some advice on a possible hiatus

Dr Legostar · Post by **Dr Legostar** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:44 am

So i've got a ton going on right now.

1. finishing my Phd
2. Getting married
3. Selling my house
4. Moving to canada

it's going to be hard to keep my comic going with all of that, and i've been unable to find the time to buffer. I'm considering a hiatus, which i hate to do because i've never missed an update, what do you guys think? or what other options could I implement?

KWill · Post by **KWill** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:52 am

Ask for guest art or reduce the update schedule to a level you think you can handle. Other than that, go on hiatus and tell people why, and if you can, give a date when you'll be back.

Rhenny · Post by **Rhenny** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:28 am

I agree on reduction, or guest spots... I started mine last year, had some issues and did a "hiatus" this "hiatus' became habit, and now i find myself at square one with so much time having been lost I scrapped the series and started over. I found, it is way to easy for this break to become extended. Even once a week is better than none.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:42 am

All those things seem important enough to forget about comics for a while because of them.

Boozeathon4billion · Post by **Boozeathon4billion** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:48 am

yeah, a hiatus was the death of my past comic. I lost my regular viewers, lost a lot of good ideas for the storyline, and just neglected my website to the point that I had no one stopping in even after I rebooted it.

My suggestion is to prioritize your schedule: if you are definitely interested in continuing the comic once everything is settled, then drop the schedule down to once (or twice) a week updates, let everyone know why you're being forced to do that, and ask for some guest art/strips. In the constantly moving online world, an actual pause could equal death in no time flat.

Dr Legostar · Post by **Dr Legostar** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:44 am

the major problem is that with putting the house up for sale and moving i kinda have to put away all of my supplies for an extended period of time, so anything i don't get done soon doesn't really get done at all, unless i keep around very few legos and make really cheap ass comics. My fiance suggested single panel comics.

Boozeathon4billion · Post by **Boozeathon4billion** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:50 am

Yeah, even doing some one or two frame comics would be better, in my opinion, because you'd still have new stuff up for people to check out. That way if you do end up having to take a quick hiatus in the moving process, it won't be as long as it would have been otherwise.

btw: i've been checking out the comic and I like. Lego's have always been a favorite of mine (and now the Lego videogames are too).

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:03 am

Legostar, plan it like you would any kind of situation you have advance warning about:

First, explain the situation to your audience, and tell them what you're going to do. They'll be happy with it.

Then, trim your updates back but continue to produce on your original schedule. This will give you a buffer.

Then, ask for guest comics.

Finally, produce a "ok now we're on hiatus" comic that reminds everyone why you are on hiatus.

When the time comes, interlace the buffer you've built with the guest comics, and put the hiatus comic as the last one in the series. Tell your audience how long the buffer will last so they know what is going on.

Then, finish your phd, get married, have a honeymoon, sell your house, move, and unpack. In whatever order suits you.

If it's all done before the hiatus comic, delete that one and start back up. Otherwise, start back up when you are ready to.

It's called life - these comics don't support you. They are something that is very popular, and something you enjoy doing. But they are lower in priority than all the rest. Do the best you can for your audience, and they'lll be glad to wait for more. I know, because I'm part of your audience.

Black Sparrow · Post by **Black Sparrow** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:21 pm

Once you go on hiatus, it's hard as heck to get back into it. Just look at my poor comics... I lost the rhythm once LAST YEAR, and still haven't been able to keep a regular schedule.

HOWEVER, real life should always come first. You know that. Ask for guest comics and art, and, if you get them, great... but don't feel obliged to meet a quota you can't keep if you don't get enough to last however long it takes. Just post up a "Sorry, got to take a break... I'll probably be back around [insert month here]" and most loyal readers will understand.

Just make sure that you just back into it as soon as possible afterwards... don't let your break drag out, like I did.

Keffria · Post by **Keffria** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:43 pm

Good god, man, you're graduating, getting married, and moving. Twenty years down the road, you will not regret taking time off a webcomic, but I imagine you'll be very upset if you end up spending time on your comic instead of enjoying these things. Only your stupid fans would give you a hard time about it.

EmergencyExit · Post by **EmergencyExit** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:50 pm

Going on hiatus doesn't automatically kill a comic, I've read plenty of comics that have taken extended amounts of time off and bounced back just fine. Fans can actually be more understanding then people give them credit for, and with a following as large as yours and your loyalty throughout the years you'll have no problem getting most of, if not all, your readers back even if you take something like three months off. Just be sure to keep them informed, use guest comics or other filler if you feel you can collect them, but taking a break isn't going to end your webcomic career, so do what you feel you need to do.

Joel Fagin · Post by **Joel Fagin** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:40 pm

Find someone you trust with a pile of lego and a digital camera and get them to do a short story set in your universe (with or without your main characters, as you prefer).

- Joel Fagin

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:15 pm

If you ship me all your Legos I will be glad to update your comic for you.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:15 am

hiatus is fine. its best to update with messages on forum or what ever from time to time. but when your comic has been going on for a while, its not a total breakage in terms of where the story is. Though fan base will definately deplete.

I been on hiatus for a few months, (after being pretty good with updates for a few years) and its been easy to get back into sync with my characters and my story. Though this is my last storyline, though I decided this before hiatus.

though if you want some guest strips I doubt it'd be to hard to get some.

Jekkal · Post by **Jekkal** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:22 am

Haituses / reductions only work if they're minor, include at least some sort of material for readers to enjoy in the meantime, and most importantly are TEMPORARY.

As an example, GPF used to be huge until the artist decided to scale back from color to black and white, then black and white 7 days a week to 3 (and not even the SAME 3 each week), and... well, I don't think he ever DID get back into the rythym.

If it were me I'd try to buffer my way out of it, but you do what you need to do. This is big stuff, folks will understand.

Pimpette · Post by **Pimpette** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:31 am

I doubt your fanbase will go anywhere; you've been updating like mad since you started, years ago... I think they realize you're got the work ethic to get back into it as soon as you're able.
If you want to take a total break, GO NUTS. You have five billion other more important things to worry about, do them first.

If you're worried about the fans, go with what kolter said. At the end of your buffer, stick in an image that says something along the lines of "sorry folks, hiatus time. But LG will be back on ____." Pick a day that you know you'll be able to start up again, and do that.
People get worried by the words "break" or "hiatus," but if you give them a specific day to come back, they at least know that you definitely intend to start updating again.

Also I can totally help you unpack your lego if you need it.

K-Dawg · Post by **K-Dawg** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:25 pm

Pimpette wrote:
Also I can totally help you unpack your lego if you need it.

And I can help eat all your food and drink your beer!

Dr Legostar · Post by **Dr Legostar** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:49 pm

K-Dawg wrote:
Pimpette wrote:
Also I can totally help you unpack your lego if you need it.
And I can help eat all your food and drink your beer!

guess who's carrying the couch!

Ahaugen · Post by **Ahaugen** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:39 pm

legostargalactica wrote:guess who's carrying the couch!

Tynan?

Lunar · Post by **Lunar** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:50 pm

Since your update schedule has been fantastic for ages if you explain the reason for the hiatus (which really no one could blame you for) and as said before trim the update schedule to allow for a buffer to build I doubt anyone would mind. As for guest comics I'd be happy to help with that as they tend to do me just as much good as the people I'm doing them for.

Comic Genesis Forums

some advice on a possible hiatus

some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus

Re: some advice on a possible hiatus