Web comics

One of the challenges of this period of my life is learning the best way to do things.

Some of that is a matter of networking, but there are also technical aspects. Yesterday was the first time that I published something to Kindle. The formatting is probably not as good as it could be. The cover is kind of dull.

That's okay - it's a learning experience. I learned things from going through the process yesterday, I am still learning things as I try to send out a couple of review copies and track sales (two so far), and I will know more the next time I put something up.

I need to re-examine my profiles, because I have more things to link to now with the book and with the 6-page scripts. Using Wattpad may not be the best place for what I am doing with the 6-page scripts, but I am exploring. Posting the first had some stumbling blocks, but it is going smoothly now.

Some questions are more cosmetic in nature - how do I make it look right - and I am not even sure what to call the question of getting people to see things, especially people who might pay for it, but also, a lot of what I do has different goals.

I want to sell the full-length screenplays to someone who will film them. I don't want to make any money on the blog. I do want individual readers to buy the book. I don't expect to sell the 6 page screenplays, but if I could leverage them so that people who might buy the full-length screenplays realize that I can do stuff, that would be good. I would like to sell Karate Kat and The Bear in the Net as children's books, but in their current forms they are freely available on the internet (but better forms are possible).

The most questions happen with the comics. I do want people to read them and be amused. I do not expect to sell any of them as long as I am drawing my own. I would not be against working with someone who could draw, and then that could be for money. But also, I am not good at displaying it.

I have mainly focused on my frustration with not being a very good artist, but at the same time, scanning in drawings as PDFs which I then load to Dropbox has not been completely satisfying.

Some of that appears to be the PDF format, and I should be working more with JPEG or some other type of file. I could then use Tumblr or DeviantArt to gather them together. I haven't decided which makes the most sense.

There is still the primitive nature of the art. There are two things that I want to draw right now, but very dark shades are needed to set the right mood, and my pencils will not manage it. Do I put in scraps of black construction paper? Can I do some of it on the computer without investing in new software and a tablet? I don't know.

I will be started some books soon that I hope will be helpful, but the other thing that I am starting now is exploring the long list of web comics that I have been meaning to explore. (Seriously, the list keeps growing without me even trying to find more.) So expect some reviews of web comics coming soon.

I don't know how well I can do at this. Marketing myself has never been a strong point, and then there are all the new things that I need to figure out as well. However, there are two things that are really good for me: learning and being creative. Those things are happening.