How do you feel about Update Schedules?

[Geekblather]

After all, it's kind of hard to expect 'regular' readers, when the comic itself is irregular.

Wow, that's a really awesome quote. I'll have to remember that.

Hee, thanks. Good to know that my routine of general tardosity with flashes of brilliance is holding up.

[RobertBlake]

If I didn't have a regular schedule with my comic, I would get lazy and then nothing would get done.

[Liddell]

I update often, so I don't bother with regularity.

Now, if my comic could get over some of its technical difficulties (e.g. the template files disappearing every so often), then I might be more likely to go to a regular schedule eventually. However, that would occasionally mean fewer comics in a week, since there is no way I can do a daily update like I did when I first started my comic.

Getting a comic every day is nice, but I simply don't have time to do a *good* comic every day. Ever since my slight change in style, the comics have been taking *much* longer to draw and color.

I could probably swing a regular schedule if I did my comics in black and white and made them smaller, but some of my stories simply cannot be told that way.

[Jackhass]

I've never missed an update in 2 years (except in cases where it's out of my control...Comicgen begin down and stuff like that).

The ultimate goal of all this is to someday make some actual money at this and I figure if I can't even manage 3 weekly updates then I'm in trouble.

[Dotty]

Get a schedule and stick to it. Otherwise you'll get lazy, you won't update on time, and your readership will decline. Its happened to 95% of everyone here.

[Vorticus]

Schedules are great for readers and useful for creators. They let you figure out how much time you can devote to making your comic and, hopefully, keep you on task. My last comic I tried to run with a "sunday and whenever during the week I get around to it" schedule and it tended to update only on Sunday.

[NakedElf]

As I see it, there's absolutely no excuse not to keep a schedule. I'm *not* going to remember to check back every few days on the off-chance that a comic *might* have finally updated. It's just not worth the effort.

If you're going to make a comic and you want people who aren't your best friends/family to read it, then you have to provide folks with at least some regularity in the updating, which means a schedule. If you're afraid you can't follow a schedule, then keep your schedule minimal--for example, one comic every other Monday. (If you can't do one comic every two weeks, you probably should re-evaluate the webcomic thing entirely.)

But what happens if Monday comes and you don't have anything? Say, it's finals week, or life has just been really busy, or you've been working on a super-awesome comic and it's just not done yet? sketch something nice and fast but fun to look at and post that instead, with a note on how long you think it'll be until you put up the real comic. Personally, I keep a stash of pics on hand in case of just such an occasion--or in case a file gets mis-labeled and goes up on the wrong day, I can throw up a filler pic until I straighten things out.

On the other hand, if you find yourself creating significantly more comics than necessary to meet your schedule, (at one point I found myself with over six months of 'buffer' comics,) then that's generally a sign that you can safely increase your scheduled postings, say from once every two weeks to once a week. I started with once a week on my main comic, moved up to twice a week, then three times a week, which is about my personal comfortable maximum. Three times a week works well for me, and gives me enough time left over that I can pursue various silly side projects, like my once a week penis-comic.

[NakedElf]

The reasons for having a schedule are twofold... self-motivation, and keeping people coming back to the comic. Early on, I think the first reason is the most important. I can't speak for other readers, but I don't think I've ever bookmarked a comic on my first encounter with it... I have to see it at least twice before I'll decide if I'm sticking with it or not.

Personally, I will bookmark a comic the first time I see it, but I won't bookmark it if it has too many 'missed' days or looks like it's been updating too erratically--I take that as a sign that the author isn't really devoted to the project, won't update regularly, and will likely disappear into hiatus-land and never return.

[Dutch!]

I think the update schedule is important.

As said earlier, it gives the reader an idea of when to expect the next comic, how quickly the story will progress and how quickly the archive will build, and gives the reader some sort of insight into how committed the writer/illustrator is to their project. That doesn't mean a thrice weekly author isn't as committed as a once a fortnight author with double page coloured spreads, too.

I found as a creator though, that it gives me a deadline, a structure to work with, and a good scaffolding to build my storylines around. I know I'm going to have 3 updates a week. I use the calendar beside the desk to note down any specific dates I think might be relevant for the strip in regards to stand alone large comics, and stuff like that. Once I find one that's approaching, I check how many updates I have before that date arrives. I can then use that number to craft a story around or into so that it concludes or leads on to the next one without being interrupted by any special stand alone strips I feel would be good to do.

A few reasons there for you, anyway.

[ArcoJawa]

Woh... I didn't expect that many replies. I either touched a heart or hit a nerve! Ya, I suppose the results say that at least COMIC artists seem to care for schedules, dunno about people though... *sigh* how come none of the people who voted against schedules spoke up?

I'm going to look at what times other people use and what times would be appropriate for me before I decide on a schedule, but I guess I'm going to have one, period. I'd much appreciate if people with schedules told me theirs and the reason for them.

[Starline]

A comic won't have a chance to get popular without a schedule. Readers come on the days they know you update. If they don't see anything new, they won't come back. Especially for comics that are just starting, because they aren't as invested in the story as ones that have been going on longer.

[Renee Katz]

There are comics that don't have schedules? o_o

[Dutch!]

I think a few of us did tell you our schedules and our reasons for them.

Just as importantly, remember you need to work to maintain the schedule once you settle on it as well, as much as is possible, if only for yourself, I suppose. I've worked to make certain I haven't missed an update, and it's three official years next week, so I have consistency on my side.

Whether that has translated into content and numerous readers is another thing, but I know I'm upholding my end of the bargain at least.

[NakedElf]

There are comics that don't have schedules? o_o

I could point to a few. And some which are notorious for missing scheduled updates.

Something Positive, for example, has no schedule--it just updates almost once a day. That is, it updates often enough that if I check it once a day, I am almost always rewarded with a new comic, even if Randy doesn't actually keep a schedule. And SP is one of the most popular comics out there.

Sluggy keeps a tight schedule, updating exactly at midnight, but PvP seems to update 'sometime today', whenever Scott gets around to it. Considering that PvP does update 5 days a week, though, I'm not going to complain that an update's a few hours late.

If you don't have 'often' to fall back on as an update schedule, then the best thing I'd recommend is to be A. Awesome and B. notify your readers when you update. RSS/LJ feeds of various sorts are really useful for this. If the updates *come to me* instead of me going to them, I'll keep following a comic even though it updates sporadically, because it's no effort on my part... But I'm *only* going to do that if the comic has enough of a backlog that I'm interested in it and I think the author is going to keep going--for example, a comic which has been updating a few pages every couple of weeks for four years is clearly the work of a dedicated author, but easier for me to follow in RSS form.

[ArcoJawa]

Oooh... so people will readily leave the comic without updates huh? Well, my story is both illustrated and animated for each chapter and the animation takes considerably more time then the comic. That'll be something to work out I guess... I suppose I could show off little tidbits from the animation to wet the public's whistle though, I think I've done that before...

Anyway, I can't say I've decided on a schedule yet but right now I'm working on the site to make it look a little nicer so when the site is changed it should also have the routine I've decided on (considering my work schedule I'll be working on the site mostly on the weekend). Halfways I kinda want to update on days most other comics don't, halfways I just want to go for the weekend, but we'll see. It still sound a little intimidating I guess, what with mine being a heavy detail comic, but I may as well try a schedule to at least see if I CAN right? Nothing to lose, much to gain.

[Shishio]

It depends on your goals. If your goal is to gain readers and success from your endeavours, then, as people have already said, it is essential that you maintain a consistent update schedule. I maintain, and hopefully will continue to do so, a very consistent schedule with my comic. New comics go up at 12:00 a.m. EST every Friday. If you check my site at this time and do not see a new comic, you're cache needs to be cleared, or you need to set your clock properly.

If you are just doing this as a hobby, can't afford to do regular updates, (Making webcomics can actually be pretty expensive if you need to hire an artist.) or what have you, then just do as you please. I know many people would argue against this approach, but my opinion is that maintaining a consistent schedule is important only if it is required to meet your goals. If not, why stress yourself to please demanding, ungrateful strangers? (Yes, there are devoted, grateful fans out there, just not very many in comparison to those who aren't.)

[NakedElf]

Oooh... so people will readily leave the comic without updates huh? Well, my story is both illustrated and animated for each chapter and the animation takes considerably more time then the comic. That'll be something to work out I guess... I suppose I could show off little tidbits from the animation to wet the public's whistle though, I think I've done that before...

That's a good strategy. ^_^

One thing I learned the hard way is that there is such a thing as making a comic too nice. I remember once spending literally hours on a single panel, trying to detail the interior of this Mongol yurt... no one cared. :( I guess what I'm saying is that while it's fun to make something superamazingawesome, most folks are only going to spend a few seconds looking at it... And if you're significantly slowing yourself down that way (like I did,) then ultimately it may be worth it to try something simpler. (If I ever restart that comic, it's going to be in black and white.)

Anyway, I can't say I've decided on a schedule yet but right now I'm working on the site to make it look a little nicer so when the site is changed it should also have the routine I've decided on (considering my work schedule I'll be working on the site mostly on the weekend). Halfways I kinda want to update on days most other comics don't, halfways I just want to go for the weekend, but we'll see. It still sound a little intimidating I guess, what with mine being a heavy detail comic, but I may as well try a schedule to at least see if I CAN right? Nothing to lose, much to gain.

You know what they say, first things first and don't sweat the small stuff. The most important thing, obviously, is to get your site set up and some comics posted. You can always start a schedule later, once you've gotten into the swing of things. So long as your comic only has a few actual strips it won't really matter, anyway.

I tried the updating on days other people don't thing at first, and ultimately I don't think it really helped (though I wouldn't say it hurt.) I suspect that people are more likely to go looking for webcomics on days when webcomics commonly update. The big thing I personally care about is updating at a *time* when others don't update--the comicgenesis servers have to update a *lot* of comics every day at midnight, which can mean that a comic sometimes doesn't actually update until three am... and I'd rather know my comic's going to update early than to not know when it's going to update...

[ArcoJawa]

One thing I learned the hard way is that there is such a thing as making a comic too nice. I remember once spending literally hours on a single panel, trying to detail the interior of this Mongol yurt... no one cared. I guess what I'm saying is that while it's fun to make something superamazingawesome, most folks are only going to spend a few seconds looking at it... And if you're significantly slowing yourself down that way (like I did,) then ultimately it may be worth it to try something simpler. (If I ever restart that comic, it's going to be in black and white.)

Woh! Wait a second - I'm not doing this comic for the crowd mind you, I just really would like the crowds opinion (I'm really looking forward to the 20 page marker and having my own forum). It's possible for me to do this, to maintain a schedule (at least for now), and so I will, but I'm not gonna color or draw any less then I already do. I've no intention of fully going to the point where this is a "comic for the masses" rather then a comic for me, well, at least not with this comic. This story is a bit more special shall we say, I have many other ideas I'd be willing to mass produce on a schedule for salivating web surfers. Not this one~

[NakedElf]

Make up your mind. Either you make a comic for yourself, or you make it for the internet. A comic with 20 strips isn't going to have a forum. Not a forum with anyone in it. The comics with successful forums are comics like The Devil's Panties with thousands of readers and years worth of comics. If you want a forum, you're going to have to do something which'll attract large amounts of people.

I have many comics which exist purely for personal reasons--and therefore I don't post them on the internet. Anything on the internet is for public consumption; it's just part of the nature of the internet. Therefore if you're asking for advice about making a comic on the internet, you should realize that everyone is going to assume that you intend on creating a comic which works well on the internet. If your intention is just to create something for yourself, then why are you even here? Make your comics whenever you feel like, show them to your friends, and that's it. You shouldn't be concerned with getting viewers if you have no desire for viewers.

So make up your mind about what you want to do, and then ignore all of the crap that has nothing to do with that. ^_^

There's also the problem that at the rate I was going, the comic was going to take about 10 years. :P There is such a thing as just too damn slow. What counts as 'too slow' is different for everyone, obviously. For me it was too slow. For you it might have been just fine.

[Dutch!]

So those of us making our comics for a few are not as worthy of the internet as those who are aiming to mass produce another genre cliched piece of work whose primary goal is to mass readers?

Sounds a little... wrong.