Marooned

2010 was a year full of changes for Marooned, and one that made me reevaluate many things about the strip. In addition, the year will probably be remembered as one where the webcomic scene kind of exploded, not only adding many more titles, but many good titles from very good artists.

In March, Marooned will begin its fourth year. “Conventional wisdom” states that you’ll have a pretty good idea where you stand with your comic in year five. I’m not sure that I will need to wait that long. I believe that the coming year will be an important one for the strip. Maybe even a “make or break” year. What follows are my thoughts on what I learned and what I’m thinking about concerning the strip.

As always, I welcome all comments – in fact, I’d love some feedback on this from readers and other creators alike.

If you don’t want to read the full report, here’s the bottom line bullet points:

• Readership has stopped growing, and that’s a problem I need to solve if Marooned is going to be successful.
• I feel like I improved as a writer and improved my writing workflow thanks to help from Steve and Chris.
• I believe the art and coloring has improved over the last year.
• Books will no longer be done the way I did in the past. I will now use CreateSpace.com to make POD editions you can order directly. That probably means no more artist editions. The mission log will be a thing of the past.
• I’m unsure of what effect the bonus content has in the minds of readers regarding desirability of the books. I wonder if a book of all the bonus content is appealing.
• So far digital products are a failure. I will likely be part of a new venture this year to get digital books out, we’ll see how that goes.
• I’m thinking about where Marooned is going in the next year, and if it’s an open or closed story. I still love the characters and the world and still enjoy doing the strip.

Readership

2010 was the year of the plateau for Marooned. There was a slight bump in readership in January (I don’t recall why) but in general, I averaged about 24-25,000 visits per month (note that is unique visits, not readers. I have about 1,500+ regular readers) throughout the year. In essence, the comic has stopped gaining readers, although it seems to be replacing readers who naturally drift off.
I did my typical advertising on Project Wonderful, spending 5 or 10 bucks here and there to run ads. This year I may try a bit more spending to see if it has an effect, since my ads seem to be generating at least a few bucks here and there (basically, that 5 or 10 bucks I just mentioned).

I will be trying to think about some new ways to grow the comic this year, but the truth is there is very little (if any) time available to me for marketing and sales, because I do this on the side as a creative outlet. And more and more, I’m beginning to think that is one of the most important aspects of running a comic.
Part of me would love to have a business partner to handle these things. Of course the problem is always money. I have no budget to hire such a person. And I would think to get a qualified person to handle these affairs, they’d need to be compensated in some way.

Bottom line: Readership has stopped growing, and that’s a problem I need to solve if Marooned is going to be successful.

Writing

Going into 2010, I was struggling a bit with the writing aspect. However, Og came to my rescue (as usual) and helped me set up a system of writing that really works for me. Because of that, I was able to plan out stories well in advance and to know where things were going, while still leaving myself some room for spontaneity.

I feel like the stories are more cohesive now as “episodes” instead of just a wandering narrative. And the best part is that my schedule now runs much smoother.

I also had some great conversations (and help from) Christopher Baldwin of Spacetrawler about writing comedy. He really got me thinking about the how’s and why’s of writing funny. His help was invaluable in growing in that aspect.

At this point in time we are in the middle of the episode “Rocket Science,” and I have another full episode planned out. I believe there’s enough material to last most of 2011.

Bottom line: I feel like I improved as a writer and improved my writing workflow thanks to help from Steve and Chris.

Art

I might feel better about the improvement in my art than anything else over the course of the last year. Nothing helps you improve drawing like more drawing. While I don’t draw as much as I would like, I’m starting to feel more comfortable with the process.

This year I made a concerted effort to really study other artists work, read tutorials, research my weaknesses and all in all try to become a better draftsman. I feel like I made enough improvement that my old stuff now looks really bad! Ah well.

There’s a long way to go, though. I still struggle with consistency and anatomy. I will continue the process of trying to improve just like I did this year.

You are probably also aware of the color and costume changes made to John and Asimov as well. I think these were definitely for the better, and I am liking how the guys look now.

Bottom line: I believe the art and coloring has improved over the last year.

Mars Wars Post Mortem & Merchandising

While I hesitate to use the term “disaster,” Mars Wars was something of a disappointment in regards to sales. While I don’t think sales are the only measuring stick of success, it certainly is an important factor. Putting a book like this together is a ton of work. Especially coordinating (and begging) all the extra artists to provide artwork (for which they receive nothing but my thanks). While my primary goal isn’t to make money, it would have been nice not to be in the hole on the project.

Last year the initial preorder on Out of Orbit was something around 52 books. Mars Wars got 26 orders – half of last year. In the end, I sold 74 Out of Orbit books, which will be triple the number of Mars Wars. I had my suspicions on why, and those were pretty much confirmed after the poll I just took.

The first problem was I made a book that weighs more than 1 pound. This caused the shipping prices to skyrocket. I simply didn’t realize that would happen, and by the time I figured it out, it was too late to change anything about it.

In addition, there was more content this year in regard to the comics from 2010 than in 2009 – and they were all double-sized, as opposed to many in the early run being single sized. So there were more pages. I had a bit more bonus content, so again – more pages. Suddenly I have a book that is 172 pages vs. 110. Yikes!

That made the book too expensive for anyone other than the die-hard fans. And even some of those balked at the price (and I don’t blame you, either.) Believe me when I tell you, I feel really bad about it. It was just a miscalculation on my part.

In addition, selling such a book at Christmas just puts more pressure on everyone’s wallets. While some might have wanted to buy it for a gift, the fact is everyone has enough to shop for as it is without adding in a $25 book (plus shipping).

And while there were enough responses of “the comics on the site are enough for me” to make me wonder: was the bonus content not compelling enough? (Because I think it’s pretty great, and I’ve gotten very positive feedback from it). Are there simply not enough people who enjoy reading the stories as a whole (like I sure do)? I’m not sure.

In this silly “webcomic model” selling books is a primary source of generating some cash flow. But the truth is simple on this. Unless you have a large readership where you can print offset (instead of Print On Demand or POD) to get reasonable per item costs, it’s nearly impossible to make any money. And frankly, most – MOST – comics online do not have such readerships.

I see comics out there that are much better than mine, drawn by high profile artists that are also struggling with this very thing. But if you can’t get to those numbers, what do you do?

I think for me, the answer is going to be CreateSpace.com for now. Just like I reprinted Out of Orbit in a different format (no mission log, 8 x 10” size) at a cheaper price ($9.99 + shipping), I will do the same type of thing for Mars Wars. What that means is that I can spend very little money (probably around $50) to put a title into print. I don’t have to take preorders and you can order the book as soon as its available. Heck, I might even make a few bucks that way, too, instead of losing money.

So I think for the foreseeable future, any book I create will be put out that way. That could mean no more artist editions, I’m not sure. There is a way I could still do that, but I’m honestly not sure it’s worth the trouble, especially in view of the little demand for them.

Meanwhile merchandising in general does not do well for me. While all the Asimov Plushes sold, they were a special item and again, it was not a money making venture. I’ve sold a few pieces of original art, but mostly to the same person (you know who you are… stop it!) Demand continues to be low for items I offer.
I’m not quite sure of the reason. Possibly the art isn’t that compelling (and I can understand that). Maybe I’ve offered the wrong things.

Bottom line: Books will no longer be done the way I did in the past. I will now use CreateSpace.com to make POD editions you can order directly. That probably means no more artist editions. The mission log will be a thing of the past.

Speaking of Books and Bonus Content

In more general terms about the books, I had always thought that the strength of my two books was the bonus content. Am I wrong about that? As I have said, I’ve gotten some great feedback on it, but it hasn’t necessarily translated into sales. For myself, I’ve enjoyed the stuff immensely! It’s been really special, and I think it’s really fun stuff to see and read. But it matters what the readers think, not me.

Considering all the trouble it takes to gather it all together (and to do a side project like Evasive Maneuvers myself to include) I’m not sure it’s all worth it. Then again, what’s the point of printing a book with nothing more than the same content on the web site? Sure you can read it all at once more comfortably, but there’s nothing special about it.

At this point, I don’t know what I will do for the next book in that regard.

I have thought about putting together an edition of all the bonus content from books 1 and 2 and offering that up as a title. I wonder if that would interest anyone?

Bottom line: I’m unsure of what effect the bonus content has in the minds of readers regarding desirability of the books. I wonder if a book of all the bonus content is appealing.

Digital Books

I’ve offered some digital books in the last year or so, and quite honestly, it’s been a total flop. I think I sold like 2-3 copies of Payload, and about the same for Out of Orbit and Mars Wars. It’s barely worth exporting the PDF for those kinds of numbers.

For myself, I prefer real books. I don’t know if that’s what the issue is here. I thought a $5.99 alternative to a $25 book might make up the sales, but that is not the case.

In the coming year, it appears I’ll be working with some other artists to have a central place to offer digital books of my work. While I think it’s a good idea, I don’t know what kind of result to expect. Much of what makes comics difficult is getting heard. There is just so much out there, how do you get noticed? It’s very, very hard. I liken it to the music industry, where there are tons of bands, but a very limited space for airplay and mindshare. Sure there are niche bands, and part of the trick is to find your niche. But that still means finding people to read your stuff, and it’s very difficult.

Bottom line: So far digital products are a failure. I will likely be part of a new venture this year to get digital books out, we’ll see how that goes.

What’s In Store for 2011?

That’s the really big question. I’m starting to reevaluate the strip and how I do things. As I said, there is a glut of new (and good) comics online. It has become even harder than it already was to get noticed. I’ve actually taken a break this year for the first time in 3 years, and it’s been good to relax without the deadline looming.

There’s been a lot of talk in webcomic circles lately about doing things differently. Maybe “seasons” is the way to go, like TV shows. Maybe the grind of specific updates isn’t as important as once thought. I see Steve Ogden doing Moon Town when his schedule permits, and his fans flock back every time he updates. It’s not like it’s hard to keep track of a comic nowadays with all the social media, RSS feed and email subscription options.

While I’ve always thought of Marooned as a kind of open-ended story that just keeps going, I’m starting to wonder if that’s the best idea. Maybe Marooned has a finite story. I do have other ideas that I would like to get to at some point – other stories with other characters.

Right now I still love the characters and the world. I’m not ready to step away from it, but neither is that thought so foreign to me as it once was. Maybe there’s another story and another style that would bring more success (or more fun or simply be more rewarding) than Marooned.

One thing I am looking forward to is working with Denver Brubaker on the Bounty Hunter John alternate universe story this year. It will be something a little different, and it will be a fun diversion from the main strip. I don’t know when we’ll be able to get some pages done (this is just a fun side thing for both of us – our main strips take priority) but I think you’ll enjoy it when it comes around.

Bottom line: I’m thinking about where Marooned is going in the next year, and if it’s an open or closed story. I still love the characters and the world and still enjoy doing the strip.

I think that’s it for my rambling thoughts. This year should be an interesting one in the world of webcomics. Change has been in the wind for some time now, and people are starting to really question the old ways of doing things. I think that’s good, because that can spark some innovation.

In the meantime, we have an engine at the bottom of a ravine to retrieve. John is bent on getting home and Lian is on her way to get the full story. Ril is sad, but she understands John a little better now. And you just know none of this is going to go as planned, right?