Month: February 2022

How to Make Money With Comics

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Disclaimer: I am currently not making money with comics. This post is research and also serves as a reminder to my future self that there is a path to make comics profitable.

I am just going to get the list that I have compiled so far of ways to make money with comics.

  • Platforms like Webtoons
  • Have your own website and serve ads
  • Prints of your most popular comics
  • Greeting cards
  • Stickers
  • Pins
  • Books

Webtoons is a website where you can upload your comic. There is a community there so the chance to be discovered is pretty good. They have an ad-revenue model where creators can earn 50% of the ads displayed on their comics. There is also a program for high-performing creators to potentially earn more. There are a few other comic hosting platforms. They have their pros and cons. For me, the biggest con is that I’m not sure the audience for my comic is there as it seems the manga-style comics are extremely well-received.

Choosing the route of your own website has costs like web hosting, domain registration, etc. But then you have complete freedom and no constraints. To make money through ad revenue, you need traffic – which could take time to build.

Physical products really will have more success when you have an audience. People will be interested in that unless you have some comics that go ‘viral’ and can stand on their own.

A collection of comics done in a book format help to expand the reach of your comic. Also, those who enjoy the comic might like to have a physical copy.

As I think of more ideas, I will add them to this list.

Valentine’s Day Thoughts

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As Valentine’s Day approaches, I am reminded of my daughter’s first Valentine. She was in first grade and got a huge stuffed heart from a boy. It was sweet. Sadly they didn’t last and the reason is something we can all learn from.

It’s amazing how wise children can be. I mean if we could just keep the perspective as we get older. She had mentioned before how she liked this boy, and he found out she liked him. He liked her back, which was when the problems arose. You see he changed. He treated her differently – may be acting a little weird around her. Sure first graders may not know how to show affection. The point my daughter made was that she liked him for the way he was and just because he found out she liked him was no reason to act differently. Their relationship changed but the only thing that truly changed was their knowledge of how they felt about each other.

But maybe we all do that. We try to impress those crushes who like us back when in fact they have feelings for us because of who we are. We do not need to be more or anything else. So this Valentine’s Day as you set out to impress that special someone just know they already like you for who you are. Don’t change a thing.

A New Home for Wordle

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Today I did my daily ritual of playing Wordle – which if you haven’t heard of it – it’s a word game where you try to guess a five-letter word in six tries. There’s a new word every day. What makes this game fun is that you can share your results – so you can humble brag when you get a word in three tries or even two – which I have done twice now.

The New York Times purchased Wordle for seven figures. So, yes, they spent over a million dollars for this viral word game. When a New York Times spokesperson mentioned the buy, they alluded that it was in the low seven-figure amount. Well, that’s practically a bargain price then if it was a low seven-figure number.

Wordle was a pet project of software engineer Josh Wardle that he actually started in 2013 but finished in 2021 launching it in October. I had heard that it was a quarantine project and immediately felt like an underachiever as my quarantine projects included such things as buying groceries, putting on real pants, and returning my Mom’s phone calls. These were my accomplishments while Josh is busy making a game that would make him a millionaire.

I told my husband that we need a million-dollar idea and he said that everyone has one. My problem is that I will never finish all of my projects and I bet one of those unfinished ones is my million-dollar idea. But this does give me encouragement to finish some projects no matter when it was started. It could still be a hit.

Some of my best ideas come to me while in the car. I had a great idea for a game that is similar to Wordle in that it has one puzzle a day. I would play it so I plan to do a proof of concept at least and see if any of my Facebook friends will play and give feedback.

Anyway, Wordle is still free for now. I wouldn’t be surprised if the NYT puts an extended version or something like that of the game behind their paywall. Keeping it free might be a really smart move as it will bring a bunch of web traffic and who knows – maybe convert some of it to readers.

Now I’m off to wait for tomorrow’s puzzle and to start on hopefully my million-dollar idea.

Spite is a Great Motivator

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There’s nothing that motivates me more to do something than to be told that I can’t. I have taken jobs for that reason. It’s very satisfying to do something that someone thought you incapable of. But it’s only so satisfying especially as you get older and care less about what people think.

So, here I sit thinking about the future and not knowing what I want from it as I don’t have spite in my life driving my decisions. I find without spite that I’m very unmotivated to do anything. I have several projects that I would like to finish and some I would like to start.

But we are living in trying times. Things are better than in 2020 but it still isn’t that same. I quit my job to pursue a different career path and have yet to make progress. I still can’t decide on a direction.

My first step is to rank the skills I have in order of which ones I like to practice. Then look at what skills I would really like to have. I should concentrate on what I like to do and then find the opportunity.

One thing I really enjoy is research. It doesn’t matter the subject. I just like the discovery process. I want to increase my research skills and drawing skills this year. Drawing is hard as it takes so much effort on my part to sit down and concentrate. That’s a skill to work on to – focusing.

A problem I have is that I just feel tired from thinking. I just need to do, but what? So for the month of February, I will just do as I feel when I feel like it. I will keep a time log of how much I draw, crochet, program, etc. How do I spend my time when I’m not thinking about it? Hopefully this will be insightful into what I want to do and when I want to do it.

Getting on with your passion projects

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Today my husband received a message from a former girlfriend. It was a picture of her newest grandchild. She has two. Such a nice milestone to hit when your kids are grown and start having kids of their own. We are not there yet but it’s coming. Ready or not, it’s coming.

This news seemed to motivate my husband into writing his novel – saying something like “I’ve got to write my novel.” You realize that time is always passing – whether you want it to or not. How and what are you doing? Are you doing the things you want to do? If not, why?

My biggest issue with my passion projects is I have too many – therefore I know that not all of these will get done and can’t decide which ones I really want to see come to fruition. At the end of the day, I really need to evaluate what brings joy and what doesn’t. I’m going to Marie Kondo my way into finding my passion.

I really like to draw. I suck at it but enjoy it. I want to continue drawing but I don’t want to feel pressure to do it. It is strictly a hobby and I’m not sure if I even want to share what I do online. It’s just really personal to me. I had started sharing some of my drawings in an attempt to give my mind a reason to do it. Now I think I’m past tricking myself into doing something. If I want to do it well that is reason enough. There doesn’t have to be a bigger purpose.

One other passion is writing. I love to write. I’m mediocre at best but I love conveying information. That’s why I love being in television news years ago. I left the business and have yet to find a career that is as satisfying. Better paying, yes but not satisfying. This is when I think about just blogging and writing which I know I would enjoy. Something holds me back. I’m not sure what. Fear? Confidence? I don’t know but this is truly where I feel I can ‘shine’ – not to sound braggy or anything.

My biggest problem with writing is solitary. I’m social. I like to check my Facebook feed and talk to my husband. I can’t stay focused long enough to get into the zone. This is something to work on though. Maybe baby steps? Write for ten minutes and go from there. I do have a few book ideas of my own. They aren’t going to write themselves and as we know – time is not waiting. It keeps marching on. There is no better time than the present to start.