How is your experience being an author so far

[Luthrizo]

I have only been an author since december so i am still in the struggling zone of knowing the proper way to write. I know that even experienced authors struggle with it but then imagine, if pros struggle with it, how about a newbie . Anyways, i want to hear about your experience..

Read Rookie will become a god | Tapas Web Novels

[HonorableTakoyaki]

For me, it's great! I've been writing my story for... I think a year and a half now? Needless to say, my story isn't nearly amongst the best, but I find writing and building it to be 'decently' fulfilling. Looking back on how I improved compared to when I wrote the first time is fun too! This doesn't mean my writing is really great now though, but at least I can see some improvement!

[DarkSena]

This is a very good question, thank you for opening this topic
For me personally it's very unique experience I must admit. I have created short One Shots which were no more than 10 pages before however... I felt like I wasn't fit to do anything complex. I felt like I lacked the drive and motivation to keep something alive for several months or even years like some artists do.

I've developed a story of my current series long time ago which was completely different from how it looks now but still it was the only concept so far which felt elaborated enough to actually make a proper story. I always had some backgrounds for my characters before, but I never made anything really complex. Last year I kinda played with the idea of creating a story in form of a webtoon and then something snapped in me and I decided to just do it.

Ever since then I am sitting almost daily on my story. This process has given me a lot I must admit. Good and bad. The good is that I thought that I wouldn't be ever able to create a story like this for the long-run and keep it alive and I'm really happy about it. The bad point are the expecations which have not been met so far. As an established artist like me who's been active for more than a decade a half I did have high hopes that my story would be able to catch eyes of many and those people would enjoy and cheer me up during the process which has not happened so far.

Even though at times I feel incredibly frustrated I still feel like it's definitely worth creating something so dear and precious to your heart no matter of how large you audience is gonna be. That'd be my summary.

[Luthrizo]

nice, i like that you are not giving up, hard work always pays off, sooner or later you will start seeing results but patience is a must. I think many people aren't patient enough and they end up quitting after a few months.

[Samael-il-Ifrit]

I am happy people like my work and am thankful for all the support.

[Bearkorps]

I do like hearing about other's journeys too
I completely understand the struggle of figuring out the proper way to write. I wrote my first story around 12 years ago now: a scifi story of humans trying to restart on another planet and almost wipe themselves out due to time-dilation shenanigans. And then I did not write for a decade because of the sheer disappointed in the end result. I still have a copy laying around but haven't worked up the courage to return to it 🤣
Anyway, when I had started on Tapas it was really for the purpose of playing around with short stories and to figure out the writing style that worked for me, kinda starting from step one again (hence why I have an anthology of sorts).

I have had a great time, I may not be big but just having someone who appreciates my work and reads regularly means everything. The short story style gives me more freedom to experiment with story telling styles and gimmicks (I'm planning on playing around with footnote dialogue with my current short 'Dwarfed' for example) and thankfully the Tapas environment has been friendly enough to let me do that.

I wouldn't worry to much about finding a proper way to write, in my experience it will come in time, by engaging in a variety of stories, reflecting on what about them works for you or not, and by just writing it'll come to you. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and give it the time it needs.

[WildMoonCrow]

I’ve just been writing since November, but it’s been amazing so far Everyone are so supportive and I feel super empowered using Tapas to publish, I couldn’t have written this much without it, that’s for sure! My adhd makes it so difficult to complete anything I start, but with all the support here it makes it easier to push through and actually finish something. I feel like my writing has improved lot too! My stories are all just in my head so writing it all is actually easier than I thought it would be before I started, I never in a million years thought that I would be able to finish a whole book.

[Luthrizo]

oho, this is nice, thanks

[Luthrizo]

true, support always makes authors feel like they are doing something worthwhile and it will also give them hope to keep on writing.

[cherrystark]

Overall, my experience has been pretty good. I have gotten into a good flow so I write consistently and am finishing work. I still struggle with pacing. I know that I'm probably okay with pacing my story but I read my own work a lot so I know that it warps my perspective. As long as I keep writing and trying to improve, I'm ok

[InfiniteLine]

I wouldn't consider myself an author yet (still haven't posted on Tapas yet--but SOON). A writer, definitely. But not an author yet. Been writing stories for 15+ years, if we exclude the young, super inexperienced years... Started out really bad, but have grown tremendously. Mostly thanks to short story competitions (which I did multiple times a year for about a decade), feedback from other writers, and reading. Reading things you want to emulate is by far the best way to learn to write. The best way to improve is by having others read your own work. I've always had aspirations of becoming a sci-fi/fantasy novel writer, but could never get over the hump of planning and starting something to actually finishing it.

But something changed recently. Not sure what. Maybe my drive to actually leave something in the world has changed as I've gotten older, maybe I finally feel almost good enough to be published, maybe something I can't remember inspired me. Regardless of the reason, I've gotten over the completion-phobia the past few years, and have finished drafts of two full novels, a novella, and am 35k words into the serial I'll be posting on Tapas.

The biggest things holding me back now are self-inflicted... Perfectionism and stupidly high expectations for myself. Makes actually editing and revising what I've written painful and overwhelming, but I'm pushing through slowly. Which is why I'm attempting this whole web serial thing. To force myself to a schedule and to prevent myself from continuously delaying editing/publishing my work. I still plan to traditionally publish at least one of the novels I've written (or self publish if that fails) and already have an agent who's asked me to send it to her once I've finished revision (as those stupidly high and cruel self-expectations lurk in the background...).

Happy to share my experiences and learnings with anyone interested, especially as I start getting more stories out into the world.

[Katzalcoatl]

Couldn't have said it better. I think we are in pretty similar circumstances. It is nerve wracking becomming an author but hey there is always that first step to finally become independent with a story you want to create.

[XiuLyn_12]

I'm doing what I always wanted! Which is to publish my comic~
It's not that I'm an official author anywhere, but I'm very grateful for the number of subs and engagements I receive.
And making comics kept me busy too. I could not let myself not do anything.

[Nugtown]

It's kind of strange when I do nothing but write all the time yet I never thought about calling myself an author, only in the technical sense. Which is so weird, being called a "Writer" is like this weird little ego boost. For some reason, it feels like a big title to me and I don't know why.
Funnily enough writing stories by themselves has always been more hard for me to do than drawing a comic. I guess I prefer being a director if that makes sense, then I don't have to complicate myself with the details like my writing's overall presentation. I'm content being visual.

[marnieed92]

I’ve been writing since I was about 11, so for 19 years. Started on pen and paper then when laptops became more of a thing I typed them up on Word and a while after that I started posting them online.

I have a folder of all of my stories from when I was young and I like to think I've improved a lot: even though I feel like I'm still learning every day when I write

And I haven't published anything yet... but hopefully soon and I'm thankful for anyone who reads and enjoys the stories that I post online 🖤

[krowthecrow]

its interesting, i have a busy schedule. im trying daily uploads. so i barely get a break besides week ends. therapy also makes my stuff busier. but i love drawing and making people happy so its worth it( though my story is a horror and has to do with my trauma)

[system]

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