I believe that cartoonists, artists, and writers should be paid for the good works they put out into the world. Unfortunately this is not always the case. In the world of web comic cartoonists we can safely say that no one — except for a rare handful — gets paid adequately for the content they produce and make available to everyone. The mentality is, Why should I pay for something that’s free? Although that’s a fair way to treat it I think people should pay for content that’s free when they begin to attach a certain value to that content. If the reader sees the content as something good that has significant merit, then it goes without saying that the reader is placing some amount of value on that content. It follows that something of value can be given a fair price. I know what you’re thinking — Oh no, she’s going to start charging people to read her web comic! Don’t worry, that’s not what I’m after. I’m not going to block my site to people who can’t afford to pay. Comic strips have always been an affordable everyman’s art, and I would never put my comic above that. I will, however, do everything within reason to get compensated for something I believe people have come to trust as good and worthwhile entertainment. Would you agree with me on that?
If you don’t agree with me on that point, and don’t like my web comic, then stop reading this — it doesn’t apply to you. This message is for readers who really enjoy reading “Velia, Dear” and are dying to find out how this current story ends. Yes, there is an ending — I just haven’t written it. If you’re caught up on the story you’ll see that the ending can go two opposite ways — Velia can say NO to the “Bracemaker” and let her ma wither and die, leaving Velia a mass of guilt and nerves. Or, Velia may say YES to the “Bracemaker” and… Whoa, I don’t know. Anyway, think about this: What would you give to participate in the ending of the story, and have some influence on what our Velia decides to do?
Here’s my proposal — I’m going to let you decide how the story ends. You can vote YES or NO to Dr. Tesla’s Bracemaker with a donation of any amount in the tip jar. (Write “Yes” or “No” in the comment section of your Paypal transaction.) You may vote as many times as you like, but votes without a tip in the tip jar will not be counted. The vote that wins will be the one with the most amount of money. (For instance, if there’s a ga-zillion dollars raised toward the YES vote, and only a zillion for the NO vote, then the YES vote wins.)
I will write and draw the ending of the story when there is an accumulated amount of $2,000 in the tip jar. I’m not under any delusions here — I’m well aware that “Velia,Dear” is not hugely popular, and therefore there’s an excellent chance the donations will never reach that amount. Or else, there’s a chance it’ll take a century to raise it. For this I’ve thought it necessary to add a deadline for voting: The goal of $2,000 must be reached by Wednesday March 14th, or the present story will be left as is.
Ask yourself what the last couple of years of enjoyable entertainment is worth. 10 bucks? 20? 50? A kick in the pants?
(As for the future of “Velia,Dear”, it will no longer be a strip that updates 3 times per week. My sights are set on taking it one step further — I want to write stories featuring Vel, and ma and the whole cast, just like the 4 1/2 page comic you see up there right now. So, yes, there is more “Velia,Dear” to come!)
Now I’ll leave you to think about my proposal. I’m okay with not ending the story. The question is, are you?
I finally donated, after enjoying your strip for sometime. I hope you reach it! I’ll definitely hit the tip jar more often.
Sneaky!
But I agree you should receive compensation for your hard and good work. I sent in something and hope to send more.
I forgot to vote. I vote no.
I forgot to vote, too! I vote YES on the implants.
I voted no because (1) Dr. Tesla is clearly a quack. His paper was published in “New Age Medicine”, a medical journal found in the supermarket, not in medical schools. He looks like the Wizard of Oz, as originally drawn in 1899 by W. W. Denslow. The Wizard of Oz was a quack too. (2) If Velia says yes and her mom is able to know Velia’s innermost thoughts, mom will go right back into a state of Dismay, probably deeper than now, negating the effect of the whole procedure. No way will Velia be able to think like a nun.
On the other hand, if Velia says yes, it should make for a very interesting story, a nightmare which ends when Velia, to escape, clicks her heels together and is transported back to the family farm in Manitoba.
I hope Rina’s $2000 materializes, because I wanna see how this turns out. If it doesn’t, we’ll have a story like “The Lady or the Tiger” (was that Poe?) where the reader is left to decide the protagonist’s fate.
My wife thinksVelia should consult a different doctor for a second opinion.
I don’t kow how Canadian health care works, but in the U.S., Medicare won’t pay for experimental or illegal procedures. If Velia goes through with this, she or her mom will get stuck with a HUGE bill.
I vote yes Velia is a fun concept , great art and a storyline that makes me laugh out loud .
Thank you Rina for Tina , Velia and Six Chix .
Ian.
Hi Rina- I miss Velia’s updates. I agree that you should be compensated, but even 10 bucks would be a stretch for me at this point. I got laid off from IBM in a resource action about 4 yrs ago and I’ve been scratching a living ever since. There really are NO good jobs out here.
Can you sell ad space? How do the other web cartoonists do it? Even if you cut down to one strip a week, it would be better than nothing.
I just hate to see this strip die, it was so good. It’s always wrenching to lose a good strip, eg; Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes.
Thank you though for what you’ve given us already- Ken
Okay, it’s past the deadline. Did you reach your goal?
Nope. I’m sorry I haven’t blogged about it yet, but I’ve been occupied lately with life stuff and deadlines. I will eventually, though. Thank you, everyone, for your understanding. (And a grateful thank you to everyone who pitched in
)
I’m not sure what to make of all this. I feel as if this is a special strip. Sort of Kate Beaton special. Maybe groundbreaking. I would buy a printed collection of this for sure. I love how the set up of this strip is kind of ” slice of life ” and yet anything ( like this wacky BRACEMAKER storyline, which is hilarious by the way ) can happen. It seems to me that your deadline was a little severe. I happened not to check in on your strip for the last few weeks and missed this whole thing. I guess I like to read your strip in bulk. You could have run a three month campaign instead of four weeks. Perhaps you’re really, really frustrated. This strip makes me laugh out loud and yet it also has so much warmth. I think you’re doing something very significant here and not many of us cartoonists can make that claim. A couple of years ago I was reading a Doonesbury anthology and thought about the length and all the history of that strip and how Trudeau must be able to sit back with a quiet pride over what he has achieved over his lifetime. Think about yourself twenty years from now with three big fat “Velia, Dear” anthologies sitting on your shelf. Being a successful cartoonist is the ultimate dream, but looking in the mirror and knowing you’re good is also important. You’re good. Sorry for jibber-jabbering so much.
It’s sad to see this comic end like this. Of course, the author has the ultimate right to do with it as she pleases. I’m just wondering whether inexperience with the internet has made her make what I see as a bad decision.
All the successful webcomics out there are free to read. Content is free, people will not pay ransom for it. Where they make money is usually in selling merchandise and print volumes of the comic. People who can’t give financially usually give by spreading the word about it, they give free advertising. Putting the comic up for ransom evokes bad feelings in people. People want to feel like the good guy, giving freely for something they think is awesome. They don’t want to feel like something is demanded from them.
I hesitated for a long while before writing this message, because it’s none of my business how someone wants to handle their creation. Ultimately, I felt sad that all of this effort from the author has been for nothing. A failed experiment, when so much hard work has been put into it. I hope the author will reconsider continuing with it, and try monetizing in different ways. If not – thank you for these great stories that you’ve brought to us, and I hope your other creative projects are awesome and fulfilling.
The Autor wants full control over her character and over her readers.
There were one or two good, maybe even close-to-great ideas but most is just too over the top. Get control over yourself, then the rest might also submerge. And don’t go that hard on us/them.
Rina!!! When you bringing this strip back?!
Greg — and everyone… thank you for your patience, I really do appreciate it. The reason I haven’t blogged about the results is because I’ve had some serious personal stuff that I’ve been going through, and so I’ve had to prioritize and just concentrate on my “real” work (sorry to have to put it that way) and deadlines. Hope you can all understand. I know you will, and I thank you. Don’t forget, you can still see me in my daily comic strip “Tina’s Groove”
http://www.tinasgroove.com/ Thanks again for your understanding.
“Serious personal stuff” doesn’t sound good… and Rina, you give the impression that it’s still disrupting your schedule. I’m sure I am not alone in wishing you the best outcome possible!
Thanks Rina for letting us know. We can’t complain to much for something we get for free.