Golly…
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Couple quick things to note: FINALLY, a members update! TWO new Genie Handbook pages are up in the member’s area. Also, for your convenience, I registered the domain “shipinab.com”. So you can now type that into your URL bar and get to the site EVEN FASTER! When you do, it simply re-directs you to the subdomain, but still… it’s better than a poke in the eye with a wild genie ponytail, that’s for sure!
~Mace
Hey, just a quick update to inform everyone: the “Bonus” tab is gone. What I have done is integrated the “Bonus” comics into their approximate place in the timeline of the main “story”. So when you cruise through the archives, now you will see all of the porn-o-riffic bonus comic sets, including the ones I commissioned from Prettio. Members: do not despair! There is still exclusive content over at the Members area, and the bonuses are still featured there at 1000px wide, which is almost double the resolution of the comics seen here. And I still have a couple pieces I need to put in there for your enjoyment. So you’re still getting your money’s worth. Basically, everyone wins!
You’re welcome. ;3
~Mace
There we go! Fixed!
So, the physical changes to the site are probably obvious. Most notably, the changes to the header and the credits. The simple fact of the matter is this: my strategy of making a free comic and hoping and praying for proceeds to just roll in is not a viable one. At least, not with a comic of this nature, where adult elements come into play. We had a good run, too. In December, we shattered expectations and actually went 125 percent-to-budget. And then… just like that, it was gone. Which brings us to the matter of what happened to the comic, and why Tira’s name is off the top.
The simple fact of the matter is that the paysite is a failure. That failure is largely due to a couple factors. First, I can’t accept Visa unless I switch to a different service. This you know, because I’ve been keeping everyone up-to-date on the Visa fiasco. The second is that the donation model (used by countless comics all over the internet) is, by far, 1000% more lucrative and I simply can’t use it. And that is VERY frustrating. As a result, I feel I cannot reasonably ask Tira to continue as artist under the pretense it is going to “get better” unless I make some drastic changes. These changes will be gradual and will cost me quite a bit. So, for the time being, I have asked her to step down as artist to allow me to pursue this new angle.
This doesn’t mean that Tira’s involvement with SinaB is over by a long shot. Her involvement over the past two years has been and invaluable and integral part of SinaB’s success these past two years. But one of the changes is making sure that my artists get paid for their work. And 4 pages a month for 20-25 dollar split is simply not a reasonable request. I am considering a pay-per-page model for bonus content as well as a major overhaul to the structure of the paysite to include additional content and a more ironclad updating schedule. With that in mind, and the fact that other artists will be coming on board to help populate the paysite’s roster, it just makes more sense to hire Tira and others at a fixed piece rate instead of continuing to be an asshole and saying “if we just update more often, we’ll make more money!” We all know that’s a cheap publisher trick, and I feel dirty even admitting to doing it.
Which brings us to our final point: after the update I am working on for this week goes up, sadly, Tira-chan will no longer be the series regular artist. That DOES NOT mean the series is ending. But like the print comic industry, things will and must change. For the short term, I will be finishing Chapter 3: “Hokum Pocus” myself. Not to worry: the work will be consistent with the bonus comics I did for your hard earned money not so long ago. Then, when Chapter 4 starts, the line work will be taken care of by Jamie Jennings. But you can call her “Glance”. She does a hilariously weird cross-dressing comic (involving a maid boy and a wayward princess with funny ideas about “real life”) called Lavender Legend, as well as the sleeper hit “Thorn Prince” over at Filthy Figments (the all-women-authored adult comic paysite). Then, once I get some bills paid, I think I will try and hire Tira and possibly Prettio again to bang out some pinups and exclusive comics for the existing paysite. We even have ONE MORE page of the Genie Handbook as drawn by Koneko. So, I *DO* actually have content AND a plan for a change.
Until then, I’ll keep you all posted on how things are developing!
~Mace
