How you deal with low results? (comics/novels)

Higher numbers of likes and subs used to be my main motivation to update as often as I could, but after being too preoccupied with the rest of life, it's all about getting that epic story out of my head and out there for the world to see

I mentioned it kind of in a joke on how many views you get per update that I get one, two, or sometimes three and that's really not a joke. Those are my real numbers.
I actually have a lot of self-esteem issues and for some reason, somehow over a decade+ of time online, I've built up a giant wall about looking for approval from the internet of all places. I think a lot of my way of dealing with it, is I just enjoy my story and my characters. I draw them myself, and I get free art when available, and commissions - I like to try to get more dynamic pictures that's not "something I would draw" - like an art of the boys fighting each other in a Wii-mote battle.

There's been a thread about this on twitter that I've been thinking about quite a bit, it's an excerpt from Paul Williams that went like this:

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And like I'm not as old as Paul Williams, but I'm old enough that I've seen some of my projects that I figured were failures get noticed by random people who send me a message saying "are you ever finishing this, I love it so much" and one particular project was one when I had carpal tunnel and couldn't even draw. So like...you sometimes never know who it really resonated with and who just didn't say that it did, youknow?

I do get a little disappointed at times when I look at stats. But when I look at what I've written (and have yet to write), I feel happy, excited, and accomplished. And that keeps me going!

The occasional comment that I get also makes my day and motivates me to write even more. I'm very happy that so far, a lot of people (on other writing platforms) have given me support and encourage me to continue my craft. I think the main thing is to always look on the positive side and that writing/art-ing should always be about what you love to do.

Haaa, i wanted to rant about this! I have only 3 followers in webtoon, one is me, the other is my boyfriend and the third one surely is a friend of mine. I have better performance in tapas tho, but it still low, i wonder if there is something wrong with my first pages, the texts, te descriotion, bad english, or that story dont have a good start. I dont know. Somethimes i just want to give up and continue with the next comic, but then i told muself, "its summer, wait until october, everything will be better then"
The other reazon to jot give up is that i want to finish something in my life, it migut jot be sucesfull in my comic, but i want to finish it.

I want to post another comic, which i have been striving with the storytelling, paneling, pages and all, and im scared that the raings will be so low!

Posting and promoting here on the forums helps me a lot by the way, not pretty much with the followees numbers, but it helps me with my social anxiety in some way.

All you need to do is be active on Tapas forum, post anything you want and at the same time if you have a moment reply to their post.

Also, you have to comment, like and subscribe to many other author's series and hopefully they would do the same to you.

Spread and share your work through the media such as Facebook, twitter, and Instagram etc.

You may not get as much subscribers, comments and likes as you expect, but always be patient, the moment of you're expectation will come one of these days.

I may not be the perfect example, but It is growing slowly but surely.

I have no idea how everyone else does it, but I find making webcomics a soul destroying, miserable experience. You work your arse off only be ignored. You’re out-skilled and out-talented with no chance of catching up. All you’re doing is adding more to the heap of forgettable rubbish that plagues internet.
The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that not making comics makes me even more miserable.

i get like maybe 10 likes on my art and now my webcomic has a couple of people saying they enjoy it. I just don't expect much and I appreciate those two or three people who comment that they like my stuff.

I really love the story i'm making so sometimes it's just the lack of self confidence that drives me to frustration. Then I remember that my friends are really supportive haha.

But the webtoon rating system definitely ruins all the confidence I have lmao. Especially when I think about the fact that there is someone who probably rated me very low.

Lol, just noticed how even a single comment on a single episode of an averagely popular webtoon, gets about ten times more likes than my entire actual comic has views. Frankly, not sure how to deal with that at all.

Ny reason for doing this is because I've had this idea stuck in my head that has consumed my life so much I had to get it out, in its entirety. And that's going to happen either with or without other people. I don't do it for them, but not gonna lie, I'd love to do this for a living, simply because I don't want to waste time doing my regular job and having to worry about money while doing this simultaneously. And its normal to want to get something out of a project that is taking so much out of you. When I don't get the results I want, I ask myself is this something within my control? If not, such as holiday lull, slow months, etc, I just carry on without worrying about it. In fact those times are good to take a few weeks off If that's not it then I ask myself: how could I have executed it better? What is in my power/control that could at least improve the stats for me? Getting crits and taking breaks to practise your art and story fundamentals is a good way to see your work in a fresh light. Take a step back and see what you've done that may have held your story back from achieving its full potential.

"Did i TRULY do my best?" Is a good question I ask myself. And if I did and my #s are still not as high as I want then, I'll just chalk it up to my story being too much of a niche, entering the market at the wrong time, or the platform isn't a fit for the story, etc. Its good to remember market value should not determine your self value or artistic value. Sometimes the idea may be solid and your art skills are there but the way you put those things into use can make quite a difference. IS your story a slow burn or is it fast paced? Is there a way to change the pacing of your story and still convey the same meaning?

I write for fun but I don't keep track of views. I find it tiring

The best way I found to stop crying about not having enough exposure, is to understand that it is apart of the process.
Even though whatever you post doesn't perform well, it still build a credential of your work and it's as important as exposure.

Somebody might see it and appreciate it for what it is and stick around for more.

I can't say I do anything hysterical. But, on both Webtoon and Tapas, while I don't have a boatload of subscribers I have some readers I've grown used to seeing. The funny thing is I've grown so used to seeing them that when I don't see them I get a little nervous. It almost feels like that, "could they have died?" feeling... which is incredibly dumb. I don't know why my brains' so silly about it...

it can be a bummer for sure. I try not to focus on it too much, it helps that i have more readers already than I thought i would. Plus I really love my work so I'll keep making it regardless. I've got to get it out, ya know? ^_^

At that point, there are really only two things you can do to really deal with it.

Either, you look at your marketing strategy,
Ask yourself questions in regards to how you're trying to get people to read your comic/novel.

Who will enjoy my comic/novel? How old are they? What else do they enjoy?

Where do they hang out? This could be on the internet or irl (think about conventions etc).

In what country/timezone do they live? Tapas is at its most active while I'm asleep, so my episodes come out when it's 2 AM in my timezone.

How do they read their comics/novels? I personally only read on paper or on my phone; I cannot for the life of me read on a computer screen because my eyes have to move too much.

Who and what am I competing with in terms of other media for this audience?

How can I get my comic/novel to my audience with the least possible distractions?
(Remember, every step a prospective audience member has to take in order to find your thing might be one too many! Keep the process as short as possible!)

Am I promoting my work to readers, or mostly to other writers?
(Which is usually a bit of a false negative, as many writers also read, but I personally find that promoting my novel in relevant Amino communities generally does more than promoting it on the Tapas forums.)

or, and here's the difficult bit, you take a look at the content.
Ask yourself questions in regards to what you're putting out there for people to read.

Is my target audience really reading my story? If not, who is reading my story? How do I appeal to them? What can I change to play in to this?

Is my art up to snuff? What can I study in order to make my work better than it already is? would it benefit me to use references?
(In my experience, it generally does. Practice, as well as working from life, does make perfect.)

Is my language correct? Do I have any (or many) spelling or grammatical errors in my work? Would it benefit me to ask someone to proof read my work?
(In my experience, it generally does.)

Is my prose too purple? Am I using too many big words? Or is using big words exactly what would suit the tone of the story except I'm not doing it yet?

Are my storytelling and world building comprehensive? Would it benefit me to ask someone to edit my work?
(In my experience, it generally does.)

Making a switch in your marketing strategy is definitely the easiest thing to do and is also what I recommend you do first, before making any changes to your content. There are tools available for free that can help you immensely with such things on social media. (See the Facebook/Instagram creator studio1, or Tweetdeck1 and Later1 if you prefer to schedule ahead!) And again, I can't stress enough how important it can be to promote your work on relevant Amino communities or subreddits. It's worked miracles for me before and it really helps you reach the right communities who will enjoy what you're making.

However, if you do come to the conclusion that you might have to make some changes in your content... I'm well aware that looking very critically at your own work can be very difficult and very painful and very disheartening, which is why I'm pleading to get someone you trust to be your second pair of eyes. Don't get yourself a yes-man, but don't get yourself someone who will only feed your inner critic either, because that will do you more harm than good.

All in all I hope my advice will help you guys even just a little bit. There's a lot of great work being posted on here that's not getting enough attention, so let's try and fix that!

With kind regards from your friendly neighborhood advertising student.

I don't do it for the fame, but I do feel a little sad when nobody seems to notice my work. However, every like or comment makes me happy, and I look back to see how far I've come over the space of two years, and I feel better.
Keep going, things will improve!