tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post3861546681120861340..comments2023-09-23T00:37:29.396-07:00Comments on Mom's Cancer Blog: Two Newspaper StoriesBrian Fieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-47499084870153826792007-12-19T08:29:00.000-08:002007-12-19T08:29:00.000-08:00Joseph, I appreciate you bringing your experience ...Joseph, I appreciate you bringing your experience and insight to the conversation. Ellison's a ball o' fire, no doubt about it. And I disagree with him to the extent I don't mind doing free work for people--friends, worthy causes, stuff that just looks like it'd be fun. Especially when you're building a career, I do think just getting your work out there is important. That's not the same as undervaluing it.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate your Web business model, which I presume is working for you. I'm particularly impressed with your sensitivity to serving your readers. One of the interesting aspects of this whole subject is that very few creators have found a way to succeed on the Internet, or even defined what "success" means. Are you a success if you have 100,000 readers but still have to work the night shift at McDonald's? Very few people make a living at it and there don't seem to be many clear models to emulate. It's the lawless Wild West.<BR/><BR/>I also think the solution depends on whether you see a Webcomic as a means to an end or an end unto itself. And, as you suggest, the nature of the work itself. I never intended "Mom's Cancer" to continue indefinitely, nor did I have any particular interest in continuing to draw new Web content when it was done. It was a self-contained story with a beginning, middle and end, and when it was done so was my Webcartooning career as far as I was concerned (not to say I might not take it up again, although I've got other pans in the fire for the foreseeable future).<BR/><BR/>Thanks again, good food for thought.Brian Fieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-66228200611347914612007-12-18T14:53:00.000-08:002007-12-18T14:53:00.000-08:00Wow! That video was something else ;D Although I d...Wow! That video was something else ;D Although I don't agree with it in conjunction to webcomics - If you plan on publishing your webcomic, your comic is basically advertising for your book. I think its particularly important if you have a long from webcomic with a large fanbase to leave it on the web as you move to publishing.<BR/><BR/>Part of the benefit of having your comic up on the web as a webcomic is that it is a great way to build a following. People will come back day to day to see your latest updates and will feel connected to the process as you produce your work. They will vote for your comic, nominate it for awards, tell others and even donate money. So many webcomic fans feel a sense of ownership. When you publish your work many of them will purchase your books, those that don't now will continue to read your story as it progresses and buy your book later. When you take it down after they have invested their time and effort into your work they either loose interest of get hostile. If you keep your work up they continue to be invested in your story for as long as you update.<BR/><BR/>Jeff is doing the right thing by leaving his work up - particularly since the online version is different from the book version.<BR/><BR/>That's not to say that you can't take completed stories down, particularly if you can replace it with something new. Then you can migrate your fan base to your new work. But once you gain a fan base it is important to keep and grow them.Joseph Brudloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09511893682265807813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-67534210086773025682007-12-15T04:00:00.000-08:002007-12-15T04:00:00.000-08:00The summer after my freshman year in college, I ca...The summer after my freshman year in college, I came home to discover there was a writers' conference going on at a woodland retreat in the area. Some of the writers came down to the bar one night, including the instructors, and I said that I was published in the campus humor magazine. <BR/><BR/>"Does it pay?" one of the pros asked. <BR/><BR/>"No, but I get to see my name in print," I said.<BR/><BR/>"When I want to see my name in print," he responded, "I look in the phone book."Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16807727819590358834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-59591033090064221522007-12-13T22:16:00.000-08:002007-12-13T22:16:00.000-08:00If Mom's Cancer is only worth $12.95, then I'm onl...If <I>Mom's Cancer</I> is only worth $12.95, then I'm only 22 years old and gas is only worth 33 cents a gallon.<BR/><BR/>More seriously, <I>Mom's Cancer</I> has been invaluable to me and to my family. What do you want it to be worth, Brian? That's what it <I>is</I> worth, to you. I literally cannot tell you what it has been worth to the rest of us.<BR/><BR/>And "free" ain't anyplace within the observable horizon.<BR/><BR/>In a marginally related arena, it has been a source of disappointment and puzzlement to multiple sets of in-laws and various new family members over four decades that this astronomer seldom talks about astronomy in family situations. "Don't you have a passion for that stuff?" is probably an adequate synopsis of the puzzlement in general.<BR/><BR/>Yes, of course I have a passion for it.<BR/><BR/>But it's also what I do for a living, and, like paid assassins, I'm not likely to ply my trade over the punch bowl.<BR/><BR/>I choose carefully those to whom I give away my expertise. Some of the readers of this "comment" actually fall into that category. But I don't feel in any way that I "owe" anyone free access to my expertise.<BR/><BR/>And that is why I treasure, more than I can say, <A HREF="http://sherwords.blogspot.com/2007/08/lookit-what-i-got-in-mail.html" REL="nofollow">Brian's dead cow.</A>Sherwood Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575868746160608731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-26974395756910684802007-12-13T16:34:00.000-08:002007-12-13T16:34:00.000-08:00An excellent article. I'm concerned that there is ...An excellent article. I'm concerned that there is a generation coming of age - say, those 25 and under - who have gotten <I>so much, for so long</I> for free via the internet that they do seem to think that all intellectual property should be free. That is concerning for those of us who make all or part of our living creating and selling such property. <BR/><BR/>The other end of the equation is the web publishers who seem to think that because there are some people willing to offer web content for free, that any competent professional creator should be willing to do so. A good example is our daily newspapers' <A HREF="http://www.canadaeast.com" REL="nofollow">website</A>. They recently put out a call for bloggers. I sent them an email with well-developed proposals for several themed blogs (they were asking for themes) - on happenings in the capital city, if they were taking a regional approach; on pet care; and on social justice issues in the province and in Canada. I also made the mistake of asking about compensation.<BR/><BR/>It turns out they wanted people to do it "for the exposure". (A musician friend of mine likes to respond to such requests that, "Hey, man, you can <I>die</I> of exposure.") The result? They have several amateurs writing not very good blogs for free, including my favourite, "Being Steve", who wrote a post about catching a glimpse of a nipple on when he freeze-framed his wife's CSI DVD. Now, that's quality content, and this on the home site of all of the province's major mainstream newspapers.<BR/><BR/>Free content is not always worth the money you paid. Some outstanding free content is available online; but people - even the generation who grew up with free games, free music, free magazines, free stuff - need to respect that that doesn't mean everything online - or off - should be free.<BR/><BR/>ronnieronniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14044863062652781155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-69565652493202037642007-12-13T16:31:00.000-08:002007-12-13T16:31:00.000-08:00Huh. Just cleared my cache and tried again, and th...Huh. Just cleared my cache and tried again, and the video worked for me. But thanks for your confirmation of my perceived worth, I appreciate it!Brian Fieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-21563216246595778602007-12-13T16:12:00.000-08:002007-12-13T16:12:00.000-08:00"Honestly, my book is worth $12.95. It contains at..."Honestly, my book is worth $12.95. It contains at least $12.95 worth of writing, drawing and ideas."<BR/><BR/>See, THAT's the information that's free. Good information, too!<BR/><BR/>(And there is irony in the fact that, after your disclaimer about it, when I clicked on the Harlan Ellison interview, it said it was no longer available. Oh well.)Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16807727819590358834noreply@blogger.com