The first one of these went well so let’s try another, shall we? Thanks to everyone who sent in questions (please continue to do so)! It’s looking like I’ll be answering one question a week so if you don’t see yours, keep checking back.
Today’s question is from Jennifer (Jenny?) P.
How many pages would you suggest I publish for my comic’s initial launch? It’s a webcomic (story driven). I plan to make buffers (20-30 pages) but not sure how many to upload on the initial launch.
Great question! Having a substantial buffer in case something unexpected happens is smart, so I’m glad to hear you’re already planning for that. As for how many pages to throw online at the start… it depends. If you asked three different people you might get three different answers.
My feeling is that the page count is less important than hooking your audience on the story as quickly as possible. One of the storytelling mistakes I made with my first comic was starting off too slow and in a not-terribly-interesting place. Lead with action or something equally interesting, and if that sequence takes two, five, or fifteen pages to play out, so be it. Whatever the number, make them effective pages.
That said, if the story catches right away I would still upload at least five pages, up to as many as ten. Go with what feels right!
That’s all for this week. Remember to address your tweets to @devinafterdark and include the hashtag #FAQDevin and YOUR. QUESTION. COULD. GET. ANSWERED.
makingcomics.com
Great advice! Looking back at the start of my webcomic, I wish that I had more pages completed AND started with something that would hook people. I made the same mistake of starting slowly and I think that really does affect how quickly you can hook someone and keep them coming back.