Hello again!
Hehehe, that's kinda way I'm definitely ok with where I am right now. I'm more of an introverted person, so while I enjoy speaking with people and answering questions, I don't think I'm fully ready to get 100+ comments for an update (if I get to that stage). Which is perfectly fine for me!
And I always think that's another interesting thing to think about. While we may want a lot of subs and comments on our works, are we truly ever ready to deal with such a large audience? I feel that's just as overwhelming as having a smaller audience.
(Copy-pasting from before!)
Preferred Name: Ivan (pen name)
Pronouns: He / Him (I'm female but chose a male pen name for marketing reasons. So it would be weird to call she/her with that pen name 
)
Genres you create: Action, Scifi, Mystery, Drama (Romance as subplot)
Where you plan to take your writing journey: Would love to have my novels published! But a more achievable goal is to gain more readers and earn a little side money. 
Link to Tapas Account: https://tapas.io/ivanskilling
I agree with what @Jenny-Toons said about what numbers represent! It makes me happy to see that my novels have at least been seen by a growing number of people.
Most of the time, numbers bring me joy. To me, any subscriber, like, comment gained is always good. Each time, I reach a new goal, I strive for the next number goal. I personally love thinking about how to increase visibility and reach of my novels! Frustration is bound to happen sometimes if I see another story get high numbers without having actual good content (e.g., 50 shades of grey ). But the frustration passes.
I think the balance is struck if book stats is only one of your goals and source of motivation. The main motivation/goal should be more about being satisfied with what you've created and to feel pride in it. Seeing other people comment and enjoy your works, even if it's only one, is also more important.
Preferred Name: Ratscout
Pronouns: She/her
Genres you create: Fantasy, romance, surprisingly horror.
Where you plan to take your writing journey: Honestly, I'd really just like more engagement with my stories. It's a simple and hopefully achievable goal. I'd also like to help bring hidden gems to the attention of staff on Tapas because I feel like other unknowns are my kindred. XD Traditional publishing is the American dream, but I ain't getting there any time soon.
Link to Tapas Account: https://tapas.io/ratscout
I dunno, it's not so much the numbers that mean a lot to me, it's more the interaction that matters to me. On some days, I feel pretty disheartened when I realized I've written 140 chapters of my story and then I look on the front page and I realize a story with only 20 chapters has like, triple the likes and comments that mine has. It kind of automatically makes me feel like... I'm not a good writer? Haha. But it also somehow makes me more tenacious, like, "That's it, the fact that I got no interaction after putting that chapter up just makes me want to upload another as soon as possible".XD I guess I would say I do get a lot of validation from comments/likes, but continuing my story isn't contingent on getting them. I will say on day that I'm feeling really blue about my... Small numbers, even just one comment can cheer me up. I really just wish more people would comment/like.
Lately, numbers have been a great source of frustration for me. I dunno what it was about that Tapas update, but I swear it seems to have killed the visibility of my novel even more. XD I'm sure it'll fade pretty quickly though and I'll go back to not caring about numbers again soon though (that's another weird thing about me. On someday I care about them and on others I don't).
I do think there's a healthy balance about caring/not caring about stats. On the one hand, that desire to build an audience and gain that interaction I so sorely want makes me want to keep at it and keep up the pace of writing my novel more than anything. On the other hand, on some days, it really does make me feel blue that so few people take an interest in my story that it can stall progress. If I could keep my tenacity and shoo away my blues, that would be the best balance.
The darned Corona Virus doesn't help. It gives me way too much time to think about stats. XD I just want to go back to physical work so I can get my validation from there instead LOL. Working remotely is... Not nearly as validating.
Re-joining the gang.
Preferred Name: Jens Richard
Pronouns: He/Him/They/Them/Blue
Genres you create: Comedy but try to do some serious stuff too.
Most known for ”Blue Life” and ”The Last BL Comic”
Where you plan to take your writing journey:
The become the ones that Tapas is interviewing.
Link to Tapas Account: https://tapas.io/jensrichard77
Numbers are important to me. They are the reflection from the readers.
What do they like.
In the beginning I was not that impressed by simple page counts, but the numbers where users have taken an action in giving a like or a comment.
My ”The Last BL Comic” has (in my standard) big numbers in page views and subs. But not that much in likes and comments contra ”Blue Life” where there are lesser subscribers but a lot of likes and interactions from the readers.
I feel more about my work that gives more interaction and I feel more connected and have more fun with Blue Life. But as my Boy Love kind of speaks another language in numbers I feel more responsible to continue the work. Not because the user is giving comments or feedback directly, but because the silent numbers tell me that there are people reading this and more and more keeps coming for some strange reason.
I must have done something right and must continue.
I'll just copy/paste most if the intro from the previous thread.
Preferred Name: Dani or Copper
Pronouns: They/Them, He/Him
Genres you create: Psychological drama, slice-of-life
Where you plan to take your writing journey: Finishing my comic and self-publishing for now. After a break I'll probably start on some much larger fantasy, horror and sci-fi projects I've had on the back burner.
Link to Tapas Account: https://tapas.io/Bloomer
Uuuh I like horror movies, medical and earth science, Psychology, animals, food and drawing.
Only been working in comics since 2009, but didn't get hardcore into it until I started my current project in 2015-2016.
Numbers don't really mean much of anything to me, but I don't really see them as numbers so much as just people checking out and/or enjoying my comic. I admit to sometimes getting a little sad when a page doesn't do so well with views and interaction, but it's not the end of the world. Many of my readers view my comic in 5-2 page bulks so there will be update days when TGtaHR won't get much action.
Sub wise, I'm just surprised I even have subs, I was expecting dead air. My comic is soooo not most people's cup of tea, so the fact that there are people wanting to suffer through my character suffering is nothing short of amazing.
I kinda already answered this one. While I do get sad about a page not doing well sometimes, overall numbers don't make me feel much of anything. You kinda have to not care, people are ever change, evolving and growing. Even if they liked your work at one point that doesn't mean they always will, and while it's super awesome when someone sticks with your story from beginning to end, there's nothing wrong with them moving on.
In short, it doesn't make me feel either or since losing and gaining readers is a natural part of the webcomic process.
Yeah, I guess so. To me stats only really matter if you're trying to make a living off your work, it's totally understandable to care about getting ad revenue from views or income from sales. Although you shouldn't let it take over your life, if you start obsessing your passion may start turning into an obligation.
If you're not planning on making money off your work then numbers are kind of meaningless, they don't really get you anything other than possible validation, which I find meaningful interaction to be much more valuable than a sub or view count in that case. Although at the same time if you are striving to improve and do your best, if you're not working on a super niche story, consistently low numbers might mean there are things you do better?
So I guess a good balance is to care enough to be proactive if your goal is for your story to be productive, but not so much it runs your life. People are all different, some come and go, some stay, other may be disinterested entirely. You can't really control that, so there's not much point on being super focused on the numbers.
Preferred Name: Anne or Jiji
Pronouns: she/her
Genres you create: It's a mixed bag-- I think it falls under regular fantasy mostly. Atleast i aim to- maybe romance as well.
Where you plan to take your writing journey: Nothing much, I just wish to be able to overcome my fears and anxiety in posting overall. I'd say it would be a big leap for me already if I managed to publish a comic and complete it online, regardless of how it could be received.
Link to Tapas Account: https://tapas.io/anne-ziel1
1.) I feel like I can feel validated by numbers since they're also partly a reason why I try and post own or created content. To share it with others. I'm not a v engaging person so they make me feel better or atleast make it feel like it was worth posting in a sense. Sometimes I get happy about getting a lot since its a nice surprise and other times I'm a bit indifferent.
2.) it brings me both haha;; I try not to let it frustrate me that much though I must confess I find it hard to not be a little disappointed when something gets lower traction/attention than usual so it badly affected me in handling art accounts offsite.
Might reword later for grammar and edit.
Name: Joanne
Pronouns: she/her also cool with they/them
Genres: Drama, Romance. subgenres: supernatural, historical fantasy, contemporary
Plans: Ideally I would want to start self-publishing if querying with traditional publishers don't work out.
Link: https://tapas.io/dashalutris
Numbers spark joy for me, it equates to people actually seeing what I've created. So I do hold them in a solid regard.
The only frustration numbers bring me is when I'm not seeing enough of them. Like if I put out an illustration that I'm proud of but it only gets 3 likes on twitter lol.
On the other end, I don't think I'd ever get performance anxiety if my numbers explode. I'd just be like 'holy shit' and keep truckin' on.
I think there is a healthy balance of caring about numbers, especially if your goal IS to grow your audience. If you're stagnating or on a decline, it may be time to reevaluate what you're doing and see if you can't strategize a new way of marketing or examine your work itself. BUT I can't worry over numbers TOO much lest I just crumple after seeing how well others are doing on so and so sites, so I have to stay in my own lane in that regard and just have faith in my work and remember to love what I'm putting forth into the world.
Preferred Name: Kaixn
Pronouns: Any is cool! (I like the anonymity of not sharing my gender online : D )
Genres you create: Comedy
Where you plan to take your writing journey: I really want to create webcomics that make people laugh and make them happy! (I know that's corny, but I love reading webcomics so much, they really brighten up my day, so I would like to pass it on)
Link to Tapas Account: https://tapas.io/Kaixn
I think I 100% receive validation from numbers haha. I really want people to like my stuff, and to get feedback from others, and numbers is a part of that. But I don't have much followers at all, I'm doing my best to promote myself and stuff, but it's really hard! I give a lot of props to creators who are good at marketing themselves.
Currently frustration, because I have 5 subscribes and have been posting for a month. I'm thinking I might have to start a new story, or do a rewrite of my comic, because I'm thinking it isn't really connecting with people, and that's really important to me! ^^ At the same time I am working on not caring so much!
Yeah I totally think there is a balance. I think you liking your own work is most important. And if there is something you really truly want to do in your heart then I think you should go for it! Try and increase your numbers, but don't let it negatively effect you, I guess?
Yay! Bitesize is back!
Seems like my Bio is already there so let's just jump in!
To me, for better or worse, numbers represent hard evidence that my work is a viable product. Maybe it's because my day jobs for the past few years have generally involved monitoring the analytics from a creative product (ie. a games and books) and agonising over KPIs (Key Performance Indicators: Basically a solid number of something like units sold or a percentage of clicks on an ad that your aiming for) with weekly data meetings. I've been trained to think of the numbers the same way. I have other achievements from my time in print comics, like my work is actually in print, I've done a book signing in a Forbidden Planet, which I doubt a lot of other people on the site have achieved... but that doesn't matter on Tapas. Only the numbers matter. If I want to pitch a Tapas premium, I need 2000 bookmarks; it's both fair and unfair in its own way.
Eghhhhh... it's a mixture. I like seeing my number go up, but since the genres aren't equal in terms of effort or quality to performance, it can be a big source of frustration too. Sometimes it's hard not to think, "what the hell!? I'm a published creator, I've placed in national competitions, I've had my work praised by legends of the comics world and I can't get a few bookmarks on this one little platform!?" But... Well, that doesn't help me get anywhere. The numbers are what they are and I should use them as a positive tool and look at where I've had a good response and how I could build on that rather than dwelling on what I don't have.
Yes, I think there can be. I definitely advise against trying to artificially push your number up just to see it go up with sub-for-sub, which not only has very little impact on your work's growth or visibility, leading to the number going up with no correlating audience engagement and an ultimately empty feeling. I think that it's worth playing the long game sometimes. The work you're doing now might not actually be "The big one", even if you thought it was your magnum opus, so treat it as a learning and data-gathering experience. Pay attention to what does make your numbers go up, but keep a mindset of "well, there's always next time!" and "That was not the result I expected, I'm going to apply this knowledge elsewhere". Even the top pros make works they really care about and fail to get the response they wanted.
Reading through replies, I can see that people have a nuanced relationship with the numbers attached to their work. Feelings of pride, imposter syndrome, inadequacy, joy- a whole spectrum of human emotion there.
I guess a follow up question would be this:
If you woke up tomorrow, and Tapas no longer displayed the numbers of views, likes, subs etc., do you think this would be good or bad?
In this hypothetical you still will get notifications for people doing these things, you’ll still be able to see trends up or down - but without hard number metrics attached.
That's an interesting question! 
Hmm that's sort of similar to the numbers shown on our dashboard in terms of the trends. Personally, it just means I would code up my own script to calculate the numbers myself. 
I like to understand my numbers - is the influx due to something I did via advertisement, if so what is it so I can repeat it? Or is the downward trend because of exams month or something I posted? When my novels gets on Staff Picks, how much is the rise in numbers? What should be my goal for numbers by the time I reach the middle of my novel? To me, all of that is fun and important.
It's hard to say because the bookmark numbers are so hard-coded into unlocking things on the site right now (100 to unlock ads, 250 to unlock ink, 2000 to pitch for Premium). You even get a little bar tracking your progress on your dashboard until you reach 250.
I think the numbers being removed might have a positive impact on happiness for some people, particularly those who would be perfectly happy just making stuff as a hobby if they didn't have the numbers hanging over them putting an unwanted numerical value on their performance at something they would just be doing for fun if it wasn't there.
BUT for people aiming to use the platform in a more professional capacity, the lack of transparency from having those hard numbers, I think would feel very frustrating. It would be hard to track performance of particular themes, update times or days and exactly what the impact might be of trending, getting a staff pick etc. The worst case scenario would be creators feeling like the staff are deliberately fiddling with the rankings to keep certain comics or creators down and boost others, creating a sense of unfairness.
Honestly if the system didn't unlock per-page numbers and analytics until you're over 100 or maybe even 250 subs, I think that would potentially be fine. I don't think having exact numbers below that is incredibly useful because you don't have a large enough reader-base to really track trends and differentiate them from random blips anyway. Plus if your comic can't get up to 250, it probably means you should be focusing on improving big things like the general audience appeal, readability and presentation of your story, not getting distracted obsessing over small numerical changes. Kinda like when Bruce Lee said "It's like a finger pointing at the moon. Don't focus on the finger, or you'll miss all the heavenly beauty."
Lil’ backstory.
Preferred name: You can Call me Harelow/Harlow but I love it when people call N (but barely anybody does.)
Pronouns: She/Her
Genres I create: I make a lot of fantasy stories and all of them(minus two) are in the same universe (I got too attached to it.)
Where I plan to take my writing job: My friend and I are planning on working together and create comic books together (I draw and she writes) but I’m not so sure about it. Yeah I’m passionate about art but I love writing (even if I suck at it.) So I’ll probably find a way to mix both ideas together.
Link to Tapas account: https://m.tapas.io/noros0617 Please ignore how outdated the profile picture. It really is disgraceful.
I personally don’t care for the numbers. Like they’re just the amount of people reading (My story with the most is like 70 which is a lot in my mind [enough for a decent party]) And I don’t understand what you mean by “validation.”
Thinking about the numbers make me compare how different getting popularity here is from getting it on Wattpad. For me, I got sort of “overnight fame” at 100-200 reads (I couldn’t believe it either and yes, I believe that could be considered fame as it was a god awful story) and that what motivated me I guess. Nowadays I don’t write unless I feel like it.
The healthiest way to deal with numbers and stats is to not care. Nobody will care as much about your world and your characters as much as you do. I had to learn that the hard way.
Thank you for coming to my TedTalk
I think it would probably ease my mind a lot because the red numbers they show for view count per day just bothers me a ton lol And even though I dont super care about numbers, I tend to do the mindless “refresh page to see if stats changed” thing a lot to procrastinate doing actual work 
So if they vanished, I’d probably just be way more productive and would still have my favorite thing, the comments, left!
That would be a game-changer. Because everything on the net is numbers. We are grown up with numbers and likes and share and stars and all that.
Even if you do not like it or do not care. You somehow expect it to be there. Because it is so built into the online culture.
Preferred Name: wnqs
Pronouns: She/her
Genres you create: Fantasy/romance
Where you plan to take your writing journey: I want to continue working on my current comic and have ideas for related comics in the future.
Link to Tapas Account: https://tapas.io/series/The-Cat-The-Vine-and-The-Victory
Numbers to me represent a shift in the way we all consume art. Comics are much more accessible to everyone than they were years ago worldwide. For me, every view is a person experiencing a much broader world of art, contributing to the growth of art and maybe even adding their own art to the collective.
I find the stats on my comic fascinating. The numbers at first glance seem really out of whack, but that’s because I have a lot of pages. I don’t feel validation in numbers as in numbers aren’t the driving force behind why I draw or post my comic.
Interaction between myself and my readers makes me feel joy rather than the number of people reading, if that makes sense. Knowing that there’s a core group of people that have been with me since the beginning (almost five years) is amazing.
I think the balance of caring or not caring about book stats really depends on why a creator publishes to begin with. If someone is looking to make a career out of making comics, then statistics are quite important. If you aren’t getting the numbers you think you should have to reach your goal, then you need to seriously look at why and figure out what needs changing/improving.
If a creator is like myself and doing it as a hobby, then stats are nice to have and interesting to look at, especially when the numbers are all over the place. I think it’s when someone who looks at stats and sees them as judging their self-worth that stats become a problem.
I...ohh boy. I would at last like to see some insights here and I also think if that is hidden somehow, I would either connect to the API and code something like @ivanskilling described, or...well...I can't help but think that Tapas would have to change a whole lot of their offers. How would I know to turn on ads? Is that automatic? What about ink? Premium? A lot of those processes are so tied to numbers that there would be have to a paradigm shift of some kind O.o
