An important update (Patreon)

TLDR: I have turned down the Webtoon original contract, I will start posting F&F publicly soon, when this happens there will be more rewards/different patreon tiers etc. There will be no update for a week or two (sorry) as I organise everything, but once I launch publicly I'll be back to regular weekly updates :)

-

So, after many many (many) months I have officially turned down a contract with webtoon. I can't go into specifics about why, but the contract asks for things that I value significantly and imho doesn't provide sufficient value in return.

For reasons that may or may not be related here's an article from 2016 where the then head of content talks about how the series were100% creator owned.
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-webtoons-2016-2

And here's a more recent article about Wattpad Webtoon Studios, specifically talking about IP as a thing that businesses spend lots of money to "capture".

https://company.wattpad.com/blog/wattpad-and-webtoon-merge-studio-divisions-to-create-wattpad-webtoon-studios-a-fully-funded-fan-driven-global-entertainment-powerhouse

Make of that what you will :)

I want to add that I still love Webtoon a lot - publishing with them changed my life in such a wonderful way, and I think they've provided and continued to provide many creators with incredible opportunities.
And just because their current contract is not a good fit for me, doesn't mean they're not a good fit for anyone.
What they're asking for might matter in different ways to different people (though if you have an offer from them please seek legal advice so you know exactly what they're asking for, contract language is tricky to parse.) Also what they're offering in return may be more or less valuable to different people (thinking only in terms of finances, depending on the country you live in webtoon payments might pan out to be barely above minimum wage, or they might be enough money to fund a small comic studio. It varies!)

And.... that probably is as much as I can say about all of this. I want to be transparent with you all as much as possible, but also I don't want to break NDA ^^;

What are my future goals?
No matter what, I am going to keep writing/drawing this story, with the goal of updating ~10 panels a week excluding holidays and emergencies.

My hope in the long term is that, after I start posting the story publicly, it will find an audience who might be open to tipping me a bit of money every now and then (as you all so kindly have chosen to do, thank you!!!) and I might one day reach the point where I can treat F&F as a part or full time job, have longer or more frequent updates, and maybe hire an assistant etc. It would be super cool if that happens :D

If this doesn't happen, I will continue with the current pace. I turned down the webtoon contract very aware that I might not get to do this full time, and if that doesn't happen that's okay. Such is life! I will be happy enough to work on F&F on my own terms.

But I am still hoping that maybe with Patreon support I can make this a job, eventually, one day. That would be neat :)

What does this mean for F&F updates?
It means that there will not be an update this week, and possibly there won't be an update next week either, sorry ^^;

I want to take a bit of time to organise everything for a public launch. I want to go back through the archives and add a few extra panels/make the speech bubbles and SFX more consistent/probably a few other things.

I'd also like to have a bit of a buffer for Patreon updates if I can. If my hope is to one day treat this as a job then updates should be regular, and a buffer will help with that :)

My expectation is that I'll be ready to start posting publicly in 1-2 weeks :)

At that point I'll also want to have proper tiers, instead of just "tip jar 1" and "tip jar 2" XD
On that note, if you have suggestions for things you'd like to see as patreon rewards, please let me know!

Since I want to focus mostly on F&F I'm hoping to mainly offer rewards that don't take too much time, so I can save that time for drawing the comic :)

• I'll keep sharing behind the scenes stuff as it pops up (occasional step-by-steps, character
  outfits sketches, so forth.)
  
• I'll definitely have an early updates tier. It probably won't be $1 a month (it'll most likely be $2 or $2.50 a month) but I will be able grandfather you all in at $1 a month. I don't want to lock new comic updates behind a higher tier for current patrons, that would be unfair when you've supported me so kindly while I've had nothing to share publicly.  Early updates will be available to you at your current tier for you for as long as you don't change your pledge. Thank you so much for the support <3
  
• I'll probably have a "your name in the credits" tier, which I've seen a lot of canvas webcomics do, and I think is a nice way to say thanks :)
  
• And at some point I think I'll have a NSFW art tier. I probably won't do this immediately, as I feel like it could kind of spoil future character dynamics? But when the character dynamics are more established I will do this, because I think it makes good business sense, and because I want to draw boobs :)

If you have other suggestions for rewards you'd like to see, please let me know!

A thing regarding patreon/processor fees - between patreon and payment processor fees, a big chunk of a $1 monthly tier gets eaten up. Patreon very strongly recommends that our lowest tier is $2 or higher for this reason, and this is why I won't be having early updates on the $1 tier.

While I am very grateful for support at any level, my hope is that people will be willing to pledge a bit more for early updates - and if this is something you can do, I ask you to please consider it when I've got my tiers sorted. 

One other thing regarding patreon/processor fees, and yearly pledges - If you make a yearly pledge I've set it up so you get a 16% discount. Also, total percentage wise the fees payment processors take are much much smaller. So if you think pledging for 12 months is something you're likely to do, if you do a yearly pledge instead you'll save money, and I'll receive more of your money. It's a win-win :D

ETA: Just want to add - please don't feel pressured.  If an annual pledge doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. I am not trying to pressure you into this, sorry! Please know that I'm so grateful for all your support - every little bit counts, it all adds up - and for all the non-financial support you've given me (time spent reading my work, letting me know what you think, telling a friend etc. is really wonderful support! Thank you!)

ETA2: I previously had a note here saying I wasn't sure if it was possible to switch to annual pledging on a hidden tier, but I now know it is possible, so I'm removing that comment :)

I think that's all I have to say right now. If you have questions, I will answer them as best as I can :)
Thank you so very much for supporting me and for reading and supporting F&F!! This means so much to me <3 I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

P.S. I've been sticking with the name Flowers & Fangs because that was what I pitched it to Webtoons as, and I thought I'd best not get attached to a new name in case they didn't like it. I suppose I can now officially move on to Seven Days in Silverglen without worrying about this.
(How do I shorten that? SDIS? 7DiS? Silverglen?)