COmicLab Ep 360 — New ways to make an old mistake

COmicLab Ep 360 — New ways to make an old mistake

After years of listening to Brad and Dave extoll the virtues of self-publishing, a ComicLab listener signed with a corporate...
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Content exchange: Cross-promotion made simple

Content exchange: Cross-promotion made simple

With social media on a steep decline, many of us are scrambling to find ways to replace its benefits. One...
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Incorporating an oddly shaped panel into a vertical-scroll comic

Incorporating an oddly shaped panel into a vertical-scroll comic

Building an audience on the web means adapting to the vertical scroll. But that doesn't mean giving up innovative page...
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Webcomics Confidential: Draw larger

Webcomics Confidential: Draw larger

I took a question on Twitter recently: "Would it be wrong to draw my comics on A4 paper? I find...
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November To-Do List

November To-Do List

It's time to get started on (*choke*) the penultimate month of 2024.If you plan to offer new merchandise for the...
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ComicLab Ep 359 — Should your readers be your writers?

ComicLab Ep 359 — Should your readers be your writers?

BlueSky is beginning to feel like Twitter did ten years ago! Engagement is up, conversations are genuine, and follower counts...
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Understanding social media

Understanding social media

Social media is among an independent artist's most frustrating elements. We struggle for engagement, wage constant battles with "The Algorithm,"...
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Writing humor

Writing humor

Writing comedy is a challenge that is made even more daunting by the fact that humor itself is completely subjective...
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CMYK vs RGB

CMYK vs RGB

If you're saving your comics in RGB mode, you may be making a potentially expensive mistake. The content you are...
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ComicLab Ep 358 — “Help! I’m not funny anymore!”

ComicLab Ep 358 — “Help! I’m not funny anymore!”

Cartoonists Dave and Brad share some thoughts with a young humor writer trying to find their Funny. Also: Is BlueSky...
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ComicLab Ep 279 — Special guests Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz (“War and Peas”)

This week, we’re joined by Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz (“War and Peas“) to talk about their unique collaboration. Also, will a wordy title hurt your comic’s chances of success?

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

  • Wordy titles
  • Public-facing Patreon numbers
  • UPDATE: Silicon Valley Bank crash
  • UPDATE: A DIY digital-drawing tablet controller
  • Interview with Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz (“War and Peas“)
by on April 20, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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close up photo of survey spreadsheet

Free market research

Steven Spielberg was rejected TWICE by the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Walt Disney’s newspaper editor told him that he ‘lacked imagination and had no good ideas’. A perceived failure often tends to be the gateway to a bigger success. That’s why I think we spend too much time worrying about what happens if our Kickstarter fails.

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by on April 19, 2023
Posted In: Marketing / Social Media, Merchandise
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Tax advice

Next Tuesday (April 18) is the federal income tax deadline. But … what if you owe money and can’t pay? Don’t make a bad situation worse. This could end very badly if you handle it improperly.

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by on April 14, 2023
Posted In: Business
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ComicLab Ep 278 — Practicing to be a pro… or a pro practicing?

A listener asks about doing a practice project — and Kickstarting it later. Also — more than one hundred years of comics history tell everything we need to know about how comics companies treat creators. (And it ain’t good.)

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

  • Practicing to be pro
  • Comic History – corporate comics
  • UPDATE: Brad won the argument on ECCC
  • UPDATE: when 250k viral moment tells you that this is a marathon not a sprint
  • Marking an anniversary with a book
by on April 13, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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high angle photo of people

Crowdfunding without the crowd?

We’re often tempted to jump into crowdfunding — Patreon, Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, etc. — before we’re ready. And that can be a big mistake in many ways. So let’s talk about getting our timing right.

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by on April 11, 2023
Posted In: Uncategorized
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“Help! My archive is too big!”

While I was hosting my webinar* on webcomics for the Graphic Artists Guild, a comment came in from one of the attendees. This person said, “I think people avoid reading my comic because the archive is so big.”

I disagree. I’ll talk about why and then discuss some strategies for creators with large archives.

*If you missed it, you can still see it if you’re a member of the Graphic Artists Guild.

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by on April 10, 2023
Posted In: Digital publishing, Marketing / Social Media
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Apologies for the email avalanche!

I’m very sorry that you probably woke up to an avalanche of emails from Webcomics.com today. A few weeks ago, all the Webcomics Weekly episodes disappeared, and I sat down this morning to reinstate them. I didn’t realize it was also re-sending the emails until it was too late! I’m ashamed of the oversite.

by on April 9, 2023
Posted In: Site News
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