If you’re not a member of Webcomics.com, you might wonder about what goes on behind the “paywall.” Here’s a list of topics from last month — both from the site and from the private forum — to give you an idea of what Webcomics.com is like every day.

If you’re curious about joining, we’ve made it easier than ever with a $5 trial membership. You’ll get full access to the site for thirty days so you can see what you’ve been missing. At the end of the trial, you can choose to re-subscribe ($30 for 12 months of access) or walk away with no strings attached. You will not be re-billed unless you choose to subscribe.

Please note: The links below will lead you to content that is “subscription-only” content. Why do I do this? Simple. If you see something that intrigues you and decide to subscribe, you can come back here and use this post to jump right to the post that caught your attention. And once you do that, use the other Best Of posts to drill even deeper into the site!

Best of the site

Prep your site for the Q4 ad season: Traditionally, the last two months of the year see a significant spike in advertising revenue. Here’s what you can do to prepare your site to make the most of this happy time of year.

We launched a new Hot Seat critique series: In this series, we look at participants’ sites on one day and critique what we find on that day.

CMYK Preview in RGB mode: Here’s a useful tip on preparing your images to maximize their visual effect — both on the Web and in print.

E-mail your comic to subscribers: It’s an old-school technique, but it has tremendous staying power.

Storyboarding tutorial: In this guest post, member Aidan Casserly gives a detailed overview of storyboarding — an excellent source of freelancing revenue.

Using Photoshop Actions to make pro-quality word balloons

Alias vs anti-alias: Which is right for you?

Sherpa Safari: Member J.R. Faulkner updates us on her experiences with Comics Sherpa.

Holiday shipping deadlines: Need to get it there by the 25th? Here’s when you have to get your package to the post office — both in the US and Canada.

5 habits of effective webcartoonists: Here’s five good habits to establish if you’d like to improve your comics.

Facebook’s “crackdown” on promotion: Once you get done reading all of the panic being spread on the Facebook walls of your fellow webcartoonists, sit down and read this for a better understanding of what’s really going on. Then breathe.

Best of the Private Forum

Vertically aligned comics: Is there value to optimizing your comic for the small screen of smartphones?

Hiveworks

Converting RGB to CMYK: Pitfalls to avoid.

Webcomics Study Group: We have a group of members who get together every week on Google Hangouts to offer mutual critiques, knowledge-share, and comradery.

DIY Drawing Board

I can’t stick with one comic long enough!

InDesign exporting issue

Comic Rocket

To buffer or not to buffer!

VAT MOSS — how will it affect international sales?