Appropriate times to go on hiatus?

[azzy-m]

So, right before my comic was going to be released on Tapas and Webtoons, my computer blue screened and I couldn't recover my files from there, and I forgot to backup the files for my comic. I had lost my buffer. I eventually got my laptop to work again (thanks, dad) but the damage has been done. The episodes I had prepared are all gone, but I at least still had my outline since I type everything out on Google Docs while MS Word I use for school.

I've been operating without a buffer for the entirety of the 3 months my comic's been running, and as a result, my comic's updates are almost always late (there's supposed to be an update today but I'm still stuck in the sketching stage), I have been sleeping less (minimum 5 hours of sleep nowadays), and I'm afraid my previous problems with my back are going to resurface, (I have mild scoliosis and wore a brace for around a year or two when I was about ten; I hadn't needed one for about 4-5 years now because there have been no changes to how much my back has curved) I'm getting back pains and discomfort more often now. I also want to work on the outline of a possible 2nd and 3rd comic.

My plan was to finish this year off with how I'm doing things now, and after December I would go on a 3-4 month hiatus to build a buffer. Is this a good plan? Am I able to go on hiatus in the next month or so or should I stick with this?

[therealbereth]

Honestly, when your health is suffering like that? ANY time is right to go on hiatus. I recently struggled with this truth myself, being more or less bedridden because of some, uh, complications with my pregnancy, but this lovely community set me straight – and I think you need to look out for yourself first and foremost! What content can you deliver when your back gets even worse, when your health just deteriorates?

I think you could go on hiatus even... right about now. But if you're determined to push through December, then do that, but I'd say don't punish yourself over your health beyond that. What is worse, having your readers wait for a set time, while you get better – or suffering and over time not being able to give your readers any updates at all?

I hope your back feels better soon.

[Kelheor]

It's not like you're losing money, if you are going on hiatus, right?
I'd say it's better to go on hiatus after some point in the story, like after completing a full chapter, or something like that, so you don't let your readers wait on a cliffhanger.
But I agree with @therealbereth, if you are sleep deprived and have back problems that are becoming worse right now, well maybe you better go have some rest right now (because your health won't become better anytime soon without it).

[user400]

I think it's better to have it sooner than later. Go on hiatus willingly, before things get so bad you're forced to. This way you minimize the damage.

Taking a hiatus right now to recover your health and sanity won't take nearly as long, as taking a hiatus later once you've already worked yourself to a burnout, blown out your back, and collected a mighty fine pile of resentment towards the comic you're too tired to work on.

Think long term. Take care of yourself!