How does a comic/novel get on the Staff Picks feature?

[MovieNut14]

Just thought I'd ask because there are a few comics I read that I think deserve more attention than what they're getting. Is it simply a matter of hoping for the best or do you actually have to seek out the people who run the website?

[Toastbuster]

I don’t know what the requirements are for comics, but for novels I believe the main criteria is a frequent and/or consistent uploading schedule and little to no grammatical errors. Other than that, I think it’s just whatever catches the eye of the Tapas staff members. It happened to me once when I was first starting out and I just got a DM one day from a staff member saying they liked my story and decided to feature it for a couple weeks. Wasn’t something I was expecting to happen at all tbh

[hakei]

I imagine it's the same as Webtoon's front page features — pure random luck. Some stories get featured early on, while other stories take years before ever getting to the front page.

But overall, I'd bet the staff looks for: consistent uploading schedules, good art/writing style, and good follower engagement ratio.

[Kaydreamer]

I've been on staff picks once on Tapas. (Also 'New From The Community', but I think that one's algorithmic.)

The main thing, aside from having good quality work, is to make yourself visible. I think BSR must have been noticed through my activity here on the forums, as I don't tend to tag Tapas on social media. The new Discord server will likely be another avenue to get staff eyes on your work, they seem quite active on it.

Once the people who make the staff picks are aware your work exists, it's simply a matter of crossing your fingers and hoping you make the selection list one week. The more they see you out and about in the community, the more likely it is they'll remember you, and what you create.

[greenglasses]

Tapas actually has a section on what they're looking for in featured comics: How do I get my comic featured?

A synopsis of the basics (it is more detailed in the link):
1) Your series is mobile-friendly.
2) You update consistently and frequently.
3) Your series consists of more than a cover image/coming soon image/single page.
4) Your episodes can be read within ~5 minutes or less, while still telling a decent amount of story.
5) Your series starts strong.

There's a section for featuring novelists as well.

[thedude3445]

Tapas actually has staff who prowl through and silently enjoys stories, waiting to find the right ones to feature on the front page. Seeing as those curators are not known, I have no idea how anyone might influence them to do a feature, but I do know that, at least for novels, a good cover and a really strong intro will EVENTUALLY get you a weekly feature, just because there's less novels on the site.

The best way, I guess, to get the attention of Tapas staff of a series you love, is to recommend it all the time on the forums and the Discord and on social media with the #tapastry tags and stuff.