Manga on CD-ROM

[Denimcat]

I'm working on an original one-shot manga at the moment for TOKYOPOP's Rising Stars contest.

However, the chances of my entry winning are very, very low, so afterwards I'll just have a manga sitting around with no place to go.

The obvious answer is to attempt to sell it in a con, in the artist's alley, but book-binding fees are killer.

So my question is this:

Would you be willing to buy manga on CD-ROM rather than in traditional printed form, and if so, what would you consider to be a reasonable price for a 19 "page" work?

[/marketing research]

[mitsuki lover]

Well it would depend what the manga was about first off and wheter or not it would be something I'd be interested in reading.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Well it would depend what the manga was about first off and wheter or not it would be something I'd be interested in reading.

Well lets assume it's something you would be interested in. Seeing as a con, it's likely there will be SOMEONE who will be interested in something you create.

[Radical Dreamer]

I would say no more than 10$ for the price (since normal manga are under that, usually), and yes, I would definitely buy it if it sounded like an interesting story. Still, I would want to be sure that the CD would work (as in, it didn't have corrupted files or anything), so you'll want to make sure it's guaranteed. Good luck with it, though!

Oh, and be sure you have some cover art on the front of the CD, and maybe a summary on the back. Just 'cause.

[Denimcat]

I have no way of printing things on the actual disc, but I would have them all in cases labelled thusly.

[uc pseudonym]

I never really buy anything at conventions, so I'm not a good person to ask. The reason I'm posting is to encourage you to consider something else: if the manga is on cd, how will people browse your work? From my experience selling my one-shot at Fanime, people mostly make impulse purchases if they like the art. You'd need a computer or something so that they could get a good look at the pages.

[Denimcat]

I would probably have one printed edition to browse through for those purposes.

[Puguni]

I'd prefer for it to be on paper. Looking at the computer screen for too long isn't good for you. Also, homemade manga isn't as likely to sell as mainstream manga, unless you're a webcomic deity that everyone loves, so a little cheaper than regular manga. And since it's only 19 pages, I'd say around five dollars cheaper than usual manga.

[Sammy Boy]

I used to draw comics with some guys and we put out a few titles on CD-ROMs, at around 7 Australian dollars per CD.

Included in each CD were also some sketches, wallpapers, etc.

We had roughly 16 - 20 pages of coloured art per CD.

But I think your art quality may be better than ours (I am just guessing), so perhaps you could sell it for more.

I read a review somewhere once of our work, and a few of the readers thought that for 7 AUD they thought they deserved more (i.e. in addition to the art, wallpapers, they wanted some other extra features).

I disagree with that simply because I know the amount of time and effort involved in pencilling the art, inking, colouring, packaging, etc. but I am just letting you know because when putting a price on your CD comic this knowledge may help you.

From a personal perspective, I like my comics in the traditional comic book medium - simply because I can read it whenever and wherever (not technology dependent), putting the comics out in CD-ROM format before was not my idea.

But you know never know - there are most likely people out there who prefer to read their comics in electronic format, it's a matter of personal preference, so don't be discouraged.

Anyway, my two cents. All the best with your stuff.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I would say sell it for about $4 US.
I much prefer manga in paper form but I know there's a market for electronic manga. Whether you can get your foot in the door is another matter.
Good luck mate!
Don't forget to tell us your results.

[ducheval]

I definitely prefer digital manga over print. Digital is so much more useful. I would note though, I'm not sure that I'd pay for a 19 page manga in any format. It just seems like a promo-length work, and promos are generally free. Maybe you should lengthen it before selling?

[Denimcat]

Actually, I was thinking of lengthening it.

See, for TOKYOPOP's contest, works absolutely must be between 15 and 20 pages or they will be disqualified. If it were truly up to me at this time the work would probably be expanded by about 10 pages or more.

[mitsuki lover]

Tell us how you do.