September 2023 Update
I’m really sorry guys. I still have no job prospects, and the weight of that leaves me pretty dang depressed. In my free time between job searching, I’m trying to learn software that might make me more marketable and create some portfolio pieces. I want to work on TMK, but I feel guilty whenever I think of it, even if ultimately I don’t do much of anything. Anyone reading who has Depression no doubt can understand.
So Chapter 23 will have to be pushed to October sometime. The exact date I’m not sure of, but it might be later in the month.
I’m also thinking of going back to once a week updates.
I was able to handle twice a week updates just fine, but the primary reason I did it in the first place was to garner more readers. If Google Analytics is anything to go by, that hasn’t happened. Even twice a week doesn’t seem fast enough in these days of (overworked and underpaid) Webtoon artists putting out whole mini chapters once a week.
Now, part of that is also on me. I’ve never been good at self-promotion and these days “if you build it, they will come” doesn’t really apply anymore. You gotta make videos. You gotta post to six different social media accounts. You gotta do something every day. Sometimes it’s all I can do to make a comic page. Sometimes it’s all I can do to draw anything at all. Sometimes I can’t even do that.
All this isn’t to say the comic will spontaneously stop anytime soon. I do have other stories I want to tell, and maybe I’ll take a break to work on something else just for the change of pace, but I’ve spent fourteen years on this comic. I’m not about to drop it in the home stretch.
And we are in the home stretch. The last couple of chapters have essentially been the start of Act 3. The last act.
To those of you that have continued to check in, leave nice comments, reblog things on Tumblr, and support me on Patreon: thank you. I shouldn’t rely on anyone but me to make the comic, and shouldn’t chase validation through my audience, but there’s no denying those things make a difference. Working on a webcomic can be a lonely endeavor and all those things help me feel less alone. I’m not trying to garner pity or make excuses. That’s just how things are.
If you want to stay updated on my goings on, I’m more active on Tumblr these days. I also joined Bluesky as “depleti” if you’re on there. I have the newsletter signup link in the header. I don’t send a lot of emails so you won’t get much.
Thank you all again for your support, and thank you so much for reading. <3
