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Can I ask your opinion on something I've been considering?
Lets say that I decided to build a site where you could read my comic Ghost Kiss (or possibly a brand new comic by me) as well as 9 other comics that I think are really neat and worthwhile. All 10 comics would update once a week (at least). So at minimum there'd be 4 new pages of each comic a month (which is much faster than I currently produce Ghost Kiss, by the way). The only way you could read these comics was to subscribe to this site, and the subscription fee is... lets say $5/month.
Okay, here are the questions:
1. Are you interested enough in my comic to pay a subscription fee to read it? or do you just stop reading?
2. Is 10 high quality exclusive ongoing comics, updated 4 times a month, enough to entice you to subscribe? Is 5? Is 20?
3. Is $5 a reasonable price to ask for a subscription to a site like this? What is a reasonable price?
4. Is exclusive content via subscription site attractive, or does the idea completely repel you?
5. Does knowing that the reason for the site would be to help creators actually earn money from their comics and that every dollar outside of operating costs would be split among contributing creators make you more likely to want to pay a subscription fee?
This idea has sprang from a few conversations I've had over the last week about how difficult it is for webcomic creators to make even a small amount of money no matter how hard they work. Subscriptions sites have worked (and have not worked) in the past, but I'm curious if my readers, friends and fans would actually be interested in something like this.
If you decided to answer please answer honestly. You won't hurt my feelings by telling me you think this is a bad idea.
Lets say that I decided to build a site where you could read my comic Ghost Kiss (or possibly a brand new comic by me) as well as 9 other comics that I think are really neat and worthwhile. All 10 comics would update once a week (at least). So at minimum there'd be 4 new pages of each comic a month (which is much faster than I currently produce Ghost Kiss, by the way). The only way you could read these comics was to subscribe to this site, and the subscription fee is... lets say $5/month.
Okay, here are the questions:
1. Are you interested enough in my comic to pay a subscription fee to read it? or do you just stop reading?
2. Is 10 high quality exclusive ongoing comics, updated 4 times a month, enough to entice you to subscribe? Is 5? Is 20?
3. Is $5 a reasonable price to ask for a subscription to a site like this? What is a reasonable price?
4. Is exclusive content via subscription site attractive, or does the idea completely repel you?
5. Does knowing that the reason for the site would be to help creators actually earn money from their comics and that every dollar outside of operating costs would be split among contributing creators make you more likely to want to pay a subscription fee?
This idea has sprang from a few conversations I've had over the last week about how difficult it is for webcomic creators to make even a small amount of money no matter how hard they work. Subscriptions sites have worked (and have not worked) in the past, but I'm curious if my readers, friends and fans would actually be interested in something like this.
If you decided to answer please answer honestly. You won't hurt my feelings by telling me you think this is a bad idea.
Early Comics
3 Subscribers
Thanks for helping me keep making comics! you get to see the comics earlier (about 5 days earlier) and for every 6USD, you have the right to ask Rayah a wish!
$1/month
The 3rd annual Modest Medusa Popularity Contest!
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I'm so happy to announce that after 4 years its finally time for a new Modest Medusa book! The Modest Medusa Season 5 Kickstarter is now live (and already 50% funded)! In this new hardcover book Modest goes to school for the first time, makes new friends and meets her greatest enemy, 1st grade teacher Ms. Booth! The 130+ page hardcover book will contain author commentary for every strip and a selection of bonus comics created just for this collection! Also available for the first time ever is the hardcover edition of Modest Medusa Season 4! I'm also offering new stickers, prints, pillows and other Medusa goods! New readers can catch up on the entire series with the modest medusa digital library, which contains all 5 Seasons plus the Modest Medusa coloring book and more! Please check out the Kickstarter here. I'd really appreciate your support! - Jake
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Hi everyone. I wanted to let you know that my new Kickstarter is live! Mermaid Hunters is a starter box for The Magical Land of Yeld RPG. The game is created by myself and my brother Nick, and based on my comic Modest Medusa. This new box set has everything you need to play, including a rulebook, Action Board, Character Tokens and more! You can check out the Kickstarter here. I'm really excited about this project, and I'd appreciate your support so much! - Jake
10 years of Modest Medusa!
© 2017 - 2024 JakeRichmond
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I think I tend to be an outlier in that I've never complained about "pay walls". To me, I can't see that as being a rational argument, because, hey, I went to the local comic shop and they had this pay-wall, I had to actually pay for the comics! I realize that there is some material cost involved in the printing of a physical volume and you get to take it home from the store, however, I also know that between printing and labor, the bulk of the cost of printed comics pays for the artists' labor. Or at least, it should be, since printing is relatively inexpensive and I'd like to think that the artists should be able to sustain themselves on their work.
So when you say 40 pages (10 series, each 4-times per month) for $5, I boil that down to roughly two standard comic issues for $5, and given that the average comic is now about what, $4.50 each? That's nearly half the cost of two printed volumes for the month. Now, If I were genuinely interested in those 10 series, yes, I might spring that five-dollar subscription. For my part getting me interested in the ten that are in your bundle might be the hard part... and I think I might be more likely to just pledge $1/mo on Patreon to each of several of those creators that I liked.
I don't however pledge as much as I would like to other artists on Patreon currently because I'm still on disability and because our own finances have been so limited that we've been receiving food assistance for a few years.
I hope you find that helpful.
So when you say 40 pages (10 series, each 4-times per month) for $5, I boil that down to roughly two standard comic issues for $5, and given that the average comic is now about what, $4.50 each? That's nearly half the cost of two printed volumes for the month. Now, If I were genuinely interested in those 10 series, yes, I might spring that five-dollar subscription. For my part getting me interested in the ten that are in your bundle might be the hard part... and I think I might be more likely to just pledge $1/mo on Patreon to each of several of those creators that I liked.
I don't however pledge as much as I would like to other artists on Patreon currently because I'm still on disability and because our own finances have been so limited that we've been receiving food assistance for a few years.
I hope you find that helpful.