The old truism is there are 2 sides to every story–and this is no different for guests and conventions. In today's post I'm going to discuss the situation from the side of the guest–and what you can do to be the best possible guest for a convention (and why this should be very important to you).
It's a tough time to be in the entertainment industry. Our Internet-enabled, digital environment has led to more things than ever competing for our attention. And a lot of those things are entertainment, be they movies, TV, video games, websites, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever else.
In many ways, webcomics are primarily online (I mean, hey, it's right there in the name). The comic's there, interactions between creators and fans are there (though offline, too), revenue is generated by ads, even the physical products are sold online. As a consequence, a lot of webcomics tend not to have a physical presence beyond merchandise and con appearances.
Social media like Facebook, Twitter, and whatever else that is popular this second are pretty awesome. However, the very thing that makes it awesome can also cause some issues for the modern day webcomic professional. There is now a higher amount of information available to us than before. This means that there are more avenues for us to get our brand recognized. YAY!
Unfortunately, the thing that makes social media such a great tool is also burying many new creators. The noise on the internet is so high that I believe it is harder for a new creator to be heard today than it was 10 years ago. Back when there were only a handful of creators online, it was a no brainer to run into everyone at least once. Now, it is not the case. I have met rabid webcomics fans who have never heard of Penny Arcade.
Today, readers like for information to come to them, rather than checking physical sites every day. We have reached information overload. A high number of people I speak with have told me that they and most of their friends now use RSS aggregators or get their information from Facebook and Twitter. I have fans who read my site every single day that missed the GIANT banner on the top of the page and frequent blog posts about the fact that their favorite creator is running AN ENTIRE WEBCOMICS CONVENTION.
Following this relevation, I conducted an informal experiment where I would post happenings on my Facebook and Twitter. Later that month I would strike up conversation with specific people who were very big fans of my work to see how much they had engaged with the information. I had found that most people would ignore the passive postings and almost all of them would engage, support, and spread the word about things that I spoke to them directly about.
The catch, is, you can't be fake about it. You have to love what you do and care about who you are speaking to. I always ignore automatic and sterile messages. I will always reply to people who are genuinely saying "hello".
The best way is to really believe in what you are doing and to treat everyone like you would want to be treated. This in itself stands out in stark contrast to the firehose of information that is today's internet. As corny as it sounds, it seems that today's best weapon is to love the journey, make some new friends, network with your peers, and never give up. I wish I could give an easier recipe for success. The unfortunate truth is that it is not easy, but it will happen if you don't give up! 😀
This may seem like the world's most basic question, but I'm not sure it is. I think there's a conventional wisdom that the vast majority of webcomics are read in a browser or RSS viewer. My habits – I use a web browser; I'm vaguely embarrassed to say that I've never really gotten the hang of RSS readers even though I imagine they're pretty simple – fall into that conventional wisdom, but I suspect there's some hidden diversity that both readers and webcomic creators can help us reveal.
So, I pose this question to readers: How do you read webcomics – web browser, RSS reader, email subscription, iPhone/iPad app, or something else? If you use more than one, which is your primary method? Which do you enjoy the most?
Brain Camp — written by Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan, with art by Faith Erin Hicks and coloring by Hilary Sycamore. Faith Erin Hicks comes through with great visuals in the art — I think this is the first major comic she's worked on where she hasn't also contributed the writing.
Hi all,
I'm Oni. I'll be guest blogging this week. I founded the Webcomic / Indie Creator-Centric convention Intervention. You should register now. I draw Stupid and Insane Defenders Against Chaos. I post Art Tutorials and other fun things over at Onezumiverse.
My favorite color is all of them. My favorite music is metal. My favorite food is anything inside the Magic Kingdom. My favorite movie is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. People keep thinking I'm a dude because of my name so I have provided photographic evidence to the contrary.
Nice to meet you. If there are any tutorials or business questions that you have questions about, ask away. I'm your man…errr…
Hi Everyone, I want to thank Xerexes for giving me the opportunity to blog here at ComixTalk this week.
For those of you who aren't familiar with what I do, I am the web developer for the webcomics Stupid and Insane Defenders Against Chaos and Erfworld, as well as the developer of WordPress plugins for artists available at AWSOM.org. My current biggest project is being co-chair and a founder of the new convention Intervention, happening September 10-12 in Rockville Maryland, which is dedicated to educating about and celebrating the Internet as a primary distribution method of artistic output. We have a ton of webcomic guests, writers, podcasters, independent films, gaming, dance and burlesque events. Anyone who reads ComixTalk will surely find something fun at the con, as well as get things signed by Fred Gallagher of Megatokyo, Ben Bova, or Molly Crabapple of Dr Sketchy's.
I'll be writing a few things this week about conventions (since it's primarily on my mind right now)–both from the development side and the attending side. Since I've been both a guest and a coordinator for cons, I hope to be able to bridge the gap and provide some good advice for both sides.
So, I'm rather out of my element as a webcomics blogger. I really do neither anymore, so I'm really at a loss for what to write about that doesn't come off as just me venting about how different webcomics are today than in the "good ol' days." I say, why fight it?
Sorry to drop in on a guest bloggin' week, but thought I'd point out that the 2010 Ignatz nominees are out — here's the nominees in the online comics category:
Also two other deadlines for submitting work for consideration are coming up this fall:
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