Keeping the fire going

[outoftimestudios]

Hi guys and gals,

I've been doing comics since 2014 mostly printing them and selling them at conventions. Recently due to personal reasons I have to cut back on traveling and have come a bit late into webcomics. How do you keep yourself motivated to continue to upload your comic when there you have few subscribers and views?

I personally find motivation in just telling my stories and since I keep coming up with new ones I know I cant stop or take a break to self loath. Usually I just put music on headphones and keep myself busy. What are some of the techniques or things you do to keep yourself going?
Please share ideas and we can help keep each other producing stories and art

[Sanz]

I think of shia Labeouf....seriously IM NOT KIDDING the remix to his insane speech is on my playlist and its so inspirational!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhRXn2NRiWI

[AnnaLandin]

I just... keep going. Knuckle down and keep on trudging.

I know I have a bunch of subscribers on Tapastic now, but I've done my time posting art to nothing but the sound of crickets chirping on Tumblr. I know what it's like to share your work with the world and get nothing in response.

It's tough, and it wears you down, but if this is really what you want to do, you have to keep going. The only way out is through.

And take those few subscribers you have as signs you're doing something right. No matter how few they are, they're precious! They mean something! They mean that you've reached someone, and that's all we're really here for, as storytellers. Someone is listening - better keep telling the story!

[Gaspode12]

It can certainly be tough, especially when you release something you are particularly proud of, only to get absolutely no response back. The only way to keep going I find is to just remind yourself that everyone goes through this. Everywhere you look when it comes to Webcomic advice you find the same comment: just keep posting! Personaly if I find I'm getting a disappointing response I see it as a push to improve or try some thing different. Eventually I have to believe I will hit upon that right combination of elements that will resonate with readers.

[Mharz]

I just keep on thinking, I love drawing these pretty ladies of mine and I love fantasizing about them. Sure I feel pretty low sometimes since I don't have that much subscribers but if I quit, I'm nothing. I also keep thinking that if I finish this then this would be one of my greatest achievements ever and maybe I'll find my self-worth along the way.

[angelfire]

I had a short time on me questioning why I draw. Everyone telling you to stop kinda gets to ya. This was a few months ago while I still only had around 10 or 15 subs. But Then I realized that those 10 to 15 subs were real live people that wanted to see what I did

Shortly after I posted an ispirational comic on why I wanted to start drawing. To inspire people to do what they want to and inspire more people. Even while posting the comicc I had doubts on my own reasoning. I really am glad I posted that.
After doing so, there were some comments that inspired me. The comments on that single page is what keeps me drawing. Whenever I feel down, I just go back and reread them.

[mappypaint]

If the only thing that motivates me are subs and views, I would've quit a long time ago. When I started drawing U-Speed back in 2010, it bothered me when I upload something and wouldn't gain a fan (a subscriber). But during those early years I learned that it wasn't the number of subs but the quality of subs that matter. By quality I mean the ones who regularly likes and comments and I know he/she is someone who reads my pages. So back then what kept the fire going was the comments they left and the fan arts they gave me. 5 years later I started uploading here on tapastic and it's all the same again, so this time I didn't mind the subs and views. Nowadays what keeps me going is my love for drawing, the drive to do something different from the rest, and the good feeling of getting a page done. Whatever number of subs, views, likes, shares, and comments I get is a bonus.

[agentfink]

My first month of posting, I only had 3 subs but I have a "if you build it, they will come" mentality to this. Admittedly, the first few months were though with no real reader engagement, but my motivation is definitely telling this story. I can't get it out of my head. But it's also ambitious because, I've never done this before!

It's hard to get back into the zone after a break but I find that finishing a page helps bring back the fire-- and remembering it's okay to take breaks in the first place! Muy importante! Comics are a lot of hard work and not every page is going to be fun!

[mdchristopher]

There have been plenty of times I wanted to give up on writing - at least once a month - but most of the time it comes down to the fact that I think the story is worth telling (in whatever medium) and I just have to find the right approach. Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of times I hit the wall and think I'm never going to climb over it.

One thing I realized when I started making cartoons (and I'm still pretty new to it) is that the reason my geeky gag strip petered out was that I didn't have all that much to say that wasn't being said by others. When I started the comic I have here on Tapastic, inspired by my life as a romantic asexual living in Los Angeles, I knew I had both the material and a message I wanted to share.

[cocktails]

@AnnaLandin you were posting something as amazing as Grassblades with no response?!?!?!??! Or was it something else?

Anyways regarding the question of motivation: I work so many hours at my normal job that I don't know how to not do work over the weekends.

[Vikiro_Hop]

I guess I never think of whatever project I'm working on as the "one". I try to treat each project as a way to improve, and any following I get is icing on the cake. If something isn't working I can make changes in the next project or just drop this one all together and gather my thoughts. It's not always easy to keep up this mentality, but it's definitely kept up my resolve to keep producing content.

[Elliwiny]

Cold hard discipline.

But also, I'd recommend finding some peers. Try to find a tight group of people that either know what it's like to be in the webcomic trenches, or at least some people that you can bounce creative ideas off of.

I get that self-loathing when I take a break, too, and have a hard time sitting still, so I started treating webcomic time like a job. Set timers, take scheduled breaks, go to bed at a reasonable time and you'll feel less guilty and get the ball rolling more easily, too.

It's slow and lonely for a long time, but it's worth it. Hang in there!

[AnnaLandin]

you were posting something as amazing as Grassblades with no response?!?!?!??! Or was it something else?

<3

It was mostly other stuff (I've been posting art on the internet for yeeeeeaaaaars - sometimes I feel like a grandma), but sure, at the very start, before I started posting Grassblades on Tapastic, it was pretty much crickets chirping, at least on Tumblr. I don't draw a ton of fanart unless I really like the thing I'm fanarting, so naturally, I don't get as much attention on Tumblr - it's a pretty fandom-focused place, after all - but it's very much been a matter of slow and steady growth rather than being an overnight sensation.

Tapastic's been amazing, though!

[Vanadis]

Keep going! Don't give up!
I think I can speak for all creators when I say we've all been there (or still are).
Also, just because you're not getting a noticeable response, doesn't mean people aren't reading and reacting to your work. Every time I visit people back home, they all ask me about RetroBlade and I'm always surprised to hear that they're reading it and keeping up with the story. But they don't comment on the website or subscribe to Tapastic! So take into account that a large part of your audience will probably be silent observers.

[HNLEE]

I tell myself that no matter what number of subscribers you have, as long as there is one person reading, I will not give up on my work. I started the story and I owe it to my readers to finish it. Sometimes it is hard to continue but I don't think I could live with myself if I left it unfinished. I would hate it even more if I let down all those people who read my comic.

[DeadAccount]

Welp, I don't have as much discipline and perseverance as some people here, but the way I managed to get through the initial months of silence is by..starting small. Like, really small. I didn't start with a full-on all-colour webcomic Drugs & Wires is now - initially these were just sketches of the two characters living their lives. I did them in tegaki so they were super low effort, but they all told a story or made a joke in some way and eventually started attracting people on tumblr. With those sketches, I didn't need a ton of feedback. I just drew them to get me through the evening, because it was fun and not as stressful as what I'm doing now. From there I gradually upgraded to strips and slightly longer stories until I finally teamed up with a writer to finally do A Proper Webcomic Of course, we were still nobodies on Tapastic for a very long time, but we still had somewhat of an audience when we started thanks to Tumblr and Twitter.

So I guess that's one way of doing it.

[joannekwan]

1. Keep in mind my characters and stories: Most of my characters and stories mean something to me and once I do bond with them it's hard to let them go.

2. Work on multiple projects (for me at least lol): I do multiple series mostly to keep myself from getting bored with one or the other. It's good to have a different set of characters and a whole other style to draw throughout the week. Keeps things relatively fresh.

3. Create stories that have actual endings: With an end goal in sight, I'm more motivated to reach it and then start on a new project. Or if the ending is deliciously good, it's more satisfying wrapping up a story that way.