Page 1068…
This is the last page of Alex being slow (in this sequence at least)…I promise.
Thanks all for the great advice on what to do about the cons. A few of you mentioned putting up donate buttons.
Let me ask you something. Since I don’t like to take donations…what could I do in exchange?
I’ve already got sketchcards. Books. Toys.
So what could I do for those that donate? (If I decided to add a donate button)
What kind of goal would it be? To get me to Comic Con? Europe tour of cons?
An animated series? Should I do something like Kickstart?
Just trying to get an idea of what you guys are thinking about.
I really appreciate all of the advice. And your generosity is enourmous.
But I’m just not ready for a donate button. Not yet.
But I am interested in what you all think of it’s potential.
HAHAHA!!!!
ok, that has got to be one of paddington’s parents or something… the resemblance is too… uncanny
As the rock giants whisper to each other Paddington was right he is amusingly slow*giggle*
Ok, this is my first comment here, but seriously… get over your reluctance to have a donate button! 😛
I completely understand and agree with feeling bad about moving any main content to pay-only, but I see no reason whatsoever to feel bad about getting financial compensation for the amount of time and work you put into this project from those who volunteer to do so. I’m fairly confident the vast majority of your readers understand that there are costs to making this comic that we all enjoy, not the least of which is the opportunity cost of the time spent on it.
If someone sends a ridiculous amount of money your way, you can always disable the donations & give any “excess” to a good cause!
My guess is that I posted too late in the day (Monday) and that you didn’t have a chance to go back and read more of the comments, so I will repost yesterday’s post here:
lake_wrangler
April 12, 2010 at 7:49 pm | #
Another option, which would have to be done through the forum, is that of auctions, and those can be done two ways: One, where you make a drawing or have something or other which you will give the winner, and people post in the thread their bids, winner to be the highest bidder come a certain date, and they make their donation via paypal or whatever, and you send them whatever it was they bid for.
The other way of having fund-raising auctions is like we did over at the College Roomies From Hell!!! webcomic forum: a certain number of forum members, who also happen to be artists of varying degrees, get together and put up auctions, eBay style, where the participants bid, and the highest bidder come a certain date (usually 48 hours per auction) will have one of those artists draw him something. Instead of the money going to the artist, it goes to the webcomic author (in this case, you, Scott). They can ask pretty much for anything as a drawing, whether it be TDC related, or related to that forum user (whether based on his avatar, a roleplaying game, or whatever).
To better understand what I mean, please refer to the two CRFH!!! Fanart Webathons (as they were called) to see how they went:
http://maritzacampos.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=580 This fanart webathon raised $498 US for Maritza Campos (some images in that thread no longer show, as the CRFH!! fanart gallery crashed, and was later moved to a new location)
http://maritzacampos.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=776 This fanart webathon raised $343 for Maritza Campos
Something to consider, no?
That was aWESome! I mean, he even cought on that they were teasing him!!!! ^_^
Donations are cool, i think. I’m not quite sure how they usually work online. But the idea of making it possible for those who want to show their appreciation seems like a good idea in theory. I’m just guessing, but part of what you’re worried about is dealing with banks through the internet (like I said, I don’t know how it works)? For now, I think the store should be finished. I can see the potential benifets, funding comic events, this comic, etc. IDK, I’m just rambling.
Some of the Author-initiated auctions included posters, a drawing of a favorite character from the webcomic (possibly even interacting with the winner), the ability to choose a storyline for a side fic the author wanted to write (i.e. what kind of story would you like to see a written short story about?), or even a cameo in the comic. (Of course, a cameo in your case would not be feasible, since you would have to dish out money to have it modelled…)
Money raised from those Author-initiated auctions varied from $50 US to $300 US! (What can I san… some Boardies – that’s what we call ourselves – can be pretty fanatic about the CRFH!!! comic…)
So I’m sure you could think of something people might want to bid on. And if you have several somethings, then there can be more than one winner, and more money going to you!
ok that was priceless. and i have those moments too much – –
You know, I think you could make a great spin-off of Dreamland Chronicles called the Dreamland Journals (like Dream Journals, haha) or something. It could be a collection of short comic stories that follow other children who travel to dreamland at night. Now that would be cool. I’m sure Dreamland is huge!
Do what the Foglio’s do. Make a special wallpaper or 3 that are only for people who make a donation of $3 or more. Send only those people the link. Put a thumbnail of it up on the current page somewhere.
When I donate there, I look at the wallpaper but never download it. So really the donation is mostly to show my support.. . . .and because Kaja is just so darn hot! 🙂
I think you are right about not accepting donations. Donations go to the poor, disabled and those who cannot take care of themselves. You, however are a very potent, creative person with a lot to give so I would really advise against “getting into the donation cycle”.
The ideas posted by lake_wrangler are really good. Another thing I have seen is having extra content for registered readers, like desktops, short stories, behind-the-scenes, etc. at a small fee which they get as store credit.
Classic fan articles might be a good ideas as well, and a low cost one because they can be made on demand.
I don’t know anything about your readership but maybe it would pay off to find a partner in Europe with lower shipping costs. Fan articles like shirts, mugs, etc. could be made in the EU and shipped at a small fee.
And since I didn’t say that in a while: The Dreamland Chronicles are still awesome and I think they are even getting better. 😉 Thank you for sharing it for free!
Oh, yeah. I forgot those. Those tiny art pieces that are made on Index card sized cavases. ACEOs? You can auction those on ebay.
I normally do not reply. But just wanna say that you should not feel bad to place a donation button.
I think it is a nice and friendly way to ask for some contribution in the work and costs you are making.
I’ll for one will donate, it is worth it and I see it as a way to show my appriciation.
I did a survey once of the 10 webcomics I read. 8 of them took donations in one form or another. Like you, I would love to just have donations go to the truly needy. But they aren’t directly accessible by me. I let me United Way donation cover those in my community that are in the most need, then decide what I want to do from there. I respond with support to the causes that resonate with me.
For instance, Peter King is a writer for SI and he started a donation drive for exercise equipment and entertainment packages for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. That spoke to me so I donated. I didn’t plan to do so, but that cause was one I decided I could support. I learned about the need, weighed my choice, then acted.
The webcomics I enjoy are something I am willing to support. As a kid, I bought hundreds of dollars worth of Spider Man, Superman, etc. I don’t see supporting webcomics artists as being any different. They have to pay the rent just like everyone else. And Scott has far greater expenses because of the team that helps him in his creations. And he has to pay those people with real money.
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents. Ha, ha.
Back on the subject of the comic. I love how it’s implied that Alex’s slowness on the uptake is the incontrovertible clue that betrays his identity!
I understand your reluctance with donation drives now that you have explained it, and other commenters here have made excellent suggestions for alternatives. Girls With Slingshots (GWS) gives wallpapers for contributions, and Anders Loves Maria gave contributing readers a short story detailing some of the title characters’ time together in university which wasn’t presented in the main story continuity. In your case, you might write about some adventures of Nicole and Felicity that aren’t necessarily tied to present-day Dreamland events, rather they’re for fun and to expand upon what kids do in Dreamland.
The goal of these “extras” for contributers could change as necessary, and comes and go as feel appropriate. You could run one for ComicCon, then take it down after and not put it up again until you find a good Europe con, or you could leave it up 24/7 and put it towards hosting costs or something similar.
Nice page art and all, but can we move on now?! The storyline is moving way to slow
There should be a separate link for those who want to donate. And it should be done more discretely, since most of us can’t afford it and will feel repressed by those who can. And rewards for donations… I won’t go into that. A comic that already sells on its own (or nay comic for that matter) is just begging for money with the donation button. It doesn’t seem professional and fair
Eh, it seems it’s making enough on its own. The comic, that is
I find the pace of the story to be quite right you know… We cannot sprint all the time. Take a deep breath, because we are going to be running fast again.
bwahahaha. this one was pure gold. 😀
love the way they’re teasing alex. but good to see that he was relatively fast to notice. can’t be dense all the time. 😉
I’m sure that if you read the story in one go, it wouldn’t seem to go too slowly. 🙂
it’s just the one-page-per-day update that makes it drag. speeding up the story might make it rushed as a whole…
Okay, I’ve generally kept out of the whole Donations issue, but I think I need to finally ad my $.02. (Truthfully, I tend to just pass over comments about this, so if I’m reiterating any points already made, I guess that just goes to show how important those points are.)
Some people are blessed with generosity. They WANT to give. And some of them would gladly do it without any form of compensation whatsoever. By denying them the opportunity to give, you are denying them the chance to be a blessing to you.
I’ve got other things to say, but it’s 2AM and I can’t make the thoughts I want to convey come out right.
“You must be Alexander.” – Need we say more… 😀
If nothing else Scott, consider this. There may be many fans out there that wouldn’t buy something out of your store, but would be willing to send a few dollars donation instead. That’s kind of where I am right now. I don’t think I’ll be buying anything from the store right now, but I could spare something from my paypal to send your way if that would help you.
and finally – the punch line.
I see Alex’s stupidity is well known – or more to the point, his defining attribute.
Have you thought about offering prints or posters of some of your favorite panels from past pages or original ones like the pics you offer up for voting for your site in the top 100? Wallpaper is neat and all, but I’m one of those kind of fans who like to have art hanging on the walls.
Really, the timing is perfect!! XD He is not annoyingly stupid, he is totally baffled and confused since he just “woke up”. Haha, and that zoom in on the giants hand with that question, I laughed out where I sat. That was awesome XD
What a GREAT sequence … thanks again.
heheh oh man truly a D’oh moment on alex
A Western artist, Charles Russell, wrote and drew illustrated artwork on letters to his friends and fans. Why don’t you allow us fans to send you a self-addressed, postage-paid postcard in an envelope and let you do a VERY quick sketch of a single Dreamland Chronicles character on the postcard, autograph it and send the postcard back to the fan? That way, the fan paid for everything, you are not out a penny, the fan got a genuine piece of S. C. Sava artwork, and is very happy. Yes, you might be deluged with postcards, causing you to spend a LONG time satisfying the demands of you fans. But, it is only an idea….
Anyone else got a better idea?
Thank you all. What great comments (and glad you liked this sequence too).
🙂
Yes, I realize that would mean giving out a snail mail location for your fans to mails the envelopes to, but I tried….
I’ve made prints and they look great. But the cost is very high.
I need to find a place that does print on demand with good quality and cheap too.
What do you think, Scott?
Heck, his reputation for slow wit precedes him now.
Nahhh, you know how it goes… If they’re of some other race then the way to say that is, “I dunno, they all look the same to me.” 😛
(I tease my friends with this often, lol)
Unfortunately, Alex and I share a slowness to detect when we’re being teased.
Keep in mind that you’re still reading this for free online. A lot of comics can’t afford to do that. Since I can’t afford to purchase that books, I’d be glad to donate a little money. Donation buttons can be a way for people who don’t have much money to show their appreciation by giving what they can afford to give, if that makes any sense.
I admit, I like the ‘Alex being slow’ moments. A hero with ‘flaws’ is always easier to identify with. 🙂
Hey Scott, why don’t you consider doing something like Thunt does with the Goblins comic strip? He has a special donations comic that he does called Tempts Fate, where the more donations he gets, the better the hero succeeds at the tasks he’s got to succeed at.
Maybe you could do something along similar lines, perhaps with the younger versions of the characters so it doesn’t mess up the storyline, as an example.
I can understand the issue with the term “donate”, but lets face it, any money given via a paypal button on the site would be a payment for services render. Even though we are reading it online, you the author are still providing a service. Servers, hosting, bandwidth, are not cheap. Here is a solution from the theater world for you. The night be fore the formal opening our troupe always has a Pay-What -You-Can performance. You come to the show and drop what ever money you can afford to sink on seeing a show in to the cash box. Some people have no money and can still see the show, some people pay much more than a regular ticket would cost, but they do it because they believe in supporting the arts they like. This in old days, called Patronage.
Well there you go, to options that work in similiar ways to a Donate button, but are not donations.
1) Pay-What-You-Can option: This lets you get teh benifit of both an online subscription comic and a free webcomic at the same time.
Or
2) A Patron button: This one gives both you and the giver something. You get the money, they get the bragging rights and taxe rights of being a Patron of the Arts. Be honest what you do, Scott is art.
Oh and that was a wonderful finish to Alex’s dumb moment.
i dont see any problem at all with having a donation button i get your reluctance im alot like you in the fact its hard to take things from other people without giving something back…. so why not offer some exclusive artwork or something in exchange theres nothing wrong with needing help sometimes. find something that wouldnt cost you much to give away in exchange for small donations to help you do what you need to do with getting to the cons and funding anything you needed to fund…. but deffinately keep it discrete…. im sure there are tons of your readers that would be more then happy to donate a little money since you do such an amazing job on this comic we all love. good luck with that though Scott! ^.^
AND i gotta add i love the comics where Alex is a lil slow… it makes me laugh so hard everyone else in my house looks at me like im a crazy lady lol.
Kinkos does color copies, its not prints persay but it would be cheaper
Oooo how about bookmarks? Have them come with or without tassles. I prefer ones without, i use them so juch they fall off. Dont know how much it costs to make them.
Lol! Great page today! XD
If you put up a donate button, I think little animations like the one you did for the animated comic book on Wowio would be awesome! I have no idea how long it would take to do a little animated sequence like that–maybe it is too time consuming. I just remember being practically giddy with excitement when a new one would come out. 🙂
Exclusive wallpapers are also nice.
How about this. You put up a smaller comic about an adventure Alex and the gang had in their childhood. This mini chapter will only be available to people who donate (a minimum of 1$). Then you decide the amount of money you need for the trip(s). And you devide the money by the number of pages. For example 1000$ for the trip / 20 pages to tell the story = 50$ a page. Thus each time a total of 50$ is donated you put up a new page.
Afterwards you can even publish a small book with all these adventures (if you actually write more then one) and sell them aswell.
If you need help putting something like this together on a technological basis, I hereby offer my services to you.
Btw, if you ever do a Europe tour, dont forget this lovely country called Belgium. Ill bring chocolat and beer 🙂
I agree it is definatly art and I would donate when Ive got the extra money. I would also donate for one simple fact Scott actually reads, posts and responds to his fans. Alot of artists dont.
no youre kidding. Alexander? Who’s that?!
Ah, Alexander. Thy reputation precedes thee…
Good idea.
I’ve also got the sketchcards too.
Interesting idea.
*scratches chin and ponders*
Thank you.
I can see why you would be hesitant to have a donate button. I love to see how independent you are 🙂 I’m sorry if this idea is a repeat, but I haven’t read all the comments: Maybe an option people could have is buying a sketchcard or something from the store but being able to pay more for it if they choose. Then it’s kinda like a donation, but they are getting something out of it as well. Good luck with everything!
Thanks Amber.
I DO have bookmarks we give out with each purchase from the store.
Maybe I’ll update them.
Thank you so much, Omegon.
Great idea. Thank you for the offer of services. And I would DEFINITELY love to bring the family to Belgium.
Let’s make it happen.
🙂
Rock-folks have a great sense of humor. 😀
Well, you could have a donation wallpaper- like donate and get the desktop background. Or donate a certain amount, and get an extra page a week.
If we’re talking con tours- what about Canada ? 😉
Once again proving that Alex is, in fact, denser than a rock.
Sorry I’m not contributing much today; I’m just not up to much conversation. (Not feeling so great.)
But I’m loving all the support and suggestions Scott is getting!
I can’t promise I’ll contribute to whatever you come up with (“Not Poor, Just Broke”, as the title of an interesting book goes … ), but I’ll keep clicking ads and encouraging everyone to VOTE. And I’m still saving my pennies to buy the print Dreamland books for my nieces & nephews, eventually. (They’re all still under five years old, so I have a little time yet … )
😉
Help! I posted a comment at 2:09 am EST (on the post itself, it says 12:09am, which is what, Mountain time?), which was a repeat of a comment I posted yesterday, but rather late in the day, lowering the chances of Scott seeing it… I figured that by posting it again, Scott would get to see it, this time… (it’s on fan-initiated fund raiser suggestions)
However, it says Your comment is awaiting moderation.
If it takes too long to get it approved, Scott still won’t see it, as he’ll be busy reading tomorrow’s posts, by then… Can someone do something about it?
I have an idea, Scott! How about people who want to donate, donate, and you just keep posting Dreamland ;D Seems like more than enough payment to me.
Definitely my thought. “And Paddington told us he was dense…”
Pretty sad what you said: “Donations go to the poor, disabled and those who cannot take care of themselves.” Is Wikipedia sad, for example?
I think you should rebuild your mind.
I just wanted to say I really like the extra you get for voting this week! I put it as my desktop background! 😀
Thank you.
🙂
It went into spam. I fixed it.
So I stumbled upon a link on the project wonderful website this morning that brought me to this site, and the next thing I know its late afternoon. I just couldn’t stop reading. You’ve created a fantastic world that I didn’t want to leave until I had seen everything there was. And I most assuredly will be back for more. Keep up the great work.
Hey Alex. Guess what. The sky’s blue! 😮
BTW, if you have a PO Box, you will not have to give out your home address.
Evan’s comment about the night-before-the-performance theater show gave me another idea. That plus the Red vs. Blue website’s way to do things.
If you are a patron (yearly subscription fee), then you get to see the page an hour or two early! Now the trick is to make this automated in some way, but it should be possible. In fact, making a temporary page (auto-generated random URL) that people can log into to see that comic would be the easiest. Then that temp page is renamed to the final URL at the regular posting time. That way, patrons can comment on the page as soon as it shows up for them. Patrons can get an e-mail or twitter message with the temp URL 1-2 hours before everyone else gets to see it. Or if this is a hassle, just have people log in to see it.
Agreed that your web guy will have to tell you how many hours of work is involved in setting this up. Once it’s going, it should be self-maintaining with no further maintenance required.
I guess another option would be to have a fee to view a different comic online, like Pet Robots.
Ohhh, I get it. They’re rock giants!
Like Paddington!
Alex…the moment your identity is told by how slow you are is obviously the time to start talking to Dan about lessons on Thinking. Really, now. xD
Hopefully we’ll learn the names of these rock giants!
Scott, I know how much you like the distasteful Donate button… so here are a few ideas besides the ones you mentioned…
1: Original Art sell it. I know you compose on Computer but you have the concept drawings from your teams.
2: a pay site, Don’t panic the site would generate funds for you and the catch could be that the Members could look at all the previous vote incentives.
3: Lithographic prints of your Vote incentives… Limit to 500 or so…
Just a few ideas I had floating about…
Welcome to the New Dreamer… I think we all can say we hang on Scott’s every post this is by far the best web comic I have run across and it keeps getting better… and soon we will have a movie to go with the comic as well!!!
“oh yeah, the slow human in the crazy armor is Alexander. Just so you know. Can’t miss him. He’s going to be confusing his way around life.”
haha yup.
Yeah, not all disabled people or people at poverty level accept donations (I understand that many (not all) American’s point of views are skewed because of todays society and many (again not all) just take welfare when they don’t really have to) But most of the people I know who have a ligitimate reason that they can’t join the work force, etc., truly wish more than anything that they could. I understand your point, that things like charity should go to help people who truly cannot help themselves. Donations are a little different than charity though. Donations, at least back when I was in choir, was given in support of the group, optional, there to help the group, and given when the people really liked our performances, although, we also did bake sales…. However, I come from a very prideful family, on both sides. Bargin shopping is one thing to most of us, but charity, donations, and sometimes even discounts are hard for most of us to accept. So, while donations are different from charity, I totaly get feeling unable to accept them. In a realistic point of view, however, they do seem like a pretty good idea because people who want and are able to support the amazing comic you bring us will be able to. Like I said earlier, however, I really don’t know how online donations work.
Sorry about my jumbles, and tangents, and rambling. If you can understand any of it, I hope that it’s good food for thought.
There’s a place in my town that’s pretty cheap, (last time I checked). But I don’t think you want to fly out to Cali just to print posters.
Yeah, me too. Plus the fact that I get almost nothing that my friends talk about, it all just goes ZOOM!
Yeah it’s totaly awesomerific! Thanx a cubamagilion (a whole heck of a lot)!
ROTF!
That last panel was funny.
Thank you very much.
And welcome.
Hope you continue to enjoy the story.
🙂
Those that can’t get enough from it should try better and new ideas. That’s why it’s called an “online comic”, duh. If they can’t continue, oh well
Heh, the “fat print” you [b]must[/b] be Alexander also means that his dense-ness is already legendary in Dreamland too… 😆
Oh, and on Your financial woes ,be assured that, the moment Book 4 hits the store, it’ll be coming my way, together with a Nastaija-figurine.
Shame that quality-incentives like Glicees, art prints, cold-cast stone figures are such an unsure investment to be made on forehand, without guarantee that you’ll sell enough to play even…:sigh:
Yopu could (I)try(/I) to put just a few prints on high-quality paper in the store? Or do it the way a famous warehouse overhere in The Netherlands does it: Only make a batch if there are enough orders? (Oh, how I would wish fot You hard working Americans that Obie gets his way in defining a new form of shared, social responsibility. I hate to politicize here -it generates too much flak- but it’s always a shame when art gets stifled by the simple lack of income…, please do not react to this thought of mine. It’s just that i feel sort of Guilty, living in a country that does not know poverty…)
LOL!
I was getting rather annoyed with the stupid jock act, but this made kinda up for it.
Hope he gets a bit quicker soon with using his reasoning faculties !
He´s supposed to be in high school for gods sake.
“Duh”? Oh, sorry, I must be arguing with a little kid. Carry on.
Thanks for covering for me, MaXX. You are now an Official Member of the Unofficial Greeting Committee.
😉
Scott- I like the patron button option. In fact, that’s kind of similar to the idea I had, which I’m sending to you via Facebook.
hahaha the dialogue’s really cute in this one XD rock giants’ sense humor is awesome
I can’t afford it and i would not at all feel repressed by a button for a generous someone too use to help fund a great webcomic that i receive for free.
“following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder. ”
That’s Dictionary.com’s definition of professional if he wasn’t able to gain from creating this comic that would make him unprofessional, not gaining a bit more from those who want to give.
“Thanks all for the great advice on what to do about the cons. A few of you mentioned putting up donate buttons.
Let me ask you something. Since I don’t like to take donations…what could I do in exchange?”
To me it sounds far from him begging for money in fact it sounds more like people want him to put up a donation button but he doesn’t want to because he would feel bad about taking their money without giving something back in return(in addition to the free webcomic of course) hence the reason he wants to give some kind of reward to donors.
As for it being unfair i agree there or i would if he only planned to put up a donation button but he plans to give something back to the donors so provided its something good i don’t see a problem, or wait did you mean unfair to us? The ones that are getting a free webcomic in exchange for possibly SEEING a donate button IF he decides to add one? That seems like a ridiculous complaint to me if that’s what you meant.
Sorry that this comment was 3 days late i like to wait a bit and read different comics while i wait for a couple new pages to be added, out of all the comics i read like that, this is allways the comic that has the most pages to get back to thanks to your robot like update schedule(excluding the time you were injured of course).
Sorry I was out for a week and missed this whole thread but still wanted to throw in my 2 cents a bit late (I didn’t have time to read all of the posts – sorry if this repeats something). How about something similar to what Thunt does at Goblins – He has a seperate short story line that he runs and sets donation goals, etc. The results of the donation level determine the outcome of the comic, it is lots of fun. You could run a humourous story line of Grandpa Pistachio or the teddy bear village or something that is not integral to upcoming storyline, that way you aren’t messing up the main line.
I like pixie’s idea, and another one is to give a handwritten letter of thanks, I’d donate if i could get an autograph! I hope ya read this someday ^.^
The rock giants must have seen the signs. “Missing: large human in shiny armor. Responds to ‘Alex’ and simple questions. If found, please contact Nastajia.”