I managed to attend one and a half more panels last night. I caught the second half of a panel entitled “Best read before xxxx”. There are some books which seem timeless and others which are forgotten or unintelligible within a generation, the panel examined the reasons for this. The general consensus was that Science Fiction is much more likely to “expire” than other flavors of fiction because new science comes along rendering the story ridiculous. Fiction written in high english rather than slang is much more likely to pass the test of time. But there are some stories which are still printed and enjoyed despite the fact that the science is 50 years old. The reason these stories survive is because they have something to say besides “lookit this cool science idea”.
There were so many fascinating avenues to explore with this subject, unfortunately the panelists weren’t very dynamic. Mostly Mr. Pournelle would get on a hobby horse and ride it to the end of the trail without interruption. The trails were interesting, but I would have liked to hear more from some of the other panelists who had different points of view. I was repeatedly frustrated with my role as audience member. I wanted to interject thoughts and participate in the panel. I’ve decided that I need to be on panels at a convention again sometime.
The other panel I attended was one entitled “webcomics”. Howard was featured there along with 12 other local webtoonists. This panel really changed my attitude toward the average webcomic writer. In the past I felt like there were webcomic “professionals” and webcomic “diletantes”. I have to admit I kind of looked down on the second category. I felt like more people were starting webcomics on a whim than would ever go anywhere. The comics go on hiatus without warning, updates are sporadic, they’re poorly drawn and unfunny. All those things are true, but they miss a key point. I listened to all of those webtoonists and how passionate they were about thier comic and about the whole experience of webtooning. The comics may have a readership of 10 people, but to those 10 fans the webtoonist is an amazing hero. Those 10 people have the chance to form a small community with a shared interest. I realized last night what a marvelous thing it is that ANYONE can start their own webcomic. The web isn’t an elitist members-only club. There are no dues to be paid. No entrance examination to pass. Anyone who wants to can create something they love and love to do. Then they can throw it out on the web to share.
Webtooning is like any other endeavor, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Howard has always treated his comic as a profession-to-be that has shaped everything about how he approaches Schlock Mercenary. Each webtoonist has different reasons for maintaining their comic and those reasons will shape the way the comic is run. A hobby comic is going to have more interruptions, less regular updates, and more hiatuses. The fans may want the comic to be the most important thing in the toonist’s life, but it frequently isn’t.
A few tips gleaned from the panel:
Webcomics can be much more focused and innovative than anything syndicated. There are people out there producing amazing cutting-edge stuff that has to be seen to be believed.
Asking people for upfront subscriptions (Pay-before-viewing) seriously limits your audience. You’re much better off with a tip-the-cartoonist button and merchandising. (Assuming you want your webcomic to make money at all, some people don’t care.)
Pick an update schedule and stick with it. If you can only update once a month, that’s fine. There just needs to be predictability so that fans won’t be disappointed when they check for an update. However your comic will build a more loyal fanbase more quickly the more often you update. (This is the major reason that Howard chose daily for his format.)
If you are going to go on hiatus it is courtesy to announce it and announce the expected duration of the hiatus. If you find that you lose interest or are too busy for your comic, it is best to announce that as well rather than just disappearing.
Give your comic time to grow and develop. It takes years to create an “overnight sensation.” Howard’s original plan for Schlock was to give it 5 years to grow. Somewhere during year two the plan was expanded to include the goal “support the family with Schlock” and the time frame was lengthened to 10 years.
Doing a webcomic is a fantastic way to expand your artistic and writing capabilities.
In all it was a fantastic panel. Howard says it was the best panel on webtooning that he has ever attended because everyone was enthusiastic about the experience rather than attempting ego inflation.
I wish I could have gone to more panels at LUTE, but the good news is that there will continue to be conventions for years to come and my kids won’t be little forever. Before I know it the whole family will be going to these things and enjoying every minute of it.