"ASK THE GANG" update-- feedback wanted! (Patreon)
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Hey folks! Most of you were around during the summer when I unfortunately had to put "Ask the Gang" comics on hold-- there are still a couple months' worth of questions sitting on the burner for that, but before I get back to doing the comics, I gotta figure out exactly how I'm going to handle it going forward.
For those who weren't around or missed the posts about it back then, "Ask the Gang" is a series of short comics that answer or address questions submitted by patrons at or above the $15 tier. From the very beginning, I would complete comics for all of the submitted questions every single month, even when the numbers rose from 2-3 questions a month to 9+!
But then, well, COVID happened (among other things) and I found myself no longer able to keep up with that workload in addition to monthly sketch requests and doing enough regular commissions to stay afloat. So it's been more or less floating in stasis for a few months while I tried to get my shit together.
Now that things are (maybe?) going a little smoother, I'd like to bring it back, BUT it's clear that I need to make some changes to the process to keep it manageable. Some of you had some great suggestions back in August, so I'm hoping to pick your brains again!
HERE'S MY CURRENT IDEA:
- 1. Take all standing questions, write them down, and put them in a hat (or other container). Shake the hat (fun, relieves stress).
- 2. Choose two (or more if I'm feeling spicy) at random per month to illustrate.
- 3. Each month, eligible patrons can decide whether to submit a new question OR re-submit one of their past questions to increase its chances of getting picked. (Each time a question is picked, all duplicates of it will of course be removed from the hat)
- 4. In the event that more people sign up at the $15 tier (the specific tier for Ask the Gang) than are there currently, a second hat (for their questions specifically) could be used to make sure theirs are prioritized/they get at least one guaranteed pick each month (since the $20 tier folks getting to submit questions is mostly just an added bonus in addition to their monthly sketch).
Some PROS of this idea: Keeps the selection process fair, doesn't favor anybody but does allow individuals to decide for themselves if they want to increase the probability for one of their questions. Keeps the workload manageable for me, allowing for (hopefully!) higher-quality art in each comic. I will retain some degree of sanity.
Some CONS of this idea: Fewer comics overall compared to the original pace. Might take a long time for a specific question to get answered. Theoretically someone could get lucky and get several of their questions answered fairly fast while someone else's don't get chosen. I will be irrationally mad at myself for not being able to keep up with the original pace.
SO, please feel free to share your thoughts! There are probably ways this system could be improved, or even alternate strategies that might work better.