9 / 53
Jun 2018

Writing is not my strongest suit but I got to where I am right now because of my ludicrous concepts and ideas. No matter where you go and no matter what you do, you can't please everyone.

I suggest stop reading comments altogether if you don't have the mental capacity to pass scroll the negative comments.

Write for yourself, not for others.

Don't give up because of a few! Keep going because of the many who like what you're doing! You can't please everyone, that's the only thing certain in this world, but dude you got picked by WT and had lots of positive feedback! People don't take the time to say something nice if they don't mean it!
Don't let a few haters bring you down, keep up the good work, and you'll get better and better, like the rest of us :slight_smile:

Don't wanna fright you my dear, but you already have 90K. Definitely you have a good reason to keep going :slight_smile:

I haven't read your comic, so I can't comment on your writing specifically, but 10s of thousands of people like your comic enough to subscribe to it, that's saying something in and of itself.

There are always going to be people who will hate, and there are always going to be people who critique. And maybe your writing isn't all that great, or maybe it's just that your genre isn't to their tastes, who really knows. The truth is, we all have places where we could improve, even the pros, and so if you like making your comic keep making it and through time and practice you will get better. If you quit now you'll never improve. I wouldn't harp on the negative comments unless they actually give you advice that is helpful and useful to your growth.

being launched so suddenly into the spotlight must be stressful. looking at your comic, i think you should keep it up - youve set things up well, and youve got a fun concept. getting something, no matter how crap, finished is the first and most important hurdle. after that, better things can come.

also, like, its not bad. maybe you have a bit of a telling over showing issue, but you have good hooks at the end of your scenes, youre setting things up at a good pace, and youre so close to the start that who can really say? any genuine concerns about your writing are things you can take note of and fix as you write the further chapters

the important thing is to shirk off the pressure - this is your first comic, your first writing experience, this is your practice comic. its gonna be crap. your brilliant crap. say that to yourself 'hellish is gonna be complete garbage. and im gonna love it.' everyone has 200 shit comic pages in them, and the only way out is through, and youll learn so much on the way that it wont matter that this story - this charming, already quite successful story - is the worst thing youll ever write. it means everything after this will be so much better. it means youve got potential, so long as youve got drive. look forward to it! starting near the bottom means the future is bright, even if the climb is a little long.

also, your fast success is gonna lead to bitter people. if someone is talking shit about your comic, its probably because theyre jealous of your relative success.

Don't give up. Broken things can be polished. Rough things can be shined. Your writing can be improved. One of the most important aspects of any creator is continuing to create. Haters or brutally honest, if YOU think there's room for improvement then give it some time and effort.

The art is good and the writing's okay from what I've seen. Wouldn't hurt to read a writing guide but I see no reason for you to quit.

I'm terrible at playing emotional cheerleader, so I'll just say that you ought to focus on the certainties in your life. Does this comic make you happy? Then keep going.

You may not be an emotional cheerleader, but you sure gave him the advice he needed

I forgot to add this to my last post.

If you need resources, I recommend these books:


If you need a good resource for creative writing or ideas, I highly recommend this site. Most are free~

If you need ideas or to relieve creative block, I suggest reading books or watching shows opposite to the genre you're doing.

Do you agree with the criticism given to you? If not, don't listen! After all, that's only another person's opinion and they might differ quite a lot from your point of view.

Do you have close friends who've read your comic, and whose opinion you trust? Do ask them if they agree with the criticism!

I've had my comics being brutally slaughtered by both friends and critics but I'm aware that mine's a slow paced comic (too slow paced if you ask them, haha!). At first I got really down and sad about it but I kinda felt like: Heck, I'm going to prove them wrong!
My comic was my very first long running comic (still running after 3 years after the critique I got) and I had (and pretty much still don't) no knowledge about how to create an interesting comic!

You say you've got 35K subs BEFORE getting picked by Webtoon and holy shit D:
That's lots of people enjoying your work so you're definitely on to something here, don't quit it! As others have said in the thread: Take a break!
Sometimes that's needed to improve your skills<3

. . . I still maintain that you can judge a work as high-quality without necessarily liking it and vice-versa. Taste may be subjective but there are still generally-accepted standards about what makes a piece good or bad.

That's what happens when anything or anyone becomes popular, not just comic writers. Just remember that not everything is for everyone, but also that many people who comment, don't always know what they're talking about. The subs you got are the ones that appreciate your art, writing, or both. The ones that just started hating on it are the ones looking to see why your comic got so popular. These are the people who have different tastes, so don't focus on them, focus on the ones that actually enjoy your content.

Like I said, not everything is for everyone, but there will always be someone who likes your work. There's always room for criticism of course, so keep that in mind as well. If you yourself think your writing needs improvement, then do some research, learn about what works and what doesn't, and just keep practicing like you do with your art. Practicing with your current comic is also another reason to not quit, if you really do want to improve. Just don't be afraid to try something new.

For the record, there's a chance I don't know what I'm talking about either, especially since I don't have past experience on this kind of stuff. But I do hope this helps somewhat.

Never quit just because someone says you suck.

Keep in mind, well established comics have editors. Some artist are partnered with professional writers. You are doing this yourself and this is your first comic.

So of course your comic isn't going to be perfect. You are a baby still learning to take its first step. The haters/brutal honesty are people saying you suck at walking. Because yeah, you are a baby still learning. Like WTF. Are you going to stop trying to walk and just crawl the rest of your life just because they say you suck at it? No. Look them straight in the eye as you take your next step/ your next update. You will trip and fall, but that is part of learning. You will be walking and sprinting in no time and you have 35k followers that have your back.

And like you said, you started this comic to strengthen your drawing weaknesses and practicing your writing. How is quitting going to solve that?

I'm not sure if you replied to me, or the thread?
(Because that's not what I meant, what I meant was: Does OP feel like the criticism's right or not? And that they can choose whether or not to listen to it.)

Since they do feel very let down by the critiques, maybe they weren't written in a good, constructive way?
Taking criticism is always hard, but one can give, and receive that in a constructive way.
It is, after all, still someone else's opinion. They may be right, and they may be wrong. :wink:

I haven't read the comic so I can only go by what was written in the first post.

Well it seems like you're almost being dragged along and forced to take this seriously when that was far from your original intention. I think rationally you know that these comments are to be expected to some extent, but you never really got the chance to prepare yourself psychologically. What might help is gaining control over you situation by taking a step back and making a plan for what you intend to do with art and webcomics. And specifically, what does your current comic mean to you? Do you want to continue to treat this as writing practice or do you want to change your approach? How would this fit into your larger plan? Do you have other projects you want to work on and how far do you want to take those? Try to get a larger perspective of how you can move things forward towards your goal. Then hopefully you'll able to face these comments easier and feel less anxiety since you know that you are building up to something even bigger.

Here's the big secret about the internet.

It's mostly full of mouthy a-holes and idiots who get off on making other people feel bad.

I don't know what criticism you actually got, but I'm betting it's a mix of honest appraisals of your work, and shitposts telling you how awful a human being you are for daring to exist and for thinking anybody wants to read your crap..

The former group might be worth listening to, because nobody's perfect and everybody has some flaws that they themselves are blind to. Learning how to take constructive criticism and to take it on board is an important skill to learn. No works are created in a vacuum and nobody learns how to be a good artist or writer without at least one person telling them how flawed a writer or artist they really are. How many rejection letters do you think JK Rowling got before she managed to get Harry Potter published?

As for the latter group? Fuck 'em. You don't know them, you've never met them, what does it matter if they think you suck? They're perfectly entitled to think that, just as you're perfectly entitled to not give a shit what they think. Another important skill you need as an artist is learning how to ignore trolls and a-holes.

If you quit, you're handing these guys a victory. Do you really want to give them the satisfaction?