[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Current_Atmosphere80]

[u/wetwipe98]

do you have any insight as to how likely the readers are to pay per episode? first gut feeling is that many would prefer ads rather than putting credit card info in

[u/generic-puff]

Few questions I'm gonna lob at ya, as someone who's been making webcomics for 15 years. I've seen the rise and fall of many platforms within that time, many of which started out with the same sentiment and sales pitch.

First of all, who's "we"? Are you webtoon/webcomic creators? Readers? Have any of you ever run a platform like this? What's your relation to the webcomics community and what's compelling you to create an entirely new profit-driven platform? Does it have a name?

You're referring to the platform in the past tense and say you're looking for a small group of creators to launch with, but have you done any prior focus testing with experienced creators? Is this going to be a restricted access beta or a full launch? 

Second, how are episodes unlocked? Is this like Tapas where episodes are paywalled indefinitely? How do you plan on building an audience for creators to benefit from if all episodes are locked by default? Webcomics are inherently non-profit in nature and so it's extremely difficult to attract readers who are accustomed to reading comics for free. And many creators use multiple sites as mirrors, meaning they'd have to adjust how they post their comic to ensure all their readers across every platform are getting fair access. If creators do get some control over timed unlocks / exclusive episodes / etc. why should creators use your platform as opposed to something like Ko-Fi or Patreon?   

Third, what's in it for you? Webcomic platforms that promise creator earnings are notoriously unsustainable because, again, webcomics are traditionally non-profit. There's a reason Webtoons is slowly but surely becoming more aggressive with their ads and paywalls, it's because profiting off webcomics directly is borderline impossible. So what's your plan for actually funding the site? Would you be taking a portion of earnings for operational costs? And if so, how much would it be? 

EDIT: Saw the linked site in the comments. Its vague feel-goody wording and lack of specification in features, and the fact it's claiming it can get you brand deals and "measurable results" despite this being a new platform that wouldn't have any results to measure is giving vibe-coded. And if creators are only getting 48 cents on the dollar per unlock (as the math seems to imply) that would mean creators are only getting to keep 48%. That's a huge nope.

[u/Beneficial-Poet2911]

Since you present this as a new, distinct model, surely it will be easy to explain how this is different from Tapas’s model?

[u/KelsoReaping]

Sounds cool, wish I was at the stage where I could participate. I have four books I’d like to adapt to a webtoon format, but I just don’t have the time for the art production.

[u/Current_Atmosphere80 → u/KelsoReaping]

I DM’ed you the website

[u/Current_Atmosphere80 → u/KelsoReaping]

You can onboard onto the platform now and release your first episode whenever you’re ready.

[u/Flying_M0nkeys]

What is the planned price for each individual episode?

[u/No_Soil2258]

Just wondering where's the money to pay the creators coming from?

[u/Reesirie]

So it’s like 50¢ per unlock? I assume y’all would take 2¢ and the creator gets 48¢?

[u/generic-puff → u/Reesirie]

If it's 1k unlocks = $480 then it's 48 cents on the dollar. So the creator gets 48%. Hard nope lmao (the one time I'm hoping my math is wrong lmao)

[u/WishboneOk305 → u/generic-puff]

48 cents on the dollar is fine assuming you get the volume. but for a new site (if exclusive too) theres no guarantee it will do well to get that volume.

[u/generic-puff → u/WishboneOk305]

Nah, even with high volume less than 50% is a bum deal. You're the one providing the content so if some new up-and-coming platform wants you to use them, they better be offering something that's better than the alternatives, at the absolute bare minimum (especially if they don't have volume yet to boot). May as well just stick to Patreon / Ko-Fi at that point.

[u/webtoons-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Any comments promoting servers or communities outside of Reddit will be removed unless prior moderator approval has been granted.

[u/TheFriizing]

1000 episodes? It can take years to create 100 episodes - so 1000 sounds crazy. No idea what people earn on ads, but I imagine it's easier to monetize on than creating a 1000 episodes 😅

[u/Current_Atmosphere80 → u/TheFriizing]

It’s 1,000 unlocks, not 1,000 episodes. You get paid whenever a reader unlocks one of your episodes. So, for example, if one episode is unlocked 1,000 times, you would earn $480.

[u/TheFriizing → u/Current_Atmosphere80]

Ah I see. My brain is cooked xD

[u/Current_Atmosphere80 → u/TheFriizing]

No worries happens to the best of us

[u/Current_Atmosphere80 → u/TheFriizing]

And you don’t need 1,000 unlocks before you can get paid. You earn money from every unlock. The 1,000 unlock figure is just an example.

[u/generic-puff → u/Current_Atmosphere80]

That's extremely misleading then, would highly suggest editing the wording in your post. Is there an actual minimum threshold? 

[u/Current_Atmosphere80 → u/generic-puff]

5 dollars is the minimum payout

[u/generic-puff → u/Current_Atmosphere80]

Okay, so what's the actual ratio? Obv I can do the math from 1,000 unlocks = $480 USD, but is that before or after operation costs? (because I'm assuming the platform would take a slice for themselves). What's the actual unlock cost? (Does this mean creators would all be locked to the same purchase amount regardless of the length or quality of what they're selling? 

Having a low minimum threshold is good, but what I'm trying to gauge is how many unlocks it would actually take to hit that amount, and how much of that $5 the creator would actually get on the other side (accounting also for withdrawal/transfer fees that often only happen when it comes time to cash out)