Thread "The standard release schedules that are common are stupid." in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 4:08AM, Aug. 23, 2022

As the title says, there is a lot wrong with current release schedules.

First and foremost, the reliance on Wednesday/Tuesday as being the days that new pages should be released.

The entire reason, historically, that this was the case, was because new IRL comics came out on Fridays, but stores got them early, so they started releasing them early to undercut competition that'd play by the rules.

Not to say Friday only is any better, but this sort of tradition really has no reason to be so prevalent.

That's not even all though, when you get into the brass tacks later on, there's also the release frequency that's a mess.

From what I've understood, thus far, what's done on that front usually is a page a week, or a volume a month, both of which are ridiculous.

A page a week means that either you put an abhorrent amount of panels on every page so that people aren't being fed the story piecemeal, or, well, you're feeding them the story piecemeal, so they come back a month or two later anyways.

A volume a month means an average of 30 pages in a month, which is to say, a page a day, even on weekends, which is not sustainable, when you consider that writer's block happens sometimes, and some pages take much longer to do than others. Even for teams of people, you basically get artist sweatshops going to make it happen consistently.

For a single artist, it's not sustainable.

This is why I've opted for as many pages as are done on a 2 week basis, since it requires less pages per month than a volume, and gives more to the reader than a page a week.

To top it off, it means less overall strain, and is much more sustainable than volumes a month.

It doesn't seem like people get it though.
The moment they see a week where nothing new is posted, it's somehow automatically "Oh I guess it's monthly volumes" even though it's written clearly in authors' notes that that's not the case.

Not only that, but they presume that it's monthly because they're checking on a Wednesday when the first pages were posted on a Friday.

Is this why people don't stick to different types of schedules?
What do you people think?

Posted at 4:08AM, Aug. 23, 2022

It really depends on how the creators want to put things out and the length of time they have to put into creating. Many creators are only able to put out a page a week, if that.

Personally I prefer a frequent and regular update schedule rather a large dump of pages, but maybe that's just me.

Posted at 5:08AM, Aug. 23, 2022

I never tried to stick to any sort of fixed uploads. It's a "it's done when it's done" deal. Whenever i tried to stay consequent i ended up putting too much pressure on myself and that only destroys my creative drive.

I guess you don't have that luxury when you have customers or patrons to please, if you intend to make any kind of living off your art, then a certain regularity is necessary for viewer retention. Backlog is the magic word there, draw more whenever you can and release it bit by bit.

If you're just doing comcis as a hobby though, who cares? Do it at your own pace.

Posted at 5:08AM, Aug. 23, 2022

I personally depise a volume dump of pages and often get turned off of a comic for that. I like set schedules like Monday/ Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday.
That way I know when to expect a page and have time to breathe in between.

Usually I have been able to maintain a comfy buffer for pages on my own comics but recently completely ran out. Didn't help that I ran into a wall concerning the plot. It happens so I usua

Remember this is not a comic book store where you buy the whole volume. This is a site where you check back periodically and not necessarily every day. And then time is often short for reading for whatever reason so a few pages a week not two hundred dumped in two weeks because I just do not have the time to devote to reading it.

And then nothing for weeks or months? Hey, I want to be strung along and teased not read it all at once. I only have so much time. I never even read printed comics all at once. I could read three-six pages at a time and finish a 20 odd page story in a week. I don't want it all at once and I don't expect most one person operations to produce that kind of volume.

A page a week or even every other week is fine. I can manage two to three pagee a week because my medium is front loaded. The photography takes the time and the editing can go very fast so I can finish pages quickly. Having done this over nearly twenty years I've figured out work schedules but even then like just now can run out of buffer and stick my readers with nothing for a time. I try my best, but only so much time in real life. I set my own goals and create my own schedules and sometimes things go boom.

Posted at 5:08AM, Aug. 23, 2022

I actually get what you're saying and I kind of agree. A page a week can be kind of brutal, but waiting for month drops doesn't really hold readers' attention. Once upon a time I had been considering doing chapter releases instead of a page at a time, and even used to offer readers to do an email list to notify them when the entire chapter was complete.

…but ultimately my schedule isn't really for the readers, it's for me. I work a full time job (often with overtime) so the time I have to make comics is limited. By giving myself a weekly schedule I can make it manageable to keep output continuous. I have set milestones that I have to complete by a certain point each week, and I treat it like a job so it MUST be done by the deadline, no exceptions. Since it's weekly, the milestones are always the same: "This must be done by Wednesday" "This is the goal for Saturday" so I never forget or get lost. This might sound a little extreme, but I know myself. If I allowed myself to miss an update once, it would immediately clue my brain that it can miss it again and before you know it it'll been months between updates. I've noticed that a lot of comics (not all) that change from a set schedule to a more "it's done when it's done" type will fall off posting and eventually stop all together. Having a weekly schedule means I have posted continuously for two decades now - only missing updates due to technical errors - with no signs of slowing down.

I try to make sure that each update furthers something to make it worthwhile for readers to check in, but really it's about getting the content completed at a steady pace so readers can binge it later.

None of this really answers your suggestion except to say that I don't really think I could work under your model. But for all this, I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea, just might be a little harder for readers to keep track rather than having weekly habits.

Posted at 6:08AM, Aug. 23, 2022

Of course because of running into thatwall currently, for the next comic I'm doing up very specific schedules. It's something I learned. I know my work habits. That is what is most important.

So much it gets its own post.

Learn your work habits. How do you work? Spitz and starts and then nothing? Fine stretch out an update schedule to reduce the pressure on yourself. Are you really good working with regular schedules? Do it that way.

Set realistic goals. Ones you know you can match. If you don't achieve them, do not beat yourself up, but problem solve to find out why you didn't and work on your work habits. Ideally good work habits have time to decompress built in. Hey, I gave myself three months. Lol. Nothing clicked and I got distracted by another hobby.

Know your limitations and work within them. You can do this and do it well if you know your work habits. And yes, it is possible to create the habits you want, but again be realistic.

This is based on being an Army leader as well as a teacher and consulting mental health professionals.

As we said in the Army don't try to shove fifty pounds of shit into a twenty pound bag.

Posted at 7:08AM, Aug. 23, 2022

Hm, well in this context of course different types of comics take different lengths of time per page as well.

A page takes me no more than 6 hours at the extreme, oftentimes they take maybe 3 hours overall.

This is because they're in black & white, in a tailored art style done to be manageable in that length of time without sacrificing too much fidelity.

If I were to make colored comics, then they would easily take twice that length or more.

As it is, with a minimum of two pages in two weeks, to potentially more if some pages require less time, it's perfectly manageable within that context.

The minimum is literally the same as one page a week, while the maximum can be whatever's done. This also leaves a lot of time in the week to do other things, since I also make music, and will be working full-time in a bit.

How do readers usually respond to those less consistent schedules?
I'm guessing the amount of time it takes to read multiple pages of a comic is due to reading a great many at the same time, yeah?

Posted at 11:08PM, Aug. 25, 2022

TheJagged wrote:
I never tried to stick to any sort of fixed uploads. It's a "it's done when it's done" deal. Whenever i tried to stay consequent i ended up putting too much pressure on myself and that only destroys my creative drive.

If you're just doing comcis as a hobby though, who cares? Do it at your own pace.

That's exactly what I still plan to do with my comics, and luckily my process is completely different.

I release pages when they're ready, but for my comics resembling 11/22 minute episodes of cartoons, I release pages with the first batch of panels (part 1), followed by another page with more batch of panels (parts 2, 3 and so forth) three days afterwards, unless a problem blocks my path on releasing those pages.

Posted at 12:08AM, Aug. 26, 2022

Is this why people don't stick to different types of schedules?
What do you people think?

Does anyone have readers who only check a specific day hoping to see a comic update? That's what "schedules" suggests to me. I upload pages when they're done, and read whatever comics I happen to see on the latest strip or in my favorites list whenever I'm online. Ain't got no schedules.

Posted at 2:08AM, Aug. 26, 2022

dpat57 wrote:
Is this why people don't stick to different types of schedules?
What do you people think?
Does anyone have readers who only check a specific day hoping to see a comic update? That's what "schedules" suggests to me. I upload pages when they're done, and read whatever comics I happen to see on the latest strip or in my favorites list whenever I'm online. Ain't got no schedules.

It builds reader loyalty. They know when to expect a new page and adjust their viewing accordingly. Actually proven to build readership and highly recommended by people who like reaching an audience as opposed to the occasional passer by. ;)

Some humans live with schedules it's a way of coping with the unexpected by making some things predictable and steady. It's in the literature of the people who study such things.

You know, to use ageold examples from a better time: the new installment of Flash Gordon serial comes every Saturday morning so you go to the movies then. Your favorite mystery radio show Sincerely Yours, Johnny Dollar is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so you know to be home to catch it before Burns and Allen on Tuesday and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on Thursday.

Besides if I didn't have a production schedule I'd never get any pages done. But then in the view of some that might be a good thing.