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JustMarshma
Aug '16

The other day I got the idea of changing the format of my comic12 and updating with one panel every other day instead of one page a week, I've never seen that done and I was thinking it might make the experience more engaging because then you take every panel in more, so it kind of teases you more. Of course it might get a little awkward and exhausting to the reader, so I don't know if it's a good idea or not. Thoughts?

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    Aug '16

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    Aug '16
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UzukiCheverie
Aug '16

I used to do one page a day for Time Gate, but now do around a chapter a week/week and a half.

From a reader's perspective, it does get tiring, very quickly. It can start off great, because it's like "WHOO YEAH MORE UPDATES" but when it's every single day and you can fall behind quickly if you don't sign in for a day or two, eventually it does become overwhelming and that can cause a reader to just give up trying to catch up at all.

I would say just keep it to one page a week. People who do things once a day typically do one page a day, I feel like one panel a day would get too exhausting to read too fast.

Ultimately, it's up to you, but also feel free to ask your readers what they think - they'll be the ones affected by it, after all stuck_out_tongue

Pandastrophic
Aug '16

I would honestly get tired if it's like that, you have to remember that if every panel is on a separate episode then that means readers will have to scroll down through the comments then the ads then wait till the next episode loads just to read the next panel, rather than just read it in one go, I think it would make it less engaging for me at least.

UzukiCheverie
Aug '16
1

So I just checked your comic out, and I can see it's done in the style of a manga. I'm assuming then, that that would mean an episode could potentially just be this:

And then the next day would be this:

I'm assuming though seeing as how your episodes are built on one page updates, so that's what I see it end up being.

If that's the case, better stick to one page a week updates. Yes, you'll be in Fresh more often, but new readers will see each episode is just a standard panel with not much going on (for the least eventful ones, assuming all your panels aren't gigantic and amazing and kickass) and they're not gonna feel very compelled to read it, let alone subscribe (no one wants to wait 24 hours for episodes that are just one panel). Plus it would destroy the pacing of your story and that would be arguably worse, considering those that are subscribed and do read it (or have read it from the get-go).

That's just me tho lol Like I said, I'm assuming that's what you were sorta going for, correct me if I'm wrong x3""

(that would definitely cause me to lose my marvels tho HAHAHAHAHAHA shutting up now lol)

shazzbaa
Aug '16

I mean, I was a big fan of Homestuck, and panel-by-panel is basically what that is! But it would also update with several panel/pages at once.

I think pacing is the biggest red flag to me. If you're only getting one panel every other day, then scenes are going to seem to move in slow motion. Rather than taking each panel in more, I'd find that panels become more meaningless because they're not a complete thought.

UzukiCheverie
Aug '16
shazzbaa

Not only that, but Homestuck's panels were built with full environments most of the time, animations, etc. They weren't so much "panels" as they were cinematics (most of the time). Each panel had a lot more to it than just one speech bubble or one still picture of a character's face. But I digress lol (plus I've only read a very small bit of Homestuck)

spadesart
Aug '16

Not sure if you're using panels as in full pages or actual single panels, but if it's the latter I'd stick to a stack of panels twice a week or so. I bring up this comic a lot since it's one of my biggest inspirations but Ava's Demon works in single panel format and the author does 10-20 panel updates twice a week. Updating with one panel every day could drag out scenes or cause pacing issues (like a fight scene that should be quickly read for the biggest impact would be continuously chopped up if caught up readers have to wait days to finish it.)

Lae
Aug '16

I agree with what everyone stated above.
Quoting Uzuki- the story pacing would suffer and honestly I know people can be patient but I'm afraid they're not that patient as to wait for 1 panel every time. I vote for the 1 page update too, better safe than sorry. (y)

(also omg the details on your comic <3)
5

Kura
Aug '16

Short answer, I would not read a long form comic that was single panel updates.

I actually have run into a few of them on tapastic and I did try to give them a try despite it being one of the most annoying reading formats I have run into, but I could not stick to them at all. They were just the worst to try and read.

KoalaMari
Aug '16

I'm into longer strips than shorter ones and I think most of us do. I can also read panel by panel updates, but then (lol @L0121221 your cute llama is distracting me while typing this haha) I'm scared of "cliffhangers".

heterodont
Aug '16

I think panel by panel updates work better if you have your own website, and you're able to update in batches, ala Homestuck or Ava's Demon. The aforementioned one does do a great job in conveying action scenes in a format that should, reasonably, slow down any sort of action scene - but that's only because the creator updates with 10-12 panels at a time or enough panels that it doesn't end in the middle of an action scene.

ReroOnyx
Aug '16

I think there's a misconception going on here between "Panels" and "Pages". I hope none of you are updating a panel a day, that would be...troublesome.

Anyways, I guess it depends. For example I have a revenue set up and so for me, updating single page episodes is more beneficial to me because I'm ultimately going to earn more revenue that way. Since the revenue is based on ads. You know for example if I post an entire episode that's 10 pages long...that's basically 3 ads I think.

Now if I separate each page into own episode, each one gets its own ads. What goes from 3 ads becomes 30 ads. For me, it's simply a business practice. I like the whole idea of having several pages per episodes, much like Kissmanga does its own site. But when I'm simply making more money the other way, it's the way I feel to do it.

Kura
Aug '16

I don't think there is a misconception. The OP is currently posting their comic in pages, but is wondering if it would be better to change that to single panels instead of pages, thus them asking if that would be a good idea. Which as you said (along with most responses here), would be troublesome.

I actually like when comics post page by page. It's easier for me because it's easier to find and keep my place as I go on and off the comic. Panel by panel though is a no go.

Because of tapastic's set up there's no story flow for panel by panel comics, you get the panel then have to scroll through episode informtaion, comments, ads and then the next episode title. (and do that all over again to get to the next panel) And because of that you cannot see the sequential art / storytelling happening from one panel to the other like you can in a chapter or page update.

J.Z.Castillo
Aug '16

Absolutely not. 10/10 would not read. This is okay if it's a slice of life, gag a day comic, but NOT a long form, story driven comic. Keep it in pages!

JustMarshma
Aug '16

Heyo, thank you all for commenting, I guess it wasn't a good idea after all n.n

Puppisama
Aug '16

I won't be able to read something that adds half of a half every day, as if the newspaper gave you one word of a notice every day and you had to wait the whole week to get the full notice, also I think people might get lost easily. Keep updating a page every week.

Cielle
Aug '16

to answer your question: would I read a comic that updated panel by panel?
I wouldn't categorically say no to a comic like that, but I think the panels would have to be individually REALLY engaging. Perhaps if there were some unique storytelling element that was enhanced by releasing panel by panel, then I'd be interested.

Generally speaking though, I think page by page is the way to go! The way panels are placed on a page communicate a lot about the story! It would be sad to forgo that awesomely unique feature of comics just for the sake of releasing content more quickly.

punkarsenic
Aug '16

i doubt it... panels come together to form a page, that's the whole point. what panels you put together on a page is important for how it looks and for pacing. also, doing it like that kinda boxes yourself in for what kind of panelling you can do, which could become a creative bore at best.

a page a week would be a bearable pace for me tbh - if you really want to update faster, look into ways of making your pages faster. i used to have a really high maintainence style that took a lot out of me just to make four pages a week - my new style is much better, as well as being easier and faster. experiment, play around, see what works.