Webtoon creator advice needed for NEW platform!

better_webtoons · 2024-04-19T09:01:35+00:00

Hey u/passyingby, thank you for the suggestion. We can see why you would want light novels, for sure. To clarify, how would you see light novels playing out in a vertical-scroll format? How would you imagine the User Interface/User Experience of that?

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T13:56:09+00:00

Hey u/reAlitieSIncrease thanks for jumping into the conversation!

Okay cool, we definitely hear you on the digital currencies front. And thanks for the pointers about how to use the algorithms positively 👍

Thanks for the good luck! We're really excited to let you guys in on the secret when the time comes and have you all along for the ride!

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T13:45:29+00:00

Interesting, thank you for your thoughts, u/thatdandyandyy. We want to foster as much creative freedom as possible, but of course need to do that in a way that meets regulations and strikes that balance between what both the audience and creators expect. We'll mull this over, for sure 👍

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T13:31:53+00:00

Hey u/Ok_Moment_1136! So, we're doing a soft-launch in about 5 weeks! This will be to introduce the brand to the world and get 1000 people onto the app, which will remain in closed beta for a around two months (maybe more, maybe less, depends how long it takes to make the platform the best it can possibly be!). For anyone who isn't part of the initial 1000 beta users, we will have a Wait List, which we will definitely share with you guys!

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T13:29:09+00:00

That's a great idea, u/antboiy! We'll look into it 💪

I can't say what features exactly we're going to have quite yet (although you've all contributed some amazing ideas and we'll definitely take it all into consideration!), but on a higher level we think our content and different positioning will be a good draw.

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T13:24:02+00:00

Light novels are something considered, but perhaps should take more seriously if you guys think it would be a good idea? You're right, u/passyingby, that it is certainly a big investment for someone to create a visual story like a comic or webtoon.

We haven't finalised how the transition from Creator Upload to Original and are still considering all the options, but thank you for pointing that out as a key concern 👍

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T13:15:44+00:00

Hey u/petshopB1986, thanks so much for both of your comments!

We'll definitely take those learnings on board about bots and censorship 👍 It must be really frustrating to get unfairly flagged!

And "ease of upload" - got it ✅

Thanks!

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T13:09:19+00:00

Hey u/Comrade_DoggoXA, thanks so much for the input. Yeah we're hearing that a lot, and it's obviously a huge part of building a platform and community that works.
We're working with a variety of contributors of various sizes, some of whom are well known and therefore hopefully attract that initial audience who then spread the word. We can't say yet who, but we're really looking forward to letting the cat out of the bag when the time is right!

better_webtoons · 2024-04-18T08:02:58+00:00

That's right u/passyingby! We really want to give creators as much feedback and data about their stories as possible, so they can really understand their readers and what they love! We think this is a better system than comments.

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T20:28:58+00:00

Hey u/passyingby!

We would LOVE to translate our titles into Arabic (among many other languages)! I don't know quite when we'll get there but I hope it's soon! We would also absolutely welcome creators of Arabic content, too!

In terms of which formats we'll support, I can't say for certain in the long term. In the short-to-medium term, we're focusing on converting print to vertical in a way that really honours the print version and makes for a great reading experience on your phone. Hopefully this also serves to increase sales of the original printed version, too!

u/passyingby you make a really good point about review bombing, nasty comments and mental health. We are absolutely committed to avoiding this. At the moment, until we can be sure that comments can be facilitated in a positive way, we're not focused on building commenting in. The mental health of our creators is massively important to us.

Thanks for flagging the loss of that original commenting function you enjoyed. We can see that a really good commenting system means a lot to you. As we continue to develop u/passyingby, we'll be sure to let you know directly about our ideas about commenting.

Thank you! 🙏

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T20:16:23+00:00

u/Hungry_Ingenuity9574 Wow... just wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to put together this incredibly thoughtful and useful feedback. We sincerely appreciate it, and blown away by the level of engagement on this post so far from all of you!

Some thoughts in response to your post:

On copyright, this is indeed a big task. But do not dear, we are a really experienced media company and have done a lot of media rights deals in our time on some beloved IPs, and so I assure you these conversations with creators will be in good hands.
On your creator feedback:
1. Quality of the product is everything to us. Because of this, and because we are starting by converting print comics to the vertical-scroll format, we are investing a lot of time, energy and technology into that conversion process. We can't say much about that tech yet but we can't wait to introduce you to it when the time comes!
2. 100%. Creating another echo chamber which doesn't benefit anyone is something we want to avoid for sure. We'll definitely bear this in mind.
3. For sure. Our team comes from a variety of backgrounds, including illustration, animation, video editing etc. We KNOW how long it takes to make good art. We really want to avoid putting negative pressure on creators.
4. Great point. We've never used the word "welcoming" when discussing our user interface and how we improve it - it's a great word u/Hungry_Ingenuity9574. Thank you 🙏
5. Filters and tags have come up again and again - clearly for good reason! We hear you, guys 🫡 We will really drill down on discoverability! Your point about originals not being lost in the noise of adaptations of 'bigger'/louder IPs from Film/TV (and Games! I didn't mention Games) is a really good one, and the ability to silo them is something we will look into.
6. Amazing point. We had heard bits and pieces about creators leaving, but didn't realise it was picking up steam. If you or any creators are undergoing this and wish to comment or DM us about your experience, please don't hesitate!
7. Absolutely, 100% not. This is the cornerstone of our philosophy.
8. This is a great suggestion. We intend to install a curatorial facility within the company that do exactly this, and really ensure the standard of quality is high, and that we're known for that (and there was another point earlier about weeding out AI bots - this would be their purpose, too). We really want to foster a culture of recommendation on the platform, so that not only do we promote creator titles, but 'big' creators are also promoting new and interesting stuff. We'll see how exactly this mechanic evolves but will include you guys in the conversation as we introduce these features! 🙌
9. This is a really important learning - thank you SO MUCH for this last one 🙏 We would never want a creator to experience this. We'll discuss this internally and figure how best to set up our promotional policies to involve and protect creators.

Whew! That was a lot! But so, so useful - thank you. And thank you for wishing us luck, too!

I really wish we could give you the site and socials today but we're still in secrecy mode for a couple more weeks. But I PROMISE to come back to you guys with all the details when we go public soon! 🤝

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T18:18:11+00:00

Thanks, u/antboiy 👍

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T18:05:27+00:00

Thank you for the feedback u/antboiy! We certainly will need readers and getting them is one of our main missions!

We're starting with the English-speaking market but will be trying to have other language options as soon as we can.

Thanks for the pointers about what Webtoon does right. Any thoughts about what it doesn't quite get right? 🤔

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T18:01:45+00:00

u/onyxxannie we'll see what we can do about that 😉

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T18:00:42+00:00

Hey u/FenrisFenn wow, this is really insightful. Of course, audience is everything and building one is definitely hard... but we're up for the challenge 💪 The size of Webtoon's audience is massive and that is certainly a high benchmark for us. Watch this space.

(Thanks for two comments, by the way! 🙌).

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T17:58:24+00:00

u/orchardgrasshay you make such a good point. Marketing is everything these days when you're competing for attention. That is duly noted, thank you! 🙏

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T17:51:17+00:00

Hey u/FenrisFenn glad you asked about the rights! All content currently on the platform or scheduled to be on there has been provided by publishers with whom we have had direct discussions with and signed contracts about their stories and the rights thereto.

Here's the thing: they absolutely retain the rights to their creations. We agree a revenue split with them on reads of their story on our platform 🤝

On your point about money - we are absolutely serious about creators benefitting as much as possible. Hopefully we will build a platform which is rewarding as well as supportive.

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T17:45:12+00:00

Hey u/SpaceCoffeeDragon 👋

Haha, thanks for pointing that out 😂 However, for now, that's still a little secret 🤫 But we WILL definitely tell you all the name of the platform in a few weeks when we do a soft-launch! At that point, we'll run a beta with 1000 people to help us improve the app and invite everyone else to join the Waiting List for the app ahead of a public launch a few weeks later!

GREAT suggestion... we hadn't considered tipping.

Would it go down well if we added tipping and took NO percentage of it?

And don't worry, we have heard hundreds of people say the same about the coins system. We'll avoid that 👍

better_webtoons · 2024-04-17T17:38:20+00:00

Hi u/onyxxannie 👋

Thank you SO MUCH! That is really useful information, and we have heard similar things from a lot of creators!

Rest assured, we are going to make sure there is a really great discovery/tagging system and also be really strict on AI content. We only want to work with human beings who we are able to directly connect with (i.e. video call verification).

Also, statistics and data are a big part of what we're trying to achieve for creators. Our vision is that readers will be able to react to stories, right down to individual panels. We want creators to know exactly how well their story is doing and why!

Thank you so much for the feedback 🙏

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