DC Conspiracy[dots pattern]

10.27.2005

Here's the Thing #14 - The Webpage

Originally I was planning on doing a counterpoint to Matt’s recent “Small Presser” column where he talks about how writers should go about finding artists. I was starting to make some of my points in the comment section when I realized that I was in a different position than a lot of other writers are. Despite the fact that I’ve done some comic work (editing an anthology, in particular, allows you to work closely with many artists), about 9 months ago I launched my website that has since gathered a decent following and serves as a representation of my work. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

When I first started this comic thing, before I worked my first convention with my first pitch, I realized the importance of a website. I made this flash illustrated site that looked like a typewriter with crumpled pieces of paper surrounding it. When you moused-over a crumpled piece of paper it unfolded – when you clicked the unfolded paper a new sheet of paper with different information came up through the typewriter. The website had my contact info, script samples and completed pages and a little bio. I made business cards that went with the website, a typewriter with paper coming out of it, my contact info on the sheet. I was all nice, digital and easily acceptable complete with a design that was entirely my own – I was branded.

And no-one came.

The site had visitors, sure. Maybe 2 or 3 people a day. No-one ever really came back and hardly anyone emailed me unless they wanted to offer me discounted Viagra or cheap OEM software.

When I started doing submissions for Western Tales of Terror, more people started coming to my site, and I started to realize that I really needed to do something with it that will keep them coming back, build an audience. So, I did the obvious thing – I started a blog.

Oh no, blogging about blogging – a sin! But there’s something about my blog (and even the DC Conspiracy blog that I’m writing on right now) that’s different than most other blogs out there: Content with original substance. A hook. Something to keep them coming back.

The DC Conspiracy blog is simple – it’s a bunch of small-press people sharing their experiences and showing off artwork. 95% of the time, it is content you can’t get anywhere else because, well, it’s our content. It’s an informational blog and for the most part, people seem to dig it.

With my personal website, it’s a little different. For the people that don’t read my site (although from hearing people talk at conventions and through emails this article and my site seem to go hand-in-hand), my website has a consistent daily structure. For starters, the mission was to have an update every Monday-Friday for an entire year, never missing a day (and I’ve been keeping up just fine since mid-January). I always start off with a quick blurb, usually about comics. The blurb tends to have links to the people I’m talking about and I’ll get to why that’s important in a second. After the blurb, I write a story that can range anywhere from 750-1000+ words and it’s always a true story about growing up in Brooklyn or going to school in Boston. There are rules; all stories take place before June, 2000. They tend to be funny, sometimes they’re a bit depressing and often they’re a little too personal which makes for great laughs at my expense. But the important thing – they keep people coming back.

My website has become a daily portfolio that a good amount of people read everyday. Several things happen from this. For starters, I get artists who write ME and ask ME if I want to collaborate with THEM. Doesn’t always work out but trust me, having that happen is a lot easier than poking around for one on message boards.

Secondly, you learn that people who you want to get to know just might become fans of you. I can’t tell you how many times I’d be at a convention, get introduced to a writer or an artist (or even a publisher) that I dig and have said person say they love my site – mention a particular story that they particularly loved. These are guys that I will eventually pitch project ideas to and they’re telling me that they’re already fans. Again, good position to be in.

And most importantly, you look at a story I wrote in January and compare it to one now and you’ll see how much I grew as a writer.

So I think there’re several things there. A hook, for starters. Something different that no-one else is doing but something that you can make interesting. Don’t just talk about comics if you want to be a writer. Writers write about life, they play with characters and build story arcs. If you wanted to be a musician you wouldn’t start a site where you talked about music all the time. Eventually you’d have to put something up there for people to hear. So just write stories. Write them everyday. Make them interesting, build an audience. Make it so when you drop your book, you have the ear of several hundred people despite the fact that you’ve produced nothing but a website. Make them hungry for your work.

I think having a forum is important. The blog has a comment section and every comment made on it should be addressed. Community makes people come back, makes the whole site feel more attractive.

Linking is so important. If you link to my site I will be at your site by the end of the day. Most people operate the same way. Link to anyone whose name you mention and you can find a website for. It’s building a targeted fanbase. I’d rather have a fanbase made up of twenty comic pros than a thousand comic fans at the point I’m at now.

Promote the site however you can. Put it in your signature; put it on your business card. Draw examples from it; make it so other people talk about it. Write an article about it, if you can. Be a little controversial from time-to-time. With my site, for the first month I was coasting with about 30, 40 visitors a day. Then I dropped the Hooker Hand story (not for the prudish). 700 visitors. That’s quite the jump – I haven’t dipped below 150 since, including weekends when there’s no update.

However, the controversial thing can bite you in the ass. I don’t get linked to a lot. I don’t get emailed around too often. And I ask people why, sometimes, when they email me and a lot of people tell me that they don’t know what to expect from me. They might see a story about my mom that they think their friend would like and the next day I’m talking about watching my friend do coke off a stripper’s back. Which is one of the reason’s I like the “themed week” I’m doing now.

Make your stories accessible. You don’t want long, dragged out nonsense. You want quick but powerful hits. You want to get an emotional response out of someone within five minutes. Don’t do pieces of an epic story – do something that someone can come on that day and get the full meal. They can read the first line, get hooked and finish it off. Go back to past stories. You don’t want someone coming in page 125 of your 500 page novel. That’s like giving them Infinite Crisis when all they want is Solo.

And mainly, if you do go blog style, try to make it so unique that people don’t call it blog. A lot of people think blog and they think that you’re complaining about your day and using bad grammar while doing it. My site is a Blovel – I actually use that word in conversation – and people laugh but they know where I’m coming from: I know how bad a blog can be and I know my site is above that.

Make a schedule, stick to it and write, write, write. They will come over time – you’ll have your moment. And when it’s all said and done, you’d have proven to editors, publishers, artists and writers that you can write – you’ll be halfway there before you even try to produce a thing.

And after that big friggin' commercial, go visit my site.

Jason at 11:27 PM  |  link to this     

5 Comments

Good stuff. Both writers AND artists should get a Web page or a blog. Especially blogs, which are typically free and easy to use. They can serve as a portfolio/business card.

I was reluctant for a long time to invest the time and money into a Web site. Finally, after taking about a year's worth of pestering from Rafer Roberts, I got a Web site. Best thing I ever did in terms of promoting my comics and myself.

Dembicki at 10/28/2005 8:48 AM   

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the sketch blog for artists. It's just easy, like you said. You can scribble some warm-up drawing and post it quickly. At least once a week I got to google and do a search on "sketch blog" and see if there're any new artists hanging around that I want to get in touch with.

So for an artist it's even easier, the sketch is something that instantly hooks people, no reading necessary - there's really no excuse not to have one.

I should also add that blogs are nice because they're not only free but they also do not have pop-ups ads. There is nothing more unprofessional than a geocities site - if I'm coming to your site to find out about you the last thing I should see should be a pop-up window telling me my computer isn't secure.

Get a blog and if you have the money, get some cheap server space to host pictures and your blog itself (like mine). If you don't have the money, hook up with 5 or ten people and share the server space. My site and the DC Conspiracy site are on one Yahoo account and we use about 5% of its allowed resources each month.

Jason at 10/28/2005 10:28 AM   

I get writers e-mailing me alll the time, after they've been to my web site. It is an invaluable tool. If you don't have one, Youse a foo!

I also have a blog, but it's more of a place to talk about whatever I want to, at that particular moment. Sometimes drawings I've done, sometimes about comics, sometimes about hockey.... whatever passes through my transom.

you're all welcome to drop by!

Jason Copland at 10/28/2005 12:36 PM   

I needed to hear this. I've been dragging my feet on this for a while and there really is no excuse. Especially considering what my day job is. Everytime I give myself a reason not to do it, I can instantly counter it with, "Well I guess you're not comitted to this writing thing are you? Lazy bastard." Then I yell at myself a lot before curling up in the corner and having a good cry.

A kind of writing I think is perfect for a story blog are the short vignettes that Warren Ellis has been doing in his LiveJournal. It's just long enough to evoke a response but short enough to be encapsulated inside the attention span of the average interweb monkey. Short and emotionally charged.

JJ Kahrs at 10/28/2005 3:38 PM   

Ah! JJ - you just reminded me of Budgie's Live Journal. You send him any four words and he'll make a 200 word story out of it. Short, sweet, fun and writing everyday:

http://budgie_uk.livejournal.com/

And talk about day-job, I do chem/bio defense and health effects. If I can find time to write, most people can.

Jason at 10/28/2005 3:52 PM   

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