look for violence and sex as main selling point, if it's supporting the story, I welcome it very well.

I wouldn't mind the paywall if the quality is higher, I got so mad sometimes when spending time to read something and it turns out to be really sucky, even if it's free, which becomes my main deterrent to invest time to look for new self publish stuff, the market is so oversaturated with junk, make it difficult to find the hidden gem.

[Rhombik]

Thanks for your thoughts.

I guess if somebody is really committed, they'd have the option for mobile format and wide screen format. But Tapas doesn't offer that so I guess artists just have to make the decision they think is right for them.

[SpavVy]

I designed mine specifically for print because I plan to actually print it and sell at cons, its also drawn mainly traditional so I don't want to make any kind of weird chopping edits to some parts, and I don't feel like going back almost 70 pages already just to reformat it for mobile when I could be working on a new page instead.

[serenitysquirrel]

There are a few comics that are obviously made JUST for mobile and they are impossible to read even on a tablet. Scrolling for inches just to find a panel is UGH.

[MinNCompany]

@serenitysquirrel do you mind showing a screenshot of what those mobile comics look like on a tablet? I didn't realize this was an issue as I've only read my vertical format comic from phone or desktop and now I'm concerned how it looks (if you don't have time thats ok too)

[silencelibrarian]

you don't have to convert to mobile, and this is a valid reason.
when it comes down to it, story and art is most important, and those things already took so much work already,
it is understandable that creator dont want to waste time doing extra work for mobile.
Besides, it seems like there's still plenty of people these days who prefer book format.

I'm just merely pointing out that future trend are showing signs of moving toward mobile,
in the future, digital will have more exposure than physical book ever be,
and the more people can discover your hard work, the more chance you'll get more readers, that's all

[silencelibrarian]

May I suggest that tablet and mobile phone may not be the same target audience
People usually buy tablet for reading book format or watching movies,
those things are too small to be done on phone

it would be hard to nail both mobile phone and tablet at the same time
if you go mobile, I'd suggest focusing on phone, more people own phone than they do tablet

with how fast technology change these days, it is another challenge for creators to present their work

[silencelibrarian]

it would take enormous change in the writing of the app and websites for Tapas to offer both book and mobile format
I highly doubt they have the time, $$$ and resources to do it
and honestly, it's not worth it for tapas,
their app should just stick to mobile
your specific comic would work on either platform even if you leave it as is

if anyone should do it, maybe hiveworks who has large enough audience who are used to read in book format should do app version of book format webcomic, kinda like what viz, crunchyroll and comixology
somehow I doubt they have the money and resources to pull that off

[AmysGames]

For those of you who advocate for book format in desktop/laptop viewing, I have a question:Were you already webcomic readers from way back before smartphone era?
I feel like reading from the responses here, you would have to be comfortable reading it in a laptop because it was something you're already used to.

To answer this question, yes, I was reading webcomics long before I ever had a mobile device, so I'm definitely more used to reading them on my computer. In fact, I find that most websites in general are clumsy on mobile devices (as someone else mentioned) to the point that I find the idea of reading comics on a mobile device slightly absurd. XD But that's just me and my old fogey-ness, lol.

[joannekwan]

I have never really read webcomics before joining Tap, but I have read scanslations of manga online on sites like OneManga and MangaFox, so I'm quite used to reading page-formatted comics scrolling down.

[PotooGryphon]

Yeah, I think most series post book formatted pages because they intend on print/publishing them. There are a handful of creators though that offer both a mobile version and a page format version. That's a feature I've offered for years with my series, and a lot of reader appreciate the option of both. Some just prefer it one way over the other. :shrug:

However, I do agree with your points that when reading on a mobile device it's more convenient when it's already formatted to be read easily there. And honestly, Tapas shares that feeling as well since there was an announcement a few years back that mobile friendly series get featured and highlighted more than non-mobile friendly series. I'm not sure if this is still the case since that was a while ago, but it's suck with me at least so I continue to offer my series both ways.

[jurinova]

As a creator my main goal has always been to create something I enjoy making, so I chose my format to suit my personal taste and not what will get me most readers. I know it's smart to have a mobile friendly comic these days, but I personally find the format to be very limiting. I like the flow of a regular page format and the size gives me more space to work with.

I've been reading online comics for who knows how long (since 2003 maybe?) and I've had an online comic before this one that I hosted on a site of it's own. So, actually for me it was quite a new experience to post my comic on a hosting site. Anyways, I've been a fan of online comics for a long time and I still read on desktop rather than on mobile. I only use mobile for checking comic updates when I'm out of town. I can understand why a lot of people use mobile to read comics, but I don't think it will replace desktop reading completely any time soon. Especially since so many creators still prefer the print format.

[silencelibrarian]

As a creator my main goal has always been to create something I enjoy making, so I chose my format to suit my personal taste and not what will get me most readers.

This is a good reason, because at the end of the day, you have to enjoy ot if you put that much work into something like webcomic.
If you don't enjoy making it in mobile version, then it's best not to.

You can always downsize print res 300 dpi to 72 dpi mobile version later if you ever want to
but you cant upsize from mobile 1000px wide 72 dpi to a nice 300 dpi printable version
so starting with print format is best if you think about it, since conversion can always be done anytime later
the beauty of the internet is that things doesn't go out of stock in the shelf,
once you put it up there, it still can be found years later

I can understand why a lot of people use mobile to read comics, but I don't think it will replace desktop reading completely any time soon. Especially since so many creators still prefer the print format.

I think for a fan of desktop reading, mobile is not something that will replace desktop/laptop reading
All it does is reaching new potential reader who download app like tapastic/webtoon/lezhin etc on their mobile phone

But I gotta admit, your engagement ratio will be higher with those who read it on something that has a real keyboard, than virtual ones on tiny phone

[silencelibrarian]

Tapas shares that feeling as well since there was an announcement a few years back that mobile friendly series get featured and highlighted more than non-mobile friendly series. I'm not sure if this is still the case since that was a while ago, but it's suck with me at least so I continue to offer my series both ways.

There's a quite a number of featured/daily snacks that is in book format and that pretty much why I started this thread cos it was too uncomfortably tiny to read when I click on it

I guess I can always install Tap on my tablet if I care enough, but if it's an extra inconvenience for me to read one chapter of a daily snack, and I may not have my tablet when I'm out, I just quickly move on to other things on my phone (ie. webtoon or lezhin) and already forget about it by the time I got home

Usually a business (like Tap/webtoon/lezhin) are more aware to change that will hugely affect their future since there's alot in stake for them vs individual creator, that's why Lezhin and webtoon featured content (not discover section) only does mobile version.
As far as Tapastic premium content, I saw some variety on mobile vs book scrolling format and I usually just moved on from the book version since it's hard to get into it when it's all too cramped,
and the pay barrier makes it even easier to move onto something else since there is no shortage of content out there