I forgot how depressing it is to post and nobody just cares lol

[milejdyvan]

It's been a while since I posted on Tapas or anywhere my writing, and I'm not even going to post the link here cuz nobody cares anyways lol. But I just wanted to say like yeah this sucks. You pour your soul into a piece of writing, do the art whatever, then you put it out there and its just... nothing. You try to promote, send the link out anywhere you think and still nothing. Unless it's a read for read, that's all people care about, but even then it's unclear if you're even going to get someone actually engaged or just going through the motions.

Now it's hard to even find motivation to write the next chapter cuz wow.

Not a complaint just I haven't had this feeling in a while and now I remember why I even got that writers block lol..

[kyupol]

Remember these days you're competing with 200,000 others getting their work out there. And the vast majority of comics and novels online are fly by night. You can have awesome art or story but it's dead after a couple months. It takes about a few months consistency to get regulars engagement.

From experience, I've noticed the places that seem to get the most engagement seems to be on reddit, deviantart, discord, and irl.

[eunwei]

hey, struggling with the same so I know how you feel. it's difficult to get organic readers, no matter how much of yourself you pour into the work.

I've been trying to promote my work in almost all the platforms i know but it hasn't given me any active readers. They just subscribe and then there's no views/likes/comments to my chapters or episodes 🤷

but i just wanted to tell you that despite all this just keep going. one day you'll get a reader who'd actually enjoy your stories. it may take many days, but don't give up! complete the story and continue marketing... i hope it goes well for you.

[garpejio]

Also feel this to some degree - my stuff is honestly probably not good enough to get any visibility ever lol, but I've actually gotten a bit more peace recently with just enjoying making art for myself. External validation is nice though...finding smaller communities is probably good for that? I don't know haha

I've also found a lot of fulfillment in like printing my stuff out and having it on my bookshelf. Probably doesn't matter for a lot of people, but it's like really nice to hold things I've made in my hand. Like...I made that. It didn't exist until I sat down and made it. Kinda cool. Feels like a more tangible accomplishment to me than posting for some reason?

Maybe this is toxic positivity, so feel free to ignore. I've been lucky to be in a better spot creatively lately, but I cycle through spots of "gosh, i wish i could make stuff other people would find worth reading instead of just fizzling out into the void..."

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Now it's hard to even find motivation to write the next chapter cuz wow.

This is why, nowadays, I try to finish novels before I even start to post them. I've had my motivation tanked by nonexistent reception one too many times... >_<

For comics, that strategy isn't really possible though...so I've learned that I have to need that comic like oxygen in my lungs before I even think about talking about it publicly, let alone starting to work. Even then, my only major comic projects recently have been fancomics...it's hard to mentally prepare yourself for the deafening silence again. Especially knowing that putting effort into an original project will make it even more likely. :[

My advice to anyone going through this is: do more stuff for yourself.

And I don't mean that in a "stop caring about likes and statistics; do art for love, not for attention<3 uwu!!" way (although technically there's nothing wrong with that mindset). I mean it in a "if the ignorant masses don't appreciate my work, then they don't deserve to see it anymore" way. And I'm 100% serious; spite can be a powerful motivator to start looking after yourself. ^^; Internet strangers may never give you the recognition you deserve, and until they do, you might as well prioritize the one audience member who will-- you.

Everyone else can just accept whatever you feel like showing them, even if it's just the "I drew this 3 months ago so I'm not even emotionally attached anymore; if they decide to ignore it I'll live" projects. Whatever it takes to make sure that the best you have to offer is reserved for you, not the people who simply view it as 'content' and scroll past.

[Lensing]

1) create for yourself before thinking about other people
2) keep on going
3) try out all channels to publish your work:
on and offline

Everything that ever worked for me is based on offline things,
talking to people in real life, showing up instead of writing an email.

Nobody cares about what you created? Think about how much content, stories,
comics, art etc. get uploaded to different platforms every second. How many
stories are on webtoons right now? 1.000.000? 100.000 new songs get uploaded
to the streaming services every day. Nobody listens to your music? No shit.
It´s the same thing for comics. It´s easy to publish a comic today. The trick
is to keep on trying and make people care and find a small group of people
who care about what you do.

[tiff524]

You know, I'm having a feeling of screaming in the void and trying to find my next steps today. Then, I found this thread. I agree with a lot of other people on the thread, it's all about doing the art for yourself first, whether it be comic or novel.

Some of my best times have been working on novels, which I've been engaging in now since about 2007. I've had some hits and misses, but just kept going. Didn't give up. I've watched the new digital age make it easier for people to create. But at the same time, it has crowded the delivery whether it's the Zon w/ebooks, publishing platforms like Tapas, Wattpad, etc., or trying to self-publish on your own through a website. I do know one thing. Everything is constantly changing, but doing the art for yourself, is probably the most important. It's what keeps you going, through real life, health issues, global pandemics, or whatever might happen. You. Have. Your. Art.

I still get excited if I get some likes and a comment. I did today. It perked me up. I don't know if it was a fellow creator or organic reader, but they will come. There are dry spells between. But ebooks sell, if not REALLY slowly. I'm lucky if I earn enough in a year for a few cups of coffee or a nice dinner. But I keep going. People read through a serial novel eventually, or they don't. It's not as much of a commitment as an ebook is. So, maybe it's just harder to get reads.

The most I've earned off this current novel was from Vella. I got some content bonuses which helped to pay for a serial editor that helped me work on each episode to about 3/4 way through. Then, Vella closed. So, I tried a new platform, Radish Fiction. I was SO EXCITED and began the long road to finish that. Then, it was announced Radish was closing. Well, reading dropped off a lot, and I was like, I'm going to finish my Kpop rom definitely. It was my goal. It was done in Sept. last year. I had about 10 people read it all the way through. But I left it to make sure everyone had a chance to finish it.

Now, I'm on Tapas. Third platform for the story. Third edition. And I just keep going. Because I'm proud of myself for FINISHING IT! Nothing better than getting a novel or comic finished. Because that personal goal is great. Now, people can read it or...not. It's out there. And a few are going to. But no one will read it if you don't work on it.

Don't worry about the numbers. Worry about getting it done. If for anyone, do it for yourself. And eventually, people will read it. It might not be big numbers, and you probably won't make much money, but you have created something most people just talk about doing. So congratulations. It's an accomplishment just to do a comic or novel. So, please, just keep working on it.

[miuthecat]

i'm a cat, just...pet me and you'll feel better, I promise

[Dashio_Sumeragi]

I know what you mean, Tiff, that void feeling... I think all of us have that sometimes. And all of us want to be heard. Sometimes it takes one praise from one fan to keep going. That was my case.
You are already a veteran, Tiff. I´ve recently completed my very first story. BEfore I came here to Tapas, I shared the story episode by episode with a friend. She likes anime and I told her to be critical. She started to enjoy the story to a point where she started to care about the actual characters and when something bad happened to them - boy, was she critical! But... that one person, that one fan gave me the confidence to share my first story with you, guys. I don´t have many view, many likes or comments. But I am happy I did it. Right now I´m trying to put together a somewhat decent art to the story... A bit affraid how this gonna turn out, because last time I made an anime image was like 20 years ago - pencil and paper, now I am doing it digital and in color! Oh, boy! Well first time for everything... but the story motivated me to at least try. And later I wanna try to make a new story and tap a totally different genre.

Long story short - always try to stay positive.

[gsython]

people say create for yourself but it's always really just not true innit. if we were just doing that we wouldnt be posting, it's like basically saying get over the fact the thing you worked time up on isnt gonna really amount to anything. "just cope with the fact you're never gonna be popular" that's how ive always heard it. it's a pain, a real pain in the ass. don't you agree?

[tiff524]

Thank you for your kind agreement. And yes, I feel like a veteran. I just posted in another thread how I taught writing daily to students while teaching. So, I do fall into that sort of mode sometimes, even though I'm retired now. I guess I want to just encourage everyone to not give up. Keep writing. Keep drawing. It's great to hear you're going to try to illustrate your story and dive back into anime with all the nifty, new tech.

I used to dabble in drawing when I was a teen, and wanted to be a cartoonist back in the day. Then, I strayed away as kids do. SO, I admire anyone that gets out there and tries. Just stick to it and keep going. Plus, being successful isn't necessarily the likes, comments and subscribes, though I can understand why that is validation. Nothing like getting paid for your art. But art should give back to the artist or it isn't worth doing.

Most artists don't make a living out of doing their craft. We all have day jobs (or did). If you're lucky, the day job helps feed the craft. That is the true secret. If you ever start making enough to give up the day job, sock it away, because it likely might not last. Just some words of wisdom this veteran has learned along the way.

[WLHcomics]

I know how this feels, that’s one of the reasons why I feel burned out with my comics. I’ve sadly neglected my main series because of this. I’m currently trying to get myself to draw more pages again but it’s hard to want to if no one’s interested in what you make.

[eunwei]

The bitter truth is you will start with little to no readers at all.

It's the same for me as well. It's been a month I started my novel but I haven't found the right audience. All the subs I have are just friends I know or other authors I'm supporting.

There aren't any "readers" yet ;--;

But from what I've read from other successful authors is that they all start the same. It really depends on building a community. You should communicate with people online who'd be interested in your comic/genre - not for promotional reasons but actually building a relationship between you and your potential audience.

It may take a long time, maybe a year or two but don't give up!!

No one may be reading it right now but imagine that in the future there'll be a good amount of people who would want to read it. I hope this can keep you motivated. That's the mindset that's keeping me going to continue writing despite having like almost no readers

Good luck to you!

[Lensing]

"Create for yourself" doesn´t mean never publish it.
It´s just another way to say "The audience comes last" (quote from
producer Rick Rubin) and that describes a mental attitude during the
creation process. Not to think about what a potential target audience
would like and create for them but instead being 100% honest to yourself,
make yourself vulnerable and create something that you really want to
create.

And then publish it

[Dashio_Sumeragi]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

I've sort of come to think that there's at least two sorts of creators in this environment. There are ones who can make themselves content to create "for themselves" or "because they need to" and for them I think it's possible to divorce the motivation from the feedback. But there are also some, I think of them as story-tellers, who are motivated through feedback because they tell stories, not for themselves, but for the anticipated impact or reaction to the story. For them, it's a more difficult task to continue spinning yarns without an audience. Just my 2 cents - and we don't even make pennies anymore. LOL

[miuthecat]

Japan's mangaka's best friends are beds and cats, their worst enemies are the corps that want to suck everything out of them

[MelancholicOtaku]

I think at one point or another we’ve felt like that. Wondering if creating was worth the effort if no one saw our work. But writing , drawing any form of art should be created for you first then the public. Also just have fun with it.

[toonben]

Yeah I felt the same thing when I post on Instagram. For the most part, I just post and that's it as a person who is very social media illiterate from the start.

On Tapas when I post my comic, I just post and not think about engagement. Reply to comments if I get one.

[Lensing]

Connecting with the real / offline world would solve a lot of problems that creators
are facing who only show their work online. But I get that people don´t want to do
that because it´s uncomfortable to connect with people in real life.