Chapter 05: Page 25
theleast on Dec. 16, 2007
Here ends chapter 5.
Now I have a painful announcement to make. As of chapter 6, Crimson Dark will only be updating once a week.
This has not been an easy decision to make, in fact it has weighed heavily on my mind for some weeks now. If it were possible to make thoughts physically manifest, then I’d look a bit like Wiley Coyote with an anvil on his head (moments before a large bump grows out of his scalp, knocking the anvil aside… that’s where the analogy breaks down). As grateful as I am for everybody's donations, advertising money and calendar purchases, I'm simply not earning enough to live on. In fact, I'd say I'm earning less than 10% of the bare minimum I need to pay rent and bills.
I knew from the beginning that I would be appealing to a niche market with Crimson Dark. The vast majority of the people I meet in real life have never even heard of “webcomics” before, and I made my life even more difficult by making my work serialised, sci-fi and 3D. I sometimes feel that I should have written it all in Latin, just to square the deal. I knew that I would never have as many readers as Penny Arcade or PVP Online, but I didn’t care because I have a story to tell and I want to tell it my way.
I am delighted by the loyalty of my readers, their dedication and ardour, and I’m not about to scoff at over 18,000 unique visitors per week (according to Google Analytics). I am incredibly pleased by the success of the comic, and it has done tremendous things to pull me out of the mire of chronic depression and low self-esteem which was making my life suck on so many levels. If it were possible I would be updating every day.
But the fact remains that my readership seems to have reached a plateau of late, with no increase in numbers for many weeks now (and, if anything, something of a decline). I know that artists/writers aren’t supposed to care about that sort of thing, but we do. It has become painfully clear that if I am to get off this government pension then I am going to need to retrain and get back into the work force, which means that the comic must suffer.
I have already announced my plans to begin full-time study next year, specifically a Bachelor of Interactive Entertainment majoring in Game Design (I’ll let you know if the course is as cool as it sounds… but I’m not sure that anything can actually be that cool). From what I’ve seen and heard about the course, it is very intense and I know for certain that I will not be able to maintain a twice-weekly update schedule. To be honest, I’m not even certain that I will be able to maintain a weekly update schedule, which is why I’m changing now so that I will have all of January to build up as much of a buffer as possible. and so that I will be able to focus on my studies for the rest of the first trimester without compromising on the quality of the comic. I refuse to become one of those webcartoonists who is always missing deadlines, or only updates “When I get around to itâ€Â.
I cannot understate how difficult this is for me. I have a story to tell, and you want to hear it. As relationships go, that’s almost as precious to me as family. I’m sorry. All I can do is ask for your continuing patience, and again promise that you will get to hear the full story, even if one day I need to abandon the webcomic format in order to tell it (shadow puppets, anyone?).
I’m going to take a couple of weeks off now, ostensibly for the holidays but really because I’ve still got a lot of work to do before I’m ready to start rendering panels for the next chapter. Chapter 6 will begin with a title page on Monday, the 31st December (New Year’s Eve), and will update every Monday after that. Between now and then, I will be uploading bonus pages (I’ve decided to stop calling them “fillerâ€Â. If I’ve learned one thing from seven seasons of The West Wing, it’s that words have power, and you should never miss an opportunity to make cardboard sound like chocolate).
Have a wonderful holiday, drive safely, enjoy some cricket and don't forget that Christmas is nothing without Easter.
psychob_ch at 5:37AM, Dec. 20, 2007
*bow* we'll be here, dont u worry, a story worth telling is a story worth hearing...and this one definitely is. good luck with all, and happy holidays :)
BOBIAN at 1:14PM, Dec. 19, 2007
Good story. You always manager to entertain. Sad news about work and all but i get the feeling that this series will not end with this comic. You'll be back.
kimo9909 at 6:33PM, Dec. 18, 2007
Good luck to you! I wish you well!
w1nk at 7:03PM, Dec. 17, 2007
You were trying to make a living off of your comic? Wow. When do you think you will get a "real" job? I really like your comic and would hate to see it disappear because you ran out of money. Oh, and I'm an American, so I'll be enjoying football instead of cricket(not soccer, football).
Raenia at 1:41PM, Dec. 17, 2007
Good luck with the course. While we will all miss your updates, I'm sure we all understand the need to make a living, and this just isn't enough. Whenever it happens, I will look forward to updates and seeing the story unfold. It's been so amazing so far, I don't know how you keep it going. Whatever you need to do, do it and know that we will still be here when you have time to tell your story.
DAJB at 11:11AM, Dec. 17, 2007
Well, at 18,000 uniques a week, I'd say you have one of the more suceesful webcomics out there. But, yeah - it's not going to pay the bills! Good luck with the balancing act!
thip at 8:55AM, Dec. 17, 2007
Kudos on finishing chapter 5. Being a storyteller myself, I know how hard it is simply to get that story out there! And, being a storyteller myself, I sympathize with your predicament; well, I have less than 10% of your readership, so the decision to scale back to what I could consistently do in my spare time was a no-brainer for me, but it did hurt a bit. As you say, there's a story to tell. When you can't make money on it (and who CAN make money on webcomics?!?) the reason for telling that story is that it needs telling, and nobody else is telling it. That's the fun - when you find other people reading along over your shoulder, and enjoying it - as a lot of people are demonstrably enjoying "Crimson Dark", well that's icing on the cake. You're reaching 18.000 hits a week, by telling your story, your way, with your own effort - no ILM to do it for you, no editors, no marketing, no backing, That's a rare accomplishment. Take a bow! There's a lot of us who'll stick around until this story reaches THE END, and we're in no hurry to get to that point ;o) ...And that vast, cavern-like hangar space is to DIE over!!!
Artificer Urza at 6:46AM, Dec. 17, 2007
I don't care so much about how many readers I have, so long as at least one of them enjoys it, I'm happy. I tend to avoid looking at the numbers for hits and stuff myself. And so saying, I like the comic so far and just as long as you keep updating, I'll continue to enjoy it.
SOTS at 6:15AM, Dec. 17, 2007
Only 18,000? Google got something wrong... by rights, there should be another three zeroes on the end of that number. I am sorry to hear that the comic will be changing to a one-a-week update schedule, but I'm sorrier that the income you receieve for your sterling efforts is lacking. Good luck with your studies, and earning enough to continue! To David C. Simon! *hallfull of cheering people*
Peipei at 3:55AM, Dec. 17, 2007
coolness. Very futuristic looking
Darwin at 12:02AM, Dec. 17, 2007
We'll continue to be here for you so long as you keep giving us one of the best quality science fiction stories on DD. It's another great page, and how ironic she is saying goodbye as you are reducing your updates...timing is everything, and how coincidental that this should happen this way. Here's hoping the course is as cool as it sounds, that you get a lucrative deal making games, and can support yourself and your love for this comic as you want to. Until then I will wait with your other 18,000 readers and soak in your brilliance!