You're Making ANTOHER New Series?

[Doubtcent]

Have you ever followed a creator that keeps making a new series every so often? And it's not like they're done with any of their other projects, rather, they just keep starting new ones without finishing any of them.

Whenever this happens, I always think, "Why don't you just finish the ones you've already started?"

Personally, I'm guilty of doing this. I've made a lot of new projects that were ambitious, but eventually I gave up on them. Only one series out of many has continued after all this time, but I'm still planning on something bigger or better.
Yeah, I know what it's like to have many ideas spinning in your head, all of them calling out to be made real. But for some creators, they constantly start new projects and never finish any of them, almost to the point of annoyance.

Have any of you experienced this kind of problem?
What are some ways to manage or prevent it?

[J.Lovelace]

I am guilty of this, I have 9 series started on Tapastic, and actually 25 various projects in total XD
I understand it can be annoying to other people, and I can't be sorry enough for that, but I just like to work on what I feel like doing the most at that moment :'D I like to experiment and start fresh.
The problem of it is that my mind is faster than my hands, so my art just can't catch up with all the ideas before they become tiring.
I have no cure for this. Maybe if I live for 200 more years I can get done with everything, or something o3o

[Michelle]

So far, all the creators I follow only work on one main project. They might have 2-3 on their profile, but they seem to focus on a primary one.

Having 5+ comics on a profile sends a message to me as a reader that the creator doesn't spend time fleshing out their stories very much (as in at least a few months-- not 3 weeks). I'd be hesitant to follow their work because I wouldn't trust they could finish any one project.

I could come up with 10 different comic ideas, but if I sat down and really worked them out, I'd probably end up with only 2-3. Partly because some ideas just suck, and because some of those are probably variations on the same story that could be combined together. That's kind of what happened with my current comic-- it was an amalgamation of a couple different story ideas I had over the years, which ended up getting smooshed together (and a whole lotta stuff thrown out!) once I started developing the story more.

Though I don't fault people for wanting to experiment with little one-off projects and explore different ideas. I just prefer to invest in stories that I trust will have an ending. :>

[Herofeeder]

i had several ideas where i wanted to make a comic about a nun a comic about a couple and a comic about on grumpy single guy thats hanging with friends and isnt doing much to contribute to society

and one day i went like...hey lets use Polimerization (yu gi oh deal with it )
i have an idea about making a fight manga..but im years away from perfecting human anatomy and overall knowledge of PS or Mediband or manga studio...so right now im just sticking with one comic

[TomSawyer]

Only have 3 things going on. The "pilot" is done, my "adventure" series doesn't have an ending, and Afterburn is in production

[keii4ii]

I'm in a weird position with regards to this issue. I'm extremely single-minded when it comes to creating stories; I get ideas, sure, but that's just it: ideas. They're not my passion. They're not my dreams. They're mere ideas. My only true creative passion is my current project. You could compare it to a monogamous marriage, almost. I'm married to my comic. Maybe I'll find someone new after this relationship is over, but there genuinely is no desire for it in my heart at this time.

It was like that with my previous comic, too. I was married to it. While I didn't get to finish it, I did get 600+ pages out of it with zero desire to make another comic after it. I don't regret my decision to put it on indefinite hiatus, even though I do find it regrettable -- if that makes sense.

I guess the bottom line is that even a mindset (is that the right word?) like mine doesn't guarantee finishing a series. XD; Who knows, maybe there will be another life-changing event thrown at my face, and I will... get divorced from my current comic before it's done??? Hopefully not...

[PotooGryphon]

I moved a post to an existing topic: Introductions 2.0 - Make Friends, Meet Artists, Say Hello to Your Fans

[indagold]

I stopped doing that when I was 14 or 15. I tend to stick to finishing comics even in the end I feel there were things to improve on.
I have two comics on my profile that are finished for the most part, I'm just updating one slowly for new readers. I plan to start a third, so I hope readers don't assume the worst haha...

[gateofselidor]

You see this a lot, not just with comic creators, but also with writers posting fiction online. Some creators mature and eventually learn to commit themselves, but some never do. I call them "serial starters", because that's all they do; start things. It's a big red flag for me when I'm thinking about following their work. If they can actually maintain multiple series long term then that's fine, but if they just post a little bit and then move onto the next thing, it's not worth getting invested in their work, no matter how pretty or exciting it may seem.

I've abandoned three webcomics, two prior to my current series, and one I tried to make at the same time. I don't feel particularly good about quitting them, but I learnt a lot from my failures, and now my current series is in its seventh chapter, approaching 200 pages. I got over the urge to start new things by becoming more patient and disciplined, and because I'm adult enough that I can come up with an idea and not end up wondering what I was thinking a month or two later. I let my ideas sit while I'm working on other things, giving me the time to work out if they're good enough to use. I also better at knowing when to take a break to work on something else (a bit of fan art, an experiment etc.) to stop me burning out without stopping drawing altogether.

[VermillionWorks]

And it's not like they're done with any of their other projects, rather, they just keep starting new ones without finishing any of them.

This used to be me in spades...though I mostly just kept completely revamping a single comic, until eventually I loathed everything about it and dropped it completely. (Though I started a couple that I dropped very early on too.) I was very, very bad about it and some readers even called me like, the reboot queen. XD

Sometimes though, with new creators especially, you just gotta let them do what they like and figure themselves out - webcomics are a learning experience, after all.

HOWEVER, as someone who used to reboot my comics like crazy, I do try to give tips on how to avoid having too many dead projects lying around -

1: At the beginning, aim shorter. If you're just getting into webcomics, try some experimental one-shots first. It's the comics with no end in sight (or an ending waaayyy too out of sight) that are more likely to be left unfinished. If your projects involve characters or plotlines you REALLY want to use again, you can always leave them open-ended to continue them, or just move on to your grand, epic project after getting the hang of things a bit first. XP It's just better to start out kind of slow and learn your strengths and weaknesses.

2: NEVER start a comic on a sudden inspiration. You want to make an art or some short comic when this happens, cool, but what seems great to you one month may seem kinda lame the next. I mean, sure, we all have moments where we're not as interested in our comics, but if you pick subjects you truly love, it makes it easier to plow through those downer moments. XP

3: If possible, avoid rebooting old chapters because of amateur art/writing. If you absolutely need to for publishing reasons or to change some plot elements, then do what you must, but doing this can REALLY slow things down. That old art/writing may make your eyes bleed, but remember that most readers really don't mind and even enjoy seeing an artist grow.

4: Even with a longer series, have an ending in sight. Again, kind of related to tip 1. Basically, unless you're making a comic strip or slice of life or something, make it possible to reach the end of your comic in your lifetime! Consider trimming unnecessary bulk from your story.

5: Don't let readers' opinions sway you! I don't mean ignore helpful constructive criticism, I mean people who criticize how a character acts, or say "I hope this doesn't happen!" or anything that might be making you second guess parts of your story. I actually spazzed out and changed an entire character because people were considering her too 'Mary Sue', and a lot of the reboots I made were partially influenced by reader opinions as well! Make the story YOU want to make, don't worry about your characters being cliched (heck, even if they are), or people having a different opinion of your characters than you expected. Stay the course! XP

[smolrice]

I don't think it's bad to have more than one series, even if you end up dropping some. It's a great way to experiment with different types of art styles or storytelling methods. And sometimes it's nice to go back and work on a dropped comic if you get tired of your main one. For me, it prevents burnout from working on one thing for too long and I find that I'm able to evaluate my comic more critically if I haven't worked on it for a while.

Though I'd say that as a reader, the more dropped series someone has, the less faith I have in them to finish their current series. It's pretty important to keep both creator and reader in mind, I think.

[Shanny8]

I follow a creator who does that. On one of the stories they had some really nice looking art and colors; the concept of the story was even interesting...but weeks later, the creator dropped art & concept for yet another story. I havent seen an update for the story that I was reading in about a month.

[Masich]

Have any of you experienced this kind of problem?
What are some ways to manage or prevent it?

I have worked with an artist that had 9 series, of which only 2 were active!

The only thing I noticed with him and others, was the fact that they either relied too much on other people's opinions (comments) or never really thought ahead of where they are planning to go with the series (Story).

Although I will admit to having done the latter with my own first series >.>

[hushicho]

Let's not shame people for experimenting and working with different things.

You aren't always going to bring every story you start to a complete close, for a variety of reasons. Speaking professionally, it's just not always feasible. If a series doesn't have that much in the way of readers or support and you're not feeling it anymore, it's just going to be an annoying waste of time to try and resolve it neatly, and it's not going to end up looking very good in the doing.

An open ending or non-ending is often far better for a series than a completely closed, neatly tied-up resolution, especially if that resolution doesn't really fit or forces characters into places that aren't organic or natural. Even if an author has planned for an ending from the start, things aren't always in place by the time it becomes clear they need to rest the series.

There's also the option of just putting it on hold, sometimes indefinitely and seeing if interest grows gradually while it's not running. You can sometimes promote something even while it's not still regularly updating.

Frankly, I don't have any problem with people dropping a series if they're not seeing the returns they need from it. Given, I usually make enough for mine to run at least half a year and appraise them that way, but sometimes authors have different needs. It's usually best to bring things to a nice stopping point, even if it's just resolving the single chapter you're on so you could pick it up at some future point.

People don't seem to consider oftentimes that comics are actually a lot of work. If you're not getting what you want or need to get out of it, it's best to just put it down and think about telling another story. See if that works better.

[nattbear]

I have a lot of projects, but only one made into a comic (soon to be two... soon...). As a writer I LOVE to make stories and it's hard simply not to... I do have a book (not in english) that must have, in total, more than 600 pages!!! IM KINDA CRAZY HERE! But I love to make long stories... Anyways, I believe I'll hardly pass two comics... Its just too much for someone so slow as me.... =/

[SillySixShooter]

good stuff here. sound advice to follow in the future

[SillySixShooter]

id say it's a pretty good idea to have one major project and maybe two side things to keep the creative juices flowing especially if you're doing this as practice or as a hobby first.

[TrustyShamrock]

hahaha i sooo wanna do this right now. i got a new idea-ish for a series and i keep wantin to work on it but then im like ughhhh no i got this other one firrrrst. but once it graduates and moves off to college im jumpin on the next comic like nobodys business. so now im countin down the pages