Being a small Author is a lonely experience?

[Comic.Kikikora]

Being a small Author is a lonely experience, do you feel the same?

1) No one to discuss my comic with in real life (my partner is very against BL)
2) Small readership - not many feedbacks from readers
3) Only receive comments within first 2 days of posting, then comment section remain died until the next upload

I am busy making comic, but still cannot stop feeling lonely ...

[SleepingPoppy]

look for a discord server! You could find other small creators and make some nice friends while talking shop. Tapas forums are nice and all, but you might get more of a friendship vibe from the right discord. Just a thought!

comment section remain died until the next upload

This is pretty normal, FYI! Even when you get bigger, most action happens the first day or two of an upload.

Keep your chin up!

[Legendofgenii]

I used to feel the same but I have made a few friends here in the forum which has helped me so much.

I think a lot of artists and writers feel this way, so you are definitely not alone.

[thomassayle]

Yup, that's the reality of it. When my comic actually had readers , like 20? idk i would get some comments here and there mostly just "lol" or they would make a joke. But they weren't engaging much, I'm still grateful that they commented but still it's lonely.

I've made a couple of friends here along the way, but only one still talks to me. looking at you @Vikiro_Hop !

I don't think he's active on the forums, but you get my point. Try to find other creators that are similar to you/ mutually like content.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

Seems to be "the way".

[Grhe]

Yeah, it's pretty lonely.

[Puck]

It is lonely. Especially when you when to have a deep talk about the creation process.
I have luck, I have a creative family, both nieces draw, my brother writes etc and I´m member
of 2 illustrator groups in my hometown, one which is focused on training and study.
I made the experience though that everyone is focused on their creative work and study.
In my imagination I want to study subjects with other people and talk about a story or
a comic in depth.
My non art friends are as much interested in my comics as I´m in their work situation or
how their work out after work is, a little bit interested but not enough to talk 20 minutes
about it

[Kaydreamer]

I don't feel lonely online - I'm definitely still 'small', but I have a pretty active and chatty readerbase, I hang around here, on Twitter, and I'm in a couple of Discord servers.

But what does sting is friends I know IRL, who know I'm making a comic, just... don't care to read it. I know webcomics aren't to everyone's taste, but it's hard to swallow when a friend or acquaintance asks me what I've been up to, I say "I'm making a webcomic, you can read it online, I'm having so much fun, and I'm really proud of it, and-" "Oh, cool. Sounds interesting."

And the conversation moves on.

At least my mum reads it.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

Indeed. It is very hard.
I really understand and resonate with my sentiment because in real life I have nobody to talk about my series. Online, I do not think many people are interested/care. I do appreciate a handful of people who are nice and supportive and I hope I can do the same for them. However it still haunts my mind that some of them just do it out of an obligation of being nice/reciprocate me, and they will go as soon as they find a fancier person to talk to/went popular, I guess.

Even if you met people/community who want to talk about comic (like in a discord server is in the forum) it is sometimes hard to properly converse especially if you have social issues, and you also try to not hog the talk and making the attention is all about your comic.
The reception also matters. It is very noticeable if they simply not interested in your series (like here, people tends to skip my series and I noticed the number of likes I get is less than others), which can affect your confidence and mood to talk about your series there and somewhere else. That is not counting the actual negative reaction that might come.

Making friend is hard for everyone. That is why I kind of chuckle when big author is saying that popularity makes them lonely. No, that's not solely because you are popular. Also at least when you are popular, more people encourage and cheer for you.

[Puck]

A collaboration is good for not feeling lonely.
I´m dreaming of a collab since I started but it only worked for small projects so far

[Ninjaniksel]

There is a small Discord server for Tapas novels and comics here! https://discord.gg/4AJvJqDDHk

I'm also a small creator and I don't really talk about my novel, I do enjoy being able to talk about writing in general and ask some questions to see what other creators think about certain subjects.

[jmhenry]

Hey there, Kikikora! Starting with the short answer: Yeah, as a small time comic creator myself, it can get a bit lonely from time to time. But thanks to the few friends who have been supporting me for years, the size of my readership doesn't really bothered me as much as it used to.

Time to addresss those bullet ponits!

1) No one to discuss my comic with in real life (my partner is very against BL)
Sorry to hear that your partner doesn't like the genre you work in, but I hope they still support you in making comics. Best way to find folks to talk comics with you in real life is to open up about making comics with people! Take that one with a grain of salt though, since I still have trouble doing that myself

2) Small readership - not many feedbacks from readers
Been here, still here, but the easiest way to turn this into a positive is to cherish that small readership. Small authors kind of have it good, in a way, imo, when your readers do pop in and comment, you can respond to all of them without getting too bogged down. Make a habit of telling your readers how much you appreciate that they follow your work, and respond to them whenever you can!

3) Only receive comments within first 2 days of posting, then comment section remain died until the next upload
I think this one is a small case of the "build it and they will come" mentality in smaller creators. I've been stuck in this mindset for a long time before deciding to drop it and sticking up for my passion project.
Understand that it's a very rare and very lucky comic that draws attention without doing much at all. The internet is a big, b i g, place filled with content, and the only way to stand out in all of it is to "promote, promote, promote!" Your reader base may be out there, waiting for a story exactly like yours, but they can't find it if you don't promote and put it out there

Sorry for the long-winded spiel, but I hope this and everyone's responses help cheer you up in some way. You can do it, Kiki! The key to success is being so stubbornly in love with your work that you want to share it with everyone. Find that fire, and your readership size won't bother you! ....Well, as much

[Iridium]

You are definitely not alone, you can discuss with me if you'd like! I understand how you feel... I don't have as many ppl as I'd like to discuss and talk about the pride and joy that are my projects, but this forum is being a sanctuary for me! I feel glad to be promoting even when I'm not near the next updates, just because I know someone will be at least looking at my works.

Keep your chin up! We are here, you are not alone!

[jkb4753]

Making friend is hard for everyone. That is why I kind of chuckle when big author is saying that popularity makes them lonely. No, that's not solely because you are popular. Also at least when you are popular, more people encourage and cheer for you.

Yes! This! I think it's important to be our own cheerleaders. If we don't celebrate our successes, who will?

[LCT_m_a_d]

Being a small creator has it's perks.

I've been trying to reframe my thought pattern when I get "only" 2 or 3 comments on my best stuff.
I try to think, I must be doing something really well here if people bothered to take time and write something up. There's not a lot of benefit to supporting my art (in comparison to a high traffic comment section) so that must mean they appreciate it more than I realize.

Also when people don't respond until I upload something new, I try to think they're trusting that I've either got it under control or on the right path, I should proceed as is. In all honesty, it's a better perspective than I naturally have to work with.

It also forces us to struggle to the point where we have to be extra creative to make it worthwhile. Often times I really forget just how bad my art is in comparison to my current ceiling. You can take some niche-creative risks now before KPI and metrics drive your decisions.

Definitely not saying it's great to feel unappreciated, but there is a sense of molding to take away from the dessert.

[Puck]

thanks for the link, I tried to join the second

[mcarrowolga]

It's not easy to answer this.
Definitely yes, it's a long, hard, lonely journey in a dark, cold land. But occasionaly, very rarely, you find precious gems. I encounetered interesting things and people along the way, so I keep going, hoping to encounter more.

[Pommie]

It is pretty lonely, but I think what makes it more lonely is when you're trying to have a back n forth with your comic but then you're slowly clogged out by the other person's content. It's not a bad thing but it does get mentally taxing when you're not feeling heard and there's no mutual discussion. [no? just me?]

[CursedBeasts]

man. mood. I don't have romance in my comic, and it's like, a fancomic for a star wars game no one really cares about, about obscure characters from the same game, and it's a lonely place to be in as well.

[Crippling_Anxiety]

Yeah I find it pretty lonely. With only 8 subscribers to my novel and a few talk but not all and the time difference also messes it up a lot. That's why I really like the forum because I can blab about my novel and lots of people like to talk too. Just keep your head up and keep promoting and soon more people will join and more comments will flow in!