So you’re a manga creator with the next big shonen or shojo hit and you don’t have access to publishing companies. Did you know that 35% of the manga industry is online and growing? Even Shueisha started releasing serialized manga online via their own platform. How can you take advantage of this trend?
Without any gatekeepers, you can earn a full-time living with your manga. In this post, we look at 11 online platforms to post your digital manga online.
Let’s get into it.
Table of Contents
1.) Amazon Kindle
- Over 90 million readers
- 1.1 billion in revenue
- 35% from self published catogory
- 42% sales are from the US
One of the most valuable tools that you can use to publish your manga online is the Kindle Comic Creator. This is a free tool you can use to convert your manga into an e-book that would read well on digital platforms. It will ensure that your manga is fully optimized for E-ink displays and other e-book readers.
Once your manga has been converted into an appropriate format, you can upload the file on Kindle Direct Publishing. There, you get to choose the categories and genres of your manga. Ensure that you are particular with this since Amazon’s algorithm will recommend and publicize your manga accordingly.
2.) Webtoons
LINE Webtoon is one of the most famous online reading and publishing platforms. Although it caters to an audience that reads more manhwa than manga, their website and app allow manga publications.
- #1 on the app store for comics globally
- 35 million monthly visits
- 100 billion comic views anaually
Here comic creators earn 50% from ads, but you need at least 1,000 subscribers and 40,000 page views to get this.
Because LINE Webtoon intends to cater to all ages, stories that portray graphic scenes are not allowed. This is especially true for Canvas, their open platform where any creator can publish their work. You can use any art style and publish any story that you want – make sure to keep it rated PG.
Though this may seem restricting for some aspiring mangakas, the trade-off is worth it. You may want to know that millions of readers donate to authors. As such, the probability of gaining money from your work is higher than if you published on other free platforms.
Your Canvas story also has the chance to be serialized on the main LINE Webtoon page. This means an increase in viewers and the opportunity to charge for future chapters.
3.) Pop Comics
Pop Comics is a mobile platform for publishing comics and manga. It was founded by Tokyopop’s owner, Stu Levy, and is meant to widen the number of aspiring mangakas given opportunities.
The platform is ad-supported, and the artists get to earn 70-75% of the advertising receipts for every impression they make. With millions of readers using the app, creators have the potential to make a reasonable amount of money.
Like LINE Webtoon, Pop Comics does not allow extreme violence, hate speech, and sexually explicit content. You can view more information here.
4.) Pixiv
Pixiv is an online community where artists can publish any art illustration or story. It hosts over 50 million members, 100 million submissions and receives at least 3 billion page views monthly. To say that it is popular would be an understatement.
Yet, there are two things to note about Pixiv. The first is that it is a Japanese platform. Second, its titles and announcements are in Japanese. As such, you may have to use Google Translate and refer to tutorials to navigate the site.
For more information on how to navigate the site and create your own account, go here.
5.) GlobalComix
Global Comix is a self-serve comic publishing platform so that anyone can upload their manga and comics there. What sets it apart is that it maintains a credit structure, so creators can require users to pay for access to chapters.
Should you choose to publish your manga through Global Comix, a good strategy would be to keep the three chapters free, and all future chapters will be paid content. You can also run promotional periods, during which readers can access your entire work for free. Only shift to strictly paid content once you have managed to gain a good following.
And if fans particularly like your work, they are free to give you donations on top of the access fees they are already paying. If you want to start earning, check this out.
6.) Web Comics App
Web Comics App is the most popular webtoon app in North America and the #9 manga apps in the world. They have fantastic webcomics, and their reviews on the app store back up this claim.
Unlike other webtoon apps, it only accepts manga-style webtoons. This gives your work a greater chance of hitting off with the audience, as they already prefer manga.
To upload your work on their platform, you must first create an account here.
7.) Graphite Comics
Graphite Comics is a platform that welcomes comics, webtoons, and manga in any language, under any genre, for every age. This gives creators a lot of freedom, as it does not have the restrictions of other online platforms.
Although it does not offer a fixed pay structure for creators, it does allow you to link your Patreon account for donations and subscriptions. Go here to start uploading your manga.
8.) Koi Komics
Koi Komics is a new online platform that is strictly for fan-made and original manga. In other words, it only welcomes doujinshi in digital form. This is where fans create manga using famous manga characters. Putting them in places that otherwise they wouldn’t be. Example sailor moon vs. naruto. For more information, you can check out their website.
9.) MangaDojo
MangaDojo describes itself as a web 2.0 community for professional and independent mangakas and manga readers. Users can showcase their work, give feedback, and collaborate with others through the platform. Go here to join the community.
10.) Comic Fury
Comic Fury is a free web hosting site to create your own website dedicated to publishing your manga. Although it sounds complicated at first, you are allowed a great deal of freedom and customization.
Popular works are then featured on Comic Fury’s homepage, and readers can subscribe and donate as they wish. The challenge here is that if your manga is still unknown, the publicity will depend solely on your ability to advertise your work.
If you’re up to create your manga website, click here
11.) MangaDex
MangaDex is a website dedicated entirely to manga in its traditional, albeit digital, form. As such, stories of Asian origin are preferred. This limits the creators who can upload their work on the platform.
Nonetheless, it still pulls in millions of readers per day. If your plot revolves around Japanese, Chinese, or Korean elements, then MangaDex should remain a viable option. If you want to know more about their rules and process, you can check the information here.
Conclusion
No matter what your goals are, there is a manga site for you to reach them. Most of these allow you to earn money for your manga, but many of them require a certain amount of readers to your comic before that takes place. The only way to do that is great art and story. There is no replacement for it. I hoped you found what you’re looking for.
Now, it’s time to hear from you:
Did I miss any platforms?
How did you plan to monetize your manga?
Which online platform appeals the most to you?
Whatever your answer is, let’s hear it in the comments below.
Thank you for this! Been looking for websites that do support traditional manga style.
No problem. Glad you like the site.