Issues of self worth

[purrlpankras]

Basically this. I totally agree.

@Noodle_Survivor
I sometimes feel like shit when I upload my comic, but then I remember why I'm doing it, For myself.
And if people stick around and read it, that's even better. Just think, you're not going to progress as an artist on constant hiatus.
Hey, I did a totally random horror comic earlier this year just for fun and experimental reasons. I thought it was shit, but it turns out its one of my best comics I ever did.
There might be other reasons why you want to take down your stuff, but going off not getting a response, It doesn't take over night. In fact, I think Tapastic is quite a fast way to get readers, compared to other ways. I've been uploading Two Faced for months now, not every time people comment. I only get 10 likes on average. That doesn't stop me from doing it though. 10 is better than none.

Even though you only had 3 responses. Those 3 are really important.
You're drawing for YOURSELF and those readers.

You want to get good right? Make that fill you with determination ;3

[Noodle_Survivor]

It's not so much that they're a deciding factor that they're just a source of stress at this point... I mean, I largely made the comic for myself, so it's not like I had to share it- I wanted to share it. To get little feedback on how it's being received on top of other stressors I'm currently dealing with is a bit worse that a let down. Moreover, this is the only chapter I've redrawn thus far, and I really don't plan on doing it again- like I said, it was done for the benefit of the readers...

My intent in this wasn't to attention-spam the comic, and I'd feel terrible if I did.

[shazzbaa]

At about 90 subscribers, one or two comments seems like you're doing quite well! Especially given how enthusiastic those comments are. I have a little over 100 subscribers here on Tapastic, and "one or two comments on some pages" is about what I get! Tumblr is worst of all as far as feedback goes -- it's where I got the fewest responses for a long time.

@Chiper1811 speaks truth -- the percentage of people who comment and engage is always going to be a very small percentage of your total readership.

I don't fully understand your comic's goings-on in the past few months, but it looks like you took a break, reworked the beginning, and posted a different comic in the meantime? Honestly, that is when your readership is going to be at its LEAST enthusiastic, so if you're noticing a decline in response or interest, it probably has more to do with the redraw-hiatus than anything! I've personally found the decline in feedback during my hiatus really discouraging, so I understand why it feels that way, but you gotta remember there's a reason it's happening!

---

When I was first starting out, a more experienced webcartoonist told me "You have to just focus on your comic for at least 2 years before you can decide if it's for you or not." And while I think it's tough to put a hard number on webcomicking -- it might be a little more than 2 years, it might be a little less -- that advice still rang true for me. You have to go into it knowing that for a couple of years you're not waiting to see if it's catching on -- you're just updating. If you discover that process is REALLY not enjoyable before then, then I think it's fine to go "this ain't for me," but if you're discouraged that you're getting no response and you're still in that first two years of updating..... please understand, that's normal!!

I agree with everyone saying "Do it for yourself," but at the same time, I can understand really needing someone who cares and gives you feedback on what you're doing. I think I'd have a tough time making a comic and getting zero response. But you've said that your peers/friends do read and respond to your comic, and it sounds like, from looking at some of the comments you get, that you do have 1 or 2 dedicated people who tend to respond often. THAT IS AWESOME! Having a friend who cares about your story during the tough 2-3 years where you haven't really built a responsive readership is a HUGE help, and if you have to think of yourself as primarily making this comic for yourself, and secondarily you know your one friend is gonna love it -- man, I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all.

Webcomics are not for everyone; if you honestly don't want to do it or don't find it fulfilling, that doesn't reflect negatively on your worth as a person or as an artist -- it is okay to decide that's not for you! But if you like creating a webcomic and only feel like you're failing because of where you stand in terms of reader responses, then I will tell you as encouragingly as I can: Nothing could be further from the truth!

[winglesscomic]

most people don't respond or comment on anything. they just consume content and move on. I don't even read creator announcements 90% of the time. some people just want to read a story and they don't really care what a creator has to say. they just take it as it is.

yeah it's shitty you were expecting some kind of response, but getting three people to say something is better than no people. even if it was nobody who said anything, don't gauge yourself on it or anything of the sort. when I started my comic nobody would ever comment on anything and even if I asked a question or announced something there would be tumbleweed. It felt crappy and I wanted to stop because I didn't know if anyone was actually consuming my content, I knew they had to though because google analytics told me there were people here! it wasn't a lot, but it was around the number you have! anyway, I started advertising more and therefore more people came and started relaying their thoughts, and with my past update I got 8 whole comments on one page. EIGHT!!! that's a lot!

I was in a rut for a while about this whole ordeal about readers showing they actually read, realized it was stupid of me to expect them to show anything other than be a statistic for coming in on update day. Readers don't really owe you anything for reading your stuff, not even their existence, so it's hard to tell when someone's reading, but be assured that if there are people still coming then they're reading your stuff, albeit silently.

I understand that isn't going to stop you from stopping your comic or going on hiatus, but if you do so, at least don't leave with the thought of beating yourself up over it.

[Thesleepypencil]

If it is one stressor out of others than take a break so that you can handle the other stressors. There is no problem with that you need to take care of yourself before your comic

I still reiterate, while having viewers and knowing people like it can be motivating. Don't focus on them, what reasons other than your viewers do you want to continue or quit, and use those reasons only. I know it's hard to look past viewers believe me i have been there. But as a creator sometimes you just have to.

Also thus is a thread that is talking about your comic. It wouldn't be attention spam to link it. Especially since i and others want to read what is apart of this topic. What would be attention spam is if I promoted my comic. Which would be distasteful. You worry about viewers and comments, that can change just by linking and promoting said comic.

Like in my last post. What is important is you, do what is best for you. You can do it!

[Mharz]

First of all, don't judge your self worth based on the numbers. Ask yourself why are you doing webcomics? Are you doing it because you want to tell a story? for fun? or is there an even more deep reason to it? It's true though not having any people commenting can be stressful. I feel sad from time to time but that's just the way it is and that doesn't I won't stop drawing webomics because my desire to draw and express stories that I could never ever express with words alone is stronger.

I have to admit I'm pretty guilty myself on not commenting on people's comics or art. It's mainly because I can't find the right words to say or don't know what to say. I'm scared that I might offend other people and I don't want to get into an argument. Sometimes I'm just waaay too shy to just say anything. I believe that others might be thinking the same thing I do so I'm not fretting much about it.

And I advice against redrawing pages you really won't progress into your story. Just focus on improving future pages. I personally find it fun and inspiring to see the artists' improvement that transpire throughout the pages.

[BraveHeartTatsumaki]

I had this issue some days ago, so firstly I know how you feel, as many here also does too.
Is like a process we all go through when we draw comics, "is it good?" "will people like it?" "but my art sucks actually frm my view..." and etc etc etc....
But you know what? I learned that even if people like it or not, firstly, you must enjoy drawing your comic, mainly yourself, it's your story, not someone-else's comic, no, YOURS. If you enjoy it, slowly more people will like it too.
I'm good example, I have 31 suscribers, half of them are real life friends who doesn't even read it, the rest are people from here in taps who also I think they read it but not comment, from that number, only 2 comments, I barely get 3 favs in my drawings and that's if I'm lucky and the position of the planets and the stars are good too. I really thought about dropping but later I realized that people will slowly arrive, and I need to have patience in it, and if there are at least 2 people commenting, then there will be more in the future, same for you,even if you have few, you reached to those few ones no? Then more will arrive soon too. The best thing is to remember why did you start drawing comics, what is your view in it, what do you want to show.

[Tentakustar]

I think most people already covered some of the general stuff about your comic. one thing i definitely want to emphasis though is have faith in your comic. if you do not have faith in your comic who will? and im sure you've probably heard that before but it's very true. having faith not only means that you know it will be good but also allows you to have fun with it as well.

Don't think too much about the views or if people are paying attention to your comic or not. my view on this is " this is the internet, people are definitely going to find my stuff." and thing is they will. whether you like it or not haha. let me just say this too... time can be a pretty stressful thing to deal with when your just simply not seeing results. but you can't let that bother you. you just have to keep going and going and going. you keep working until you are finished with this comic. regardless of where you stand at that moment.

this is where the "I'm doing it for me" part plays in. because you finished it,because you wanted to see it finished. and then if you have any other plans of a new story. go on to the next and then the next...etc. keep going at it. not for months but for years... show how passionate you are! and let it burn never going out!

I know you said you are going on hiatus. but I say, if webcomics is your thing, don't give up on this comic. challenge yourself and say you will finish it. do this however if this is a story you feel worth sharing and that you would enjoy yourself.:)

[Noodle_Survivor]

I mentioned before that I've been making this for myself- But I've invested more time in this than is healthy over the last few years, and not much has changed from when I started and now. My original plan was just to take it all off the internet, or at least what I could of it- no comics online or art pieces means no worrying over lack of feedback and statistics. However, Hiatus or complete removal of art, it doesn't mean that I would stop creating comics. It just means that I would stop sharing them. I never expected much out of posting online, only that things would progress as I worked hard- Probably a foolish way to be optimistic.

[Noodle_Survivor]

I'm doing webcomics because I want to. I enjoy stories, and a visual medium allows for more engaging works. Again, the point of putting them online was to share them- Stressing over whether they're being read or not has become normal at this point.
The art for the pages online were horrible, and I'm four chapters ahead in my work- the reworks were done for the benefit of the readers, and at the suggestion of one that I haven't heard from in quite awhile.

[keii4ii]

Find/make friends who will give you genuine attention. They don't have to praise everything you make, but they should give you actual attention and honest, constructive feedback. Perhaps not on every single page, but definitely for every major scene. And do the same for them if they make stuff.

And if you are having it really, really, REALLY REALLY bad, this could be unrelated stress affecting your creative side. I suffer from that problem. Take care of yourself, assess your situation and see if that helps with your comic related stress.

[AnnaLandin]

1.) You are worth the time. This is not a matter how much attention you get. You are ALWAYS worth the time - and you would be, even if you stopped drawing tomorrow and never drew another line for the rest of your life.

2.) I don't know how many regular readers you have, but it seems to be a trend that most of us have a handful of regular commenters, and a LOT of silent ones. I have nearly 1500 readers - I have maybe 10-15 who comment regularly. That's a LOT of silent readers.

So don't let the number of responses lead you to think that people don't care. They just might not think it's all that important to comment on the stuff they read.

3.) Whether or not people comment depends on a lot of things - whether your comic leaves them asking questions, whether or not you open up in the author's notes beneath the comic, whether you're active on the forums or not, or simply whether or not they feel like it that day. It's not something you can control, and not something you should be measuring your popularity on.

4.) I know that posting stuff and getting no response feels terrible - it's like shouting in an empty room, and hearing nothing back but your own voice. It sucks and its discouraging - but we all deal with that in one way or another. A webcomic audience is something that builds slowly, over the course of years, and slow and steady really does win the race.

Count every response, however small, as tiny victory. Carry that tiny victory along with you, and know that that is good enough - you reached out, and someone reached back! Awesome! Now keep going, because you've got their attention!

5.) Do you have any friends online who also make webcomics? Like, do you have a Twitter account, perhaps, and are you following other webcomic creators there? I've found that it makes a LOT of difference to surround yourself with other people who also draw and/or make comics. Their attention and appreciation for your work will be genuine and serious, since they know what it's like to create as well.

6.) It sounds as though the stress is getting to you. It is perhaps a good idea to take a step back, take a deep breath, and really assess what it is that's making you feel bad and then deal with that. Is it something else going on in your life, or is it just the comic? Do you have underlying issues of self-worth that have nothing to do with the comic, but are now messing with you because of the lack of responses? Etc., etc.

[scythe]

Some of my favourite comics on here I haven't looked at for months. I have my own shit to worry about, and often, even though I love the page, I won't leave a comment. Try not to let this stuff get you down. If you enjoy what you're doing, do it. If you don't, don't. The rest can either be some fun or some heart break, but only if you let it be.

[Noodle_Survivor]

The stress is both related and unrelated- things are stressful IRL due to a shift in colleges, conditions at home, and psychological issues relating to gender and depression that are all being dealt with simultaneously. Things are stressful online because I hear very little back for the amount of work I do, while my peers have no such problems.

[Noodle_Survivor]

I can respect that- there's no obligation of readers to reply back to anything, it's their choice in the end. But this isn't a unique issue to my time here, mind you- this is pretty consistent with the other sites I've posted material to...

[Noodle_Survivor]

I guess that could be due to the fact that the site's made for mobile viewing... something to keep in mind, I guess. I can't really gague how many people read the comic, because the statistics most days will vary greatly- I know of two or so people who'd regularly read it, and it's partly because I know them personally.

That is incredibly ironic- the empty room simile, I mean (I wrote a paper for a creative writing class at my college on the subject...). I'm incredibly familiar with that sort of silence- It's pretty much been like that since the day I started putting artwork/comics online...

I'm actually involved with a group of people who used to post on Inkblazers, before it shut down- I had gone to a few of them on this issue/feeling of not-getting anywhere, but all I did was end up pissing one of them off... I've held off on talking about it there unless asked (Though it's not as if the majority are unwilling to help, it's just become somewhat grating to go through the same discussions repeatedly...).

It's more accurate that the stress has already gotten to me- by February of next year, it's not a question of IF I'll be taking my work down or not, but more so of if I'll leave it and possibly never come back, or take it down and never come back. I've always had issues with self worth and feeling good enough, which is why I put more time and effort into the comic despite everything else I could have been doing at the time I got 'serious'... Sounds pretty dumb when I phrase it that way, but whatever.

[AnnaLandin]

It's more accurate that the stress has already gotten to me- by February of next year, it's not a question of IF I'll be taking my work down or not, but more so of if I'll leave it and possibly never come back, or take it down and never come back. I've always had issues with self worth and feeling good enough, which is why I put more time and effort into the comic despite everything else I could have been doing at the time I got 'serious'... Sounds pretty dumb when I phrase it that way, but whatever.

This does not sound good at all. : ( You're clearly not feeling well, emotionally, and it extends beyond your comic specifically. Is there anyone around you (you know, not on the internet) you can talk to about this? Who can help you work on this issue? Because whether you keep the comic up or not (which is entirely up to you!), you're still going to have the self-worth issue sabotaging whatever else you decide to do.

[Noodle_Survivor]

I'm already talking with a psychiatrist on a regular basis, and am currently taking medication for bipolar depression; the other issues I'm dealing with at the moment can't be dealt with any faster than they already are, but they are being dealt with to a degree.

[AnnaLandin]

Glad to hear it! <3 I hope you feel better soon.

[Noodle_Survivor]

The comic I've been working on has been in-progress since the end of 2012- it started going online sometime in 2013 as a one shot, then again as an ongoing comic by the end of that year's summer. I've been drawing for five years now, otherwise...

It's the lack of consistent feedback paired with the fact that people I know and associate with are able to get feedback with relatively little trouble- then span that consistently over the course of five years, or the time I've spent trying to learn/share artwork online.