If you're reading this Blog, you probably know that I work in a Sawmill for a Living, and I don't make a living off of TORC Press. The Sawmill Job has actually gotten harder over the last year. We had another brutal, soul-crushing winter, and that has been followed by us losing an important market for our Lumber, which has resulted in my job, which was already labor intensive and brutal, becoming even harder. Throw in the fact that I'm getting older, and it all adds up to the fact that my job is, quite simply, killing me.
At the beginning of this year, I made the statement that I was gonna try harder to make TORC Press "work". At the very least, I would like for TORC Press to pay for itself, but what I really want, what I truly desire, is to make a living off of TORC Press, creating Insane Comics and making a decent enough living doing it. I'm aware that this dream is virtually impossible. I don't have the talent, I don't have the readership, and I'm obsessed with creating Kirby-style Cosmic Comics, which were Unpopular back when Kirby was alive, and even more Unpopular Now. So I know this is gonna be a steep uphill battle, one that I probably won't win. But you know me, I'd rather try and fail than never try at all. Of course, Succeeding wouldn't hurt my feelings any either.
So, the other day, I was uploading one of my pages to Tumbler. For some reason, Tumbler acts twitchy on me, and sometimes the Pages won't Upload. Which is annoying to say the least. So, I'm trying to Upload a page, and it fails on me. I sigh, roll my eyes, and get ready to try to upload the page again. And then, I suddenly have a very clear, very simple thought:
Why am I even bothering?
My Tumbler has done nothing for me. Absolutely nothing. It has not increased my Readership. It has not increased my exposure. I have not made a single sale Online or at Conventions as a result of my Tumbler. So why do I waste valuable time every morning posting comics online on my Tumbler?
And suddenly, I saw everything. For the last 5 years, I've been putting at least one comic up online on either my Website or this Blog or Tumbler or Deviant Art or something. And it has got me nothing. No increased readership, no exposure, no Online Sales. Nuthin. It just doesn't work. I like this Blog, it's cool putting up my comics every day and doing the Commentary and all of that. But, according to the little Statistic thingie I get on my Blog, the Blog has an average Readership of about 15 People. That means there's Me (I have to access the Blog to Cut n' Paste the Web Address onto my Facebook and Twitter), my gal Mei (and she says she is on the blog a couple of times a day), my sister-in-law Mary, Josh from the CQCA, maybe Tim too (Tim, do you read the Blog?), Boolah, and maybe a couple other guys I know. That leaves about, maybe 6 people reading the Blog on a regular basis (and thanks for that folks, I do appreciate it). No one reading the Blog buys anything in the Online Store. Again, this isn't a big deal, it's just facts and business. And the fact is, the Blog, cool and fun as it is, does not work.
Here's the Real Kicker: I have about 6 Guys that buy my comics on my regular basis (1 buys in the Online Store, 2 are supporters on Patreon, and the remainder buy comics when they see me at Conventions), and although my Readership is small, these guys are all awesome and have been really good to me (Seriously, I have the Best Readership!). Ironically, to my knowledge, none of these guys read the Comics Free Online. The people who should be taking advantage of all the free comics I post, are the people who aren't. How weird is that?
Anyway, the moral of the story is this: Posting stuff for Free isn't working at all. Why? It's a lesson I've been forced to learn over and over and over again. Free doesn't work. I don't know why. I like Free. Free is cool. But if you are a Small Press Comic Publisher, Free breeds contempt in people. I have no idea why this happens, but Free never, ever works. Give away Free Comics? Nothing. Free Business Cards? Nothing. Free Flyers? Not only will you get nothing out of them, occasionally someone will actually give you the Stink Eye for trying to give them a harmless sheet of paper. The bizarre truth is that if people dig your work, they will actually want to spend money on it. The people who don't, won't. No amount of hype will change that.
So, if none of this is working, then why am I doing it? And more importantly, What Is Working?
Well, the Online Store is working, even if I only have one person using it (One is more than None, so there's that), so I need to keep that running, obviously. What's working best right now is the Patreon. I have three Patrons, and I get $21 a month out of it. It may not seem like a lot, but that is money I get every month, and it really helps me cover Art Supplies and Convention Table Fees. It's a start, y'know.
So, logically, I need to put the focus on the Patreon. So, that's what I'm gonna do. First off, I'm gonna be running the webcomics exclusively through the Patreon from now on, and they'll be available to people that donate a $1 or more to the Patreon. I know, it's lame, but like I've said, if people wanna support the work, they will. I've also Upgraded the Existing Patreon Packets. The $5 a month package has been upgraded. If you donate $5 a month, you get full access to the Patreon Site, an 8 page comic (now in Full Color), and a Sticker (you can put it on a locker or your notebook... presuming you're still in School or something). The $10 Patreon Packet not only contains all the same stuff that's in the $1 and $5 packets, it also has a full color 24 page comic and an 8 1/2" X 11" Art Print. So, y'know, you get cool stuff for supporting TORC Press. I should probably put up the link now: https://www.patreon.com/torcpress
Anyway, I'm not gonna be putting up new comics on the Blog and the Main Site or the Tumbler. The Tumbler is pretty much done. I'll be putting excerpts of stuff and hype and whatnot on the Main Site and this Blog. I'll update the Online Store when new stuff is available. I'm gonna keep trying new things, and I'm gonna keep trying to find those people out there that wanna read bizarre cosmic Kirby style comics.
Anyway, a big thanks to everyone that has supported the TORC Press cause! It's time to try a new path up the Mountain.
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