2 Months of Publishing

[Johnny]

Today marks month two of me publishing my book called "The Cataclysm" and honestly it has been one hell of a ride. I've learned a lot from this community as well as talked to other writers of this community. I even joined a discord to help my writing style for another book I'm currently working on. Most of my thoughts when I first did this is that it wouldn't go far, or at least I wouldn't keep posting if no one liked it but much to my surprise, a fair bit of people liked my writing and storytelling which I'm proud to say.

Even getting those occasional praise comments makes my day beyond words. It's even pushed me to write more than I usually do. Which is a huge surprise to me since I initially did this for fun, and now maybe, I'll have it as a side hobby for lack of better words. But, to keep this achievement and serotonin pushing, tell me how you as a writer were surprised when you came to this community. How did you like it? What made your experiences here different for others? Also, how long have you been here?

//TL;DR: I'm glad I've learned a lot from this place and met new people. Tell me about your experiences here!

[Wocalich]

I've been here since checks registration date the August 21th of last year, and it has been a ride. I started posting, then got insecure about my stories and removed them, and now am posting them again. I wish I hadn't removed them in the first place, but what can you do? Other than that, however, the community has been great!

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

Started sharing my stories here over 15 months ago. I've found the visibility disappointing & the amount of feedback/comments, too. That's what "surprised" me. But this is my first time writing longer stories & putting them online, so my expectations were undoubtedly inaccurate.
Sometimes, I wonder if there's more writers on Tapas than there are readers, you know?

[Crusoe]

I think I started posting my current story here one and a half year ago? I just really wanted to get back into fiction writing after stopping when I entered highschool, but I've been a reader on here since 2018.

I honestly didn't expect much support and I didn't really get a lot of views and engagement initially, but being popular was never the goal. Now I've started to finally build up some sort of solid readerbase and although I am writing primarily for myself, it's always amazing to see how other people become invested in the story as well. It's been really nice here on the forums from the start, lot's of inspiring creative people whose stories I've picked up to read and a lot of fun threads.

[Penni]

Glad to see you're learning a lot!

I've been on Tapas since Sept 2017. I really didn't have much expectations for anything (especially since I had zero idea what I was doing) but since then I've definitely learned a lot! I didn't come here to be popular or anything, but overall, I think I've done pretty well for myself

I've met some great people and friends who helped me improve my skills (some of which continue to do so). So I really can't ask for much more than that.

My fingers are crossed that I'll keep on growing ^^

[geofflowe]

I started posting on Tapas 6 weeks ago this upcoming Friday and I have to say I am beyond impressed both with the community and the tools available for creators. I love the dashboard, the forum here is incredible, and all the guides for making graphics and such. Through the forum, I've met some truly talented individuals who gave me the critiques I needed to hear. People who are, objectively, much better writers than I am but who don't necessarily act that way or act snobby. Everyone here has extended their warmest wishes and I feel incredibly appreciative. My series has had mild success but I'm always hungry for more and I feel like the environment on Tapas just pushes me to impress my equally impressive fellow authors!

[Kaydreamer]

I post my comic on both Tapas and WEBTOON, for a shade over three months now. Something I wasn't expecting, and have been absolutely starving for since DeviantArt started to perish nearly a decade ago, is audience feedback.

People actually comment! They get excited about my characters, they laugh at funny lines, they compliment my art, and they speculate about the story. It's... amazing. I've always been a predominantly OC artist, and for years it felt like throwing art into a void. I still enjoyed myself - I've never been over reliant on external validation - but this is the first time I've seen that enjoyment reflected back, and holy heck, it feels amazing.

Also, the forums here on Tapas are a breath of fresh air for an internet oldie who used to thrive on long-form social spaces like this. Forums are a dying breed, and to find one that's still active, especially with such a lovely community, is like stumbling upon a unicorn.

[DebEHowell]

I only joined this month, so not much is happening for me.
I am excited, especially after reading this thread, because when I got back into writing about 12 years ago, it was sharing chapter-by-chapter and getting feedback that really drove me on.

Back in the day, I got encouragement and advice from a range of online writing communities that just don't exist anymore! While I was with a publisher, I wasn't able to share work connected with my series anywhere, and I found it incredibly lonely.

Last month, I started the process of reverting my rights to me just so I can have the freedom to post where I want and get back to joy I had (yes, those dopamine hits) in the early days. Looking forward to diving back into the world of writing with enthusiasm!

[Lady_T_Musings]

Congratssssss! I feel you there, it can be a great motivation booster.

I really this forum as it's filled with all kinds of folks talking about the stuff I love to make and read. I haven't been able to find a social media site that focuses on art and engagement since Deviantart back in the day and even that place left something to be desired. I still haven't found the perfect mix of yet for the art community and chatting about art with fans of art and fellow artists in a visually pleasing, easy to navigate, and also popular enough to have a mix of opinions yet, but this forum fills the engagement rather nicely. I've gotten some really cool fanart of my characters, and amazing tips, helpful critique, found new series I adore that I'd probably have missed without engaging here, and did I say met some really amazing folks? BC I have!

The big thing this site has going for me is the forum and how many amazing and talented artists and writers of different levels gather here to talk shop or just casually chat. Having a forum also helps me with feeling cooler with responding at my own pace. Call me an old foogy, but everything moves so fast these days (I can't even begin to keep up with discord, even in groups I like the topics on). The site itself makes uploading my comics super easy and that's so dang important when you work with a backlog.

I also like that, even if it's not accessible to all creators, they have an adult section now and I know if I draw my girl in a bra with some side boob, I won't have my comic automatically taken down :V. I still gotta censor (even with a mature warning), but alas, that's most everywhere now.

IDK how long I've been here exactly, but I was a reader on this site for years before I looked into how difficult it would be to post my comic here and started doing that, but I'd say maybe 3-4 years on the main site and about half a year (actively) for the forum.