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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ISBN — a beginner’s guide

ISBN — a beginner’s guide

An ISBN is a 10- or 13-digit number used to identify a book from a specific publisher. Once your book...
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How to write a Halloween joke

How to write a Halloween joke

On Substack, a cartoonist was struggling with writing a Halloween joke. He was experiencing a common problem. He was stuck...
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Webcomics Confidential: Size doesn’t matter

Webcomics Confidential: Size doesn’t matter

when it comes to your audience, size doesn't matter. A small and engaged readership beats a huge, lukewarm audience every...
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ComicLab Ep 357 — Innovation fascination

ComicLab Ep 357 — Innovation fascination

Having wrapped up his 16th Kickstarter, cartoonist Dave Kellett shares some insights about setting realistic expectations, avoiding paid advertising, and...
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Adding lettering to improve original art sales

Adding lettering to improve original art sales

Selling original art is an integral part of the business model of an independent cartoonist who works with traditional media...
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E-Newsletters

Sending out a monthly e-newsletter is a great way to keep in touch with readers — and an awesome way to get the word out on new information about your webcomic. It takes a little time to prep, but it’s a well-targeted message to an interested audience is incredibly valuable as you build your community. Here are some thoughts.

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by on September 13, 2010
Posted In: Business, Tech
9 Comments

Critiques – New Site Feature

A number of members have communicated that they’d like to have more abilities to receive critiques.

To that end, I’ve created a new area on the site, Critiques, that people can post requests to have certain aspects of their webcomics critiqued by other members.

This is not the place for “Hey! Look at my webcomic!” This is the place to get brutally honest reviews of certain aspects of your work by peers.

The minute I see testy replies from thin-skinned creators, the thread gets locked and we move on.

Remember: You asked for it. 🙂

by on September 9, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
16 Comments

Reddit

[NOTE: This is an archive post. A “new post” e-mail was sent out by mistake.]

I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask the members who are participating in the Reddit thread to discontinue.

by on September 2, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
81 Comments

September To-Do List

Tomorrow is the first day of September, and the kids are headed back to school. Which is great is you’re a webcartoonist, because that means they’re returning to reading webcomics from school.

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by on September 1, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
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Logo Hot Seat Part Four: Concept

In discussing logos, we’ve hit legibility, negative space and typography.

The fourth key to good logo design is concept.

In other words, this is the idea behind the logo itself. Making the image (if any) work together with the type to convey something significant about the comic. It’s the hook, if you will — the spirit of the logo.

There are a lot of logos that could be improved by addressing their approach to concept. So many that I’m going to break this section into two parts.

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by on August 31, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
42 Comments

Record-keeping tips from the IRS

As we head into the four quarter of 2010, I thought it might be a good time to go over some information that’s going to come in handy by the end of the year. Keeping good records is going to do two things. First, it’s going to help you calculate your taxes accurately and avoid any mistakes that might get you flagged for review. Secondly, in the event that you are called in for an audit, having your records in order will help you navigate the process in a much better frame of mind. All of the following links take you off-site to the IRS’s official advice on each topic.

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by on August 26, 2010
Posted In: Business
13 Comments