The Economics of Web Comics

Here at Black Mermaid Productions™ we've been debating another topic amongst ourselves – whether to release Elf~Fin digitally (which would get it to our readers quickly) or to bring it out in print (via a comics publisher or by doing it ourselves). There are merits for each and there is nothing to say we can't do both as well. The submission process is slow because we have to customise each proposal according to the criteria of each publisher – some want a lot, some are minimalist and some require additional work such as coming up with covers. We're going to be polling our readers in early 2009 on some very important questions but in the meantime, we have stumbled upon a very useful book, which we are going to buy for ourselves and which we recommend to comics creators wanting to post their comics properties online. It's called The Economics of Web Comics by Todd W Allen. The title is described on Amazon as:

The definitive book on web comics as a business and monetizing online content returns addressing hot topics like digital downloads and web-to-print crossover titles... The entire study is full of actual revenue numbers, offering a very detailed glimpse into the financial realities behind the comics industry.

This may also be the answer for people crossing over from traditional illustration who want to experiment with the comics medium and innovative storytelling and art, as well as build their audience. The possibilities are endless with web comics, and for the most part, web comics are infinitely cheaper to produce than their print version counterparts. 

And for the IP online security conscious amongst you, don't forget our blog post on eBookpro.