How do you know if your novel sucks or not?

[nofacedrawer]

It's been a satisfying process writing my first novel.
Of-course when your novel leaves your computer, the fun ends lol

Looking for some advice, maybe since my novel gets no comments or likes it means it sucks?
How do you know if your novel sucks or not?

[Freemints30]

The thing with tapas and online growth in general. No comments/likes are normal when you start off. Mostly cus people dont know you or your work so it takes time for those to happen. Just take part in the community and people would come

As for knowing wheather or not your writing sucks. It dependants. If you are just doing it for fun i wouldnt worry. If you are doing it to improve and eventually make a living you need a beta reader.

Either the cheap and rare like brutally honest friend who loves your genre. Or looking online for sites and subreddits to find beta readers.

Also reading works in you genre can help inspire an gradually improve your writing skills.

Editors are pricer but they really hone in on you draft. But i only would reccomend it if you are really serious about selling your book

Honestly just asking people here or the discord in the #cotent feed back channel Would get people to tell you how to improve if you are specific in what you ask

[LostKelp]

Attention does not equal quality things can get alot of attention even when they're bad or mediocre. If you get exhausted with putting your art out and not getting anything in return. It's fine to make art that is just for you, alternatively continue to put it out and you may get an audience that likes your work, probably only a small one but it's a possibility.

[PapaDom]

When I get comments that it sucks, lol.

Jokes aside, if you just started, it is normal that Tracktion is low at the start.
Spread the word, share your work and personal recommendation, and try and connect with people here. (Favorably talk about something people like to chime in more than just here's my work and leave. )

[HGohwell]

There are lots of reasons not to get comments or likes, and the reverse is also true that there are lots of objectively bad (from even a basic writing pov) that are popular. Popular and good quality don't always line up. Nor does engagement. Daytime soaps are not a beacon of amazing story telling and are often badly acted, inconsistently written and cliche as hell, but are popular and easy to watch. So don't get too hung up on engagement = quality, especially early on. It's very common not to get engagement early on.

Also, just first novels tend to suck. It's a fact of life, basically everyone's first novel/project will be lacking and should be treated more as a learning process.

As for how to know, it's very hard to. Find a particularly brutally honest friend who knows what they're talking about, hire an editor, or even make a post here asking for advice/critique. A lot of people here in the community will give some basic advice and thoughts and critique if you ask for it. Having taken a quick look myself, the first immediate thing that hits me is your summary. I'd suggest a rewrite of your summary, it tell me nothing. A good, simple, example is template is:

This is Main Character. The goal is Goal because Reason. But in their way is Problem. To get around Problem they have Plan but will it work?

You need to give the any potential readers a clear idea what the actual plot is. Your summary is key to getting readers just to your novel and giving them an idea if its for them. If you want proper critique beyond that, like I said, just make a post asking for feedback and people will probably give you more in depth stuff.

[Flios]

Honestly, it's very hard to tell if you just edit it yourself and look at the attention you get. Although I am relatively new to Tapas, I know from experience in the industry that its always good to get someone (preferably an experienced reader of the genre), to review your book. Maybe you can get a favor from a friend or something.
Another thing is that comments and likes don't really matter when it comes to how bad your writing is. Some readers are dedicated, but don't really like to express themselves.
Hope this helps.

[bloodstained.skies]

Find beta readers in your genre, they should help you

[ShidoDraws]

Numbers don't really mean much when it comes to good or bad writing. Something that I kept seeing people looking for in "good" writing is asking what people want to see in stories. It's not a bad thing but it is terrible in the case of devaluing what is "popular" and what is "cliche" when both can be beneficial for writing a good story. It's what people already like, although trends can be an issue when it comes to popularity but it isn't an issue when you're looking at it in the perspective of readers reading for fun.

In short, write character hooks, keep the reader invested in your story and you'll be fine.

[emersynnotson]

It definitely doesn't have much to do with how many likes or whatever you get. It sucks if there's no love put into it, and you just poop something out and say, "here it is." Listen, even if one person says it's no good, someone else will love it. As long as you love what you make then it's a good book.

[CarltonIsaac]

You know your Novels may not suck when this happens -

[darthmongoose]

If you're not getting comments or readers, it's not impossible that the novel is bad... but the more likely possibility you should always try to rule out first is that you're not attracting people to find and read it in the first place.

When thinking about the experience you're giving a potential reader, try thinking like a website designer, in order of each step that might cause people to not find or to not be hooked by your series. An order that goes a bit like this:

• Are they able to find it? - Did you promote it on the forums, discord, social media so people see it exists? If yes, continue.
• Does the cover make a good first impression? - Good illlustration? Clear, readable title (even when seen at a small size) in a good design font? If yes, continue.
• Does the blurb outline an interesting scenario? - Does it introduce a protagonist? Stakes? An interesting concept? (on Tapas, focusing on characters, emotions and relationships is generally more effective) If yes, continue.
• Is the grammar, spelling and writing style at least not so bad that it'd put somebody off immediately? If yes, continue.
• Is the first chapter/update exciting, interesting or funny, making the reader want more of that content? If yes, continue.
• Only now on this last point should you start to ponder if the wider plot, characters and pacing might be the main issue, because people are only even going to notice it if they got through all the above points.

[system]

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