Hi, everyone! After a long break, The Dreamer is back! But it won't be returning to Drunk Duck. I hope that all of you will follow the comic over at the Official Site www.thedreamercomic.com from now on. There is an RSS feed there, just go to the "Blog" page and subscribe and you'll never miss an update!
I feel like I should give a reason for leaving Drunk Duck but there isn't a clear one. I met the Drunk Duck guys at Wizard World Chicago in '07 where they were giving a talk called "How to Make Money on Webcomics." After the panel I introduced myself to D.J. Coffman (back when he was still with DD) and a few others and they were kind enough to talk to me and look at my book and give me some advice. After the show, I reconnected with them online and launched The Dreamer here. I think I started with the first 18 pages. A few short months later, The Dreamer was featured in the spotlight section on the front page. I was on top of the world. I had been making webcomics for only about three months and so it caught me off guard and brought in a bunch of new readers. Barb Jacobs helped me launch a webcomic on Drunk Duck, and I started reading Rival Angels (my favorite web comic) here, and both Barb and Alan have become dear colleagues of mine. D.J. taught me how to self-publish, and then he cheered me on publicly when I found a publisher. The first fans I met at a convention were Drunk Duck readers.The Dreamer has won four Drunk Duck Awards, and was nominated for eight total.
When I had no idea what I was doing, this was the perfect avenue to launch my book and make some friends.
So why leave? I think it all boils down to putting my efforts where they'll have maximum impact. My Drunk Duck stats have been steadily declining for awhile now, and I haven't put an effort into advertising The Dreamer's presence on this site to improve them. That money goes a lot farther to bring in more readers when I use it to advertise the main site. Also, the vibrance of the community has faded. When I started out, Drunk Duck was an active, supportive community and I don't know if the site has changed, or if I just haven't been as involved.
In either case, I've decided to consolidate my readership over at the Official Site, and I hope you'll follow me there. If you don't, you'll surely be missed! I have such fond memories of getting this thing started, checking my DD stats a thousand times a day to see if *one* more person had stopped by. Or clicking through every page of the story to see if I had gotten another comment. Those memories are irreplaceable.
It was such a gift to have this site to start out on. I think The Dreamer has just outgrown it. I won't be closing my DD account, I just will no longer be updating The Dreamer here. Thanks for all the memories!
...Now get on over to the Official Site and catch up on the new update!
I am grateful to have found your comic. I'll still follow and read. It does make it difficult to keep up when comics go off on their own. I wish you good luck! Perhaps this opens new doors for you.
Thanks, Dave! It's been a good time!! I hope that you and everybody else find their way over to the main site. You've always been my favorite commenter. Ever.
Sorry to see you go, Lora. The Dreamer has been one of the best comics here at DD for so long, I'm sure a lot of readers who like to see all their favourite webcomics on one site will miss you.
