Join Webcomics.com
Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 4:57PM Starting today, Webcomics.com will begin charging a $30-per-year subscription fee. That fee is going to be used to help support what this site has become -- and allow it to achieve its full potential.
Webcomics.com has established itself as a tremendous resource of practical information for webcartoonists. By joining today you will have access to:
- Frequent updates of news, advice, tutorials and strategies by webcomics veteran Brad Guigar.
- Monthly contributions by webcomics pioneer Scott Kurtz and Penny Arcade's Business Guy, Robert Khoo.
- Personalized features like a new e-mail-based organizer to help you plan for upcoming conventions.
- Feedback and guidance for your comic and the small business you'll create running it.
- A fully rounded, indexed repository of two year's worth of information that you can use to help improve your work.
- A moderated, passionate, supportive community of webcomics creators.
- Inside information on conventions, vendors and other entities that webcartoonists access to advance their businesses.
- Deals on merchandise.
For a low subscription of $30 per year, you will have access to all of this plus the entire Webcomics.com archives, one of the most helpful and supportive forums for creative people on the Web, and several members-only offers.
Webcomics.com Terms of Service.
FAQ
Most webcomics are based on the free-content model. The "How To Make Webcomics" book is built around it. Why is Webcomics.com becoming a pay site?
Simply put, Webcomics.com isn't entertainment; it's a valuable resource for webcartoonists. It would be difficult to continue offering this site for free in its current state -- and impossible, given the improvements we have planned.
Why not just run ads?
This will be very much a niche site. There will not be as much value for an advertiser as there will be for subscribers.
Why $30 per year?
It's an inexpensive buy-in that almost any webcartoonist can afford. It has an added benefit of keeping out people who may not be as serious about webcomics. It naturally weeds out comments from people who may be passing through, and results in distilling comments to those from people who are committed to improving their comics.
Reader Comments (272)
And thinking about it, maybe some people are balking simply because the asking price is so high? Perhaps you should consider a month to month option for those who would like to see if its worth their money or for those who simply don't have a spare thirty to spend at the moment?
I understand that you are providing a service to instruct those looking forward to doing webcomics...
I'm just afraid that this could hinder those like myself who don't have disposable income and who are unemployed. Granted, 30 bucks a year isn't that bad at all...but only if you check the site and post on the forums every day. If it's something that's only a resource to someone then they are missing out.
I used to check the site daily and during a lull where I got burnt out on making my own comic and gave up on it, I stopped visiting the site.
Now that I'm back and trying to start my strip up again, I find that I have to scrounge up 30 bucks to even look at the site's info. It is disappointing indeed.
I agree with the webcomics business model and I know that the info here is very valuable to anyone wanting to do a webcomic.
I just think that in the long run, this can hurt those who are just starting out and haven't been able to pick the book up yet, or have the book and are just now discovering the site.
@Ethan,
Honestly, if you can't afford 30 bucks for a year's subscription, you probably couldn't afford to take advantage of any advice we're going to offer. It's 30 bucks a year is too much to swing, then so will raising capitol for prints, shirts, books, or hosting.
So yeah, if you can't spare 30 bucks, you should probably just do webcomics as a fun hobby and the new webcomics.com isn't right for you YET.
But when that changes, I hope to have a wealth of info for you take advantage of.
I just got here*. Um, will there be any limited archives? I don't really know what I'm missing.
*last time I was here was when the site was just starting up and the forums were still on Halfpixel
30 bucks a year is a drop in the bucket honestly. I'll most likely subscribe when I can.
I'm just more worried about people who want to do this professionally and are just starting out.
I just wonder how much of the content is going to change now that we're paying for it. I loved the FanFlow stuff you guys did. I'm hoping that we're going to get 30 dollars a year worth of content. For the most part, the content here is pretty good. I'm just curious what it'll be in the future.
I suppose, it's just change. Change is scary and controversial. Only time will tell.
Thanks for the response Scott. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. Especially if Khoo gets involved.
I definitely don't think Brad should continue to contribute the time and effort he has for free.... however, I'd be willing to pay much more for all of HalfPixel and Khoo with weekly updates. The value in HalfPixel (as evident from WW) is the 4 different opinions and how very merge and diverge. With Brad as the sole voice here, the information isn't as valuable.
I may reconsider my opinion at a later date, but it would be doubtful without more voices beyond just Brad with monthly doses of Kurtz and Khoo.
Um, if you're charging for the site now, shouldn't contributors get something? You guys have about five or six articles I wrote, doesn't that mean I should be paid since you're making money off of my content?
Tell you what. All four of you tell people to come read my comic and we'll call it even.
Ethan, we already got $30 a month worth of content. Everyone needs to stop comparing what's here to the sh*t on other webcomic forums.
Yeah, I think there is $30 a month/year worth of content here. I'm just curious about new content too. We'll just have to wait and see.
@David As I stated earlier, if you're not comfortable with your content being behind the subscription wall, just drop me an e-mail letting me know which posts you'd like me to remove, and I'll take them down immediately. :)
For my $30, will I get regular WebComicsWeekly podcasts updates with that? That to me is the dealbreaker -- and I'm sorry I'm going to bust your balls for a second -- but if you guys can't make a commitment to make your weekly podcast a weekly thing, how can I be sure that I'm going to get my money's worth from this site on a yearly basis. Clicking around, I didn't see a Terms of Service notice or anything that guarantees my rights as a consumer of your information. How do I know that Brad won't take all of my money and build a dream house in Florida? I'm not saying that the information isn't a valuable -- I certainly think it is - there's a wealth of information on the site - but it seems that there are services I want from webcomics.com that you aren't offering.
Drat. DJ already busted your balls. Carry on and good luck!
Just joined. The way I see it, Brad saved me beaucoup bucks on some cool fonts that I bought the other day on a site I never heard of and a sale I didn't know existed! That's the benefit of this site. Information to make your webcomic better. I'm totally ok with the fee...a week and a half's worth of coffee, sweet deal. I hope Brad gets the biggest share, seeing how he IS Webcomics.com from what I can tell. Looking forward to visiting this site in the year to come :)
Good luck! I will miss the useful info on this site. :(
Hard to begrudge you guys the 30 bucks, and what you propose to offer makes it seem like a sweet deal.
Thing is, this is right after Christmas, and I'm flat-ased broke from buying my kids' presents. Maybe in March or April I can come back and subscribe. If I don't forget to.
After reading some of the comments posted here, it seems as though many of my objections are misled. If there will in the future be previews of posted content on the site, some of my trepidation is nullified. After reading Scott's comments, I understand the necessity of this move, and I too would rather have a pay-only webcomics.com than no webcomics.com at all. I still dislike the subscription model in general, but if that's what it takes to allow the site to continue, I cannot be opposed to it. Though I still have misgivings, I'm hoping that this works out for you gentlemen. I apologize if my previous comment was confrontational in any way.
I would like to continue to support and be involved with the site, whatever way I can. I didn't mind donating my time to write articles that everyone had free access to, but I don't like the idea of not being able to profit from my work when presented for-profit. However, I AM aware that the amount of money that anyone is making from my archived articles is in the low percentages of one cent, and no one will be subscribing on the strength of those articles.
Therefore, I have no real objection to your reinstating my articles on the site if you would like to do so, as long as you don't mind that I'd like to republish them elsewhere in a publicly-available format. I understand that the strength of a site like this is in its aggregating information for its users, and I do not mind adding my voice to that aggregate.
I do regret that the move to subscriber probably means that I will not be asked to continue to contribute articles on the site. I found it very rewarding. If you are still interested in taking public submissions, I hope there will be an announcement on the site. I wish you good luck, and will be following the site to see what new developments there are.
Heh. I meant "year" but yeah, you get my point. I'm really excited to see what's up on the site in the future.
Okay, after going through the 12 steps of grief I think I've recovered enough to make a rational post.
I think $30 is more than fair, and given all the great work Brad has done on this site, I am fully confident that Brad will continue to make interesting and helpful posts in the future.
My one worry is how this will affect the webcomics.com community. Many of the great posts that Brad has made have been initiated by questions and discussions asked in the forum. In addition, because the topics discussed on this site are best suited for beginning/intermediate cartoonists, there is a lot of turnover in who is actively following this site. If someone is just starting, they're probably checking the site out pretty frequently, whereas once they become more established, they move on to focusing on keeping their comic running (and of course, there are a lot of people that eventually give up and move on to other things).
How do you plan to keep the influx of new community members if there is no archive to entice them with the useful information being posted here? Not only will this hurt the community, but eventually it will hurt subscriptions as people move on and there isn't anyone to replace them.
Just chimin' in...
Even though my knee-jerk reaction was, "Huh? What?! How could they?" I quickly got over that and completely understand the need and reasoning behind it.
Reading the comments, I'm amazed at how many people view you guys as these mystical webcomic swamis who should be handing out your knowledge for free. You guys are business men! You can't pay your bills with a few flowers thrown at your enlightened feet!
I hate to sound business cut-throat, but even handing out free advice is simply social networking and marketing. We crowd around to get some tips, improve our work, feel grateful, and your readership and fanbase gets stronger. But even that, no matter how benevolent, takes time, effort and money. It's not sustainable. It will dry up.
If this site is taking a serious step toward a webcomic business consulatation community, then it's more than worth it. The people involved have more than proven themselves of having that information, and more importantly... willing to share it.
I'm up for taking my comic beyond a simple hobby, and starting make a business of it. Count me in.
Guys, this is incredibly worth it. All the "disappointed" people are missing the point. Paying for webcomics business advice from Robert Khoo? For only 30 bucks? Are you kidding?
I get that people are going to miss the Forums as a place where anyone can come and offer ideas, but the benefits outweigh the loss. Hell, I'll give you 30 bucks just to show my support for all your hard work, Brad.
@DavidGallaher
If anything, the fact that we're not doing Webcomics Weekly is an indication that we're able to focus on our actual commitments. We did that podcast for fun and as a way to promote the book in the beginning. it was always finite.
We answered all the questions we could. After 66 episodes we kept getting the same questions over and over again. It was time for that podcast to end.
With Webcomics.com I think we can dial down and really get more specific and focused. More so than we could have in the podcast.
Just my 2 cents.
After reading through some of the comments, I wanted to chime in on one point -- I think splitting the subscription fee would make this more accessible for those who are struggling a bit financially. $2.50 a month is easy, but $30 is a week's worth of groceries for me.
I understand the point about us not being able to fully take advantage of the advice since we can't afford to put money into our comics yet. But there is also an advantage to learning as much as you can, when you can. And it certainly wouldn't hurt you guys to give the lower income folks a chance to throw a few extra dollars your way from time to time, as opposed to never getting any money from us at all. :)
@Ariadnex
it's 30 for the entire year. Not 30 a month.
If I remember correctly, there were a few cartoonists who took Guigar up on your challenge to come up with specific goals for the coming year instead of vague resolutions. Wasn't the plan to have them check back in a couple of times this year in order to see what they've accomplished? I wasn't one of them, so my question is one borne out of sheer morbid curiousity: will they get a free year's subscription, so they can participate under the sorts of terms they were expecting when they signed up?
@ScottKurtz I know. What I'm saying is I'm not willing to go without groceries for a week this month so that I can have access to Webcomics.com for the rest of the year. But I could probably buy a month here and there (split up per month it would be $2.50... or you could bump it up to $3 or something). That would be easier, and I suspect that you would get more people to give you money that way.