Overwhelming Anxiety on Posting Day

[indagold]

I got more important things to be anxious over and lose sleep over than comics lol I've been making comics for 10 years and whatever problems I encountered when I was first doing it I've long forgotten since I was 12 since i'm used to it by now. You are probably never going to get the feedback you want, you have to accept that. Focus on your life first, irrelevant things only make you worry about nothing.

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

I know this sort of anxiety very, very well. The best thing to do when this beast rears its ugly head is to wrestle it into submission. It sounds easier said than done, but hear me out.

I've been doing this to my other anxieties and it's been working for me. I address all my anxious thoughts and subconsciously tell them, "No! You can't stop me from doing this! I want to do this!" The real reason to write a webcomic should not be to make money or get popular, that's how you crash and burn. You're making this because you want to make it. Let your passion guide you and you will feel satisfied in just getting something done.

Keep in mind that you will fall and succumb to the anxiety sometimes, but the most important part is to stand back up and fight back. And it does seem like you already have people who like what you do. Be happy about that. Think of them cheering you on as you go. Though growth is nice, getting your story told is your top priority. Feel proud that you've committed yourself as far as you have without giving up. Feel even prouder as you make more pages in your story.

[Shanny8]

I've been doing fairly well this month of November. From the day I post my comic, to the next following week, I'm usually screaming my head off on various social platforms to generate reads for my comic. I'm pretty okay when it comes to posting a new page; for me the 1st day is always the best day- the best part is that I ride the wave of New Comic Book Day(since I post on Tuesdays) on Wednesdays; the momentum of "Indie Comic Thursdays' and by Friday I'm planting seeds in everyone's heads to read my comic while they're resting on the weekend. Monday is the only day where it seems like I dont do or say much coz I'm usually transitioning myself to get ready for the new page on Tuesday.

It's gonna suck when I finally have a lull between this chapter and the next.

And @Greg_Dickson- you have FAR more readers & subs than I have! You're moving at a good pace; you just need to start figuring how to make better usage of your time- which I know is hard, coz you have a fam & all. I think you're doing okay so far...if you feel you're overwhelmed maybe you might want to A) take a break and get caught up/get ahead art wise or B) make shorter chapters/episodes. Try looking at promoting on various other social platforms besides Twitter. If I took pics like nobody's business and had an Instagram account, I'd be promoting there..!

I praise your comic, because you put a lot of effort into it, and you've made leaps of improvement over months. It's fun to read, and I enjoy the characters.

[Greg_Dickson]

@allenthomas Yeah, it's so easy to be bumped off that Fresh page, and it's always been difficult to make it onto Popular or Trending. The best we can hope for is for someone to browse the action pages and stumble upon us. I'm definitely trying my best not to be discouraged, but I just had to vocalize this just to see if I'm not alone. Let's try our best out there.

@WakaXO - Thanks, friend. It makes me feel better knowing someone close to me is going through the same thing. I mean, I'm not glad you're anxious, but it's comforting to know I'm not alone. Haha, yeah I do have a tendency to be overly critical. I've always been too hard on myself, and people tell me I need to stop. I'll try my best to keep a cooler head. Thanks for all the kind praise. It's always made me happy to know that you're enjoying my comic so much, and I've definitely been enjoying Neon Rabbit just as much. I feel the same way about yours.

@indagold - Actually, I do get a lot of feedback I want. I guess I just get anxious waiting for it to come. lol.

@Down_the_Rabbithole - You're right, getting this story told is the most important thing to focus on. My mind has always had a tendency to tell me that I shouldn't be doing things or that I'm not good enough, even though I know it's wrong. I've never had practice with dealing with it like the ways you're stating so maybe I should practice.

@Shanny8 - I think I have far more anxiety than you have. lol. And yeah, you're definitely the tweet king when it comes to vocalizing your comic. It is SO hard to figure out how to use my time with this comic, because I spend so much time working/sleeping/parenting and even several nights a week staying up later hanging out with my wife. I've been trying to come up with a scheme to make shorter episodes. I want to shorten down CH 2 for sure. Thanks so much for the encouragement Shanny. You're a great friend, and I look just as much to Ray Thunder each week.

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

It's a good thing to practice. I got the idea as I was getting treated for my anxiety via therapy. Basically, my therapist explained that the anxiety was caused by distorted thinking. I was thinking a lot of the same stuff you were down to the point of "I'm the worst person" and "Everyone should hate me". I knew somewhere that those thoughts weren't true, but it still sent me into a fearful downward spiral.

Once I had a name for these types thoughts, I realized I had strength over them. They were false, negative things gnawing at my emotions. Using rational thinking and putting myself back on the right path has helped me tame these thoughts. And at least this experience helped me come up with the plot in my own comic. In essence, it's about overcoming fears and anxieties and not letting them control you. I've also committed myself to practice what I preach and help others with their anxieties as well. Be strong and good luck to you!

[blackopsracing321]

I'm going to start off by saying (if you don't already know )I FREAKING LOVE YOUR WORK! So at the very least you have a diehard fan in me.

As for the anxiety, I get it pretty bad as well. And not just during the "lull" (which is practically the day after my update). I get it when just before I read comments, after I finish a page, when I get a new sub and I'm a complete mess the day I introduce a new character (was freaking out hard when I introduced Cairo, afraid no one would like him). What I ask myself when I feel like that is "what are going to do? Quit? Then what? Are you going to give up your hobby?" The answer is always "no". I love drawing and I've been wanting to make a comic long before I even knew webcomics were a thing. Remembering that really helps me get pass those feelings.

[dojo]

I post every day, but I'm going to be honest and say the main reason I do that is because of that anxiety. One of my comics only updated once a week, but it was making me really nervous, so I cut the number of pages for one of them down to three a week, so I could up the other to two a week. Those slumps terrify me, so I spit out pages like crazy so I can cover them up as best I can, leaving my weekends free because I have enough going up that I'll still get some hits here and there. I mean, there are other reasons as well as to why I keep my update schedule really hardcore and honestly a little unrealistic, but that is the main one. I can't focus and definitely will talk myself out of working if I don't keep things so fast I can't complain about it.

(that being said, I know you didn't make this post as a cry for attention, but I just wanted to say I have been meaning to take a look at your comic. I see you around a lot and have been wanting to give it a look. I'm hoping I'll have some spare time later this week to fit some of these comics that are sitting on my backburner in)

[scythe]

I only post once a fortnight, so my dry spells seem to take forever and often when you do get to that post day it's not what you expected. I've heard some people say it takes years to get any real following or recognition. I'd jus like to point out that it's not necessarily years it takes, but also pages. Yes, I've already been doing this for a year and more, but my story has barely begun, so it's silly of me to think I'd have some huge following when there's so little of a story to follow.

Anxiety probably just means you care, and that's better than ambivalence in my book.

[Greg_Dickson]

@Down_the_Rabbithole - That's the thing, I've never seen a doctor/therapist regarding my anxiety. I get so anxious about how much it will cost on top of everything that I have to afford, that I never make the effort to go. That's a really good mindset though, as multiple times a day I will think like this, even though I know I shouldn't. I start to get embarrassed at myself just for feeling this way, knowing how ridiculous it is. That's definitely a good theme for your comic. I remember checking a bit of it out earlier, and I'll definitely have to check some more out soon.

@blackopsracing321 - Haha, of course I know Mike. Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten such an awesome fan art. I guess just getting fan arts should tell my mind to shut up on this. Ah, I've had that kind of anxiety before my Gemini and Trixie intros too (not so much with the devil. I knew he was too cool to hate). Funny you would think that with Moe-er...Cairo, since he's such a fan favourite. That's a good point. Giving up would just yield nothing. Like, what would I do? Just stare at a wall? Or hole myself up and do nothing but play games the rest of my days? I'm too proud of what I've accomplished to revert back like that.

@dojo - Did you mean every day a week to three a week? Or do you mean that you bumped up production to three days a week? I really, really wish I had that kind of productivity, as it would constantly keep traffic coming, but I barely have enough time to finish a page a week. I'd totally love to have a dedicated day or two off, but I pretty much have to use every morsel of time I've got to keep on schedule. I'm glad you didn't peg it as a cry for attention, as this has been something that's genuinely been bothering me for a long time. I'm surprised at the amount of positive reassurance I've been getting, since I was even anxious about the thought of looking like a fool by posting about this. I'd love to see what you think of my work, given the level of awesomeness yours conveyed to me when I checked it out. I should definitely stop by sometime and see what you've released since my last visit. I like the mellow, minimalistic nature of your comic. It's got this simplistic aspect to it that makes it absolutely charming.

@scythe - Yes, I definitely wish I could pump out more pages to get more of my story moving along. I do agree with pages being more of a factor than time. I've got friends who started around the same time as me, but update more frequently, and their traffic is way higher than mine. That's a good thought about what my anxiety could mean, but it still isn't very fun to deal with. lol.

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

I haven't gotten to the meat of my story yet, but it'll happen. Thanks for checking me out!

I also know how embarrassing it is to feel that way for seemingly no reason. I have been there and it put me into a deeper and deeper hole of despair. The most important thing to remember is that you are the master of your own mind. Another thing that helps is more vitamin D as negative thoughts get worse this time of year because of lack of sunlight. (Unless you live in the other hemisphere and it's summer right now, then ignore that last part.)

[Aspie_Gamer]

@Greg_Dickson

To be honest, I too have noticed that I have days where practically nobody reads my comic, but then on update day its like a rocket boom! Honestly, I wouldn't stress too much about how many views your comic gets per week so long as you are updating consistently. The ones who actually read your comic will still read your comic and the ones who have something to say will still probably have something to say with each new page. Remember, we are all in this together.

[heterodont]

I dont really suffer any anxiety from posting pages seeing as I don't post them - they're all scheduled to post. I often forget when my comic updates in fact..

however! I love it when people comment and even if I only get like 2-3 comments per page from dedicated readers, it's enough for me! I always look towards the future of things, like - "yess I can't WAIT to see how people will react to this page!" or even just new readers stumbling upon my comic for the first time - I've gotten a lot of comments that way in fact! Even people just replying to old comment threads left by other people.

then again my advice should be taken with a grain of salt because I deal with my general anxiety by spacing the hell out....so.

[69Michi]

I'm actually quite the opposite. No matter how many readers I have, every time I upload something online, I always feel this little feeling of excitement, wanting to see people's reaction to my work. I think I'm just used to sharing my arts and stories in the past that it no longer bothers me anymore. (Then again, I'm not one who get anxious that easily, unless you are forcing me to give a speech in front of a large group of audience irl)

[akkoneko]

I'm pretty new here, and I haven't started a weekly comic until now. I'm not really into promotions, so I know what to expect when it comes to traffic (aka. I'm not gonna get that many reads yet, much less comments and likes and they're gonna stop until I post another page). Still, I got pretty anxious around the posting of the first page (like, what time does it have to be here in the Philippines for it to be 8 AM PST, etc.)

I sort of calmed down (believe me, I actually have no chill) when I found that I could just take the time to interact with people here, do work (I have a job), and make more comics to post while waiting for stats to eventually rise. Also, what's important, anyway? Why am I making comics? Is it really the popularity that comes with it, or is it the fact that I can express ideas the way I want to? Maybe it's either, maybe it's both.

But you know what I like about the weekly setup? I have something to look forward to every week.

[niinasalmelin]

Oh yes I feel this stress. I have been here a bit over a year now and I've started to recognize the traffic slump -months. Knowing they come makes it easier to not fall into desperation but it still sucks. The worst thing is that I get it. I make longfrom mystery comic so weekly updates kinda slump the pacing. But that's the sacrifice I have to make .___.

What does help me is that I got some active readers who comment pretty often, it always reassures me that someone is actually out there reading my comic. Also, I used to have this bad habit to keep way too close watch on my stats and sub count and hung up to it. But when you let go of the pressure of getting an audience and just focus on doing the story you want to do it gets lot more fun. But I do let myself slip back to it sometimes.. :'D

[edmourabarbosa]

Thank you. Seriously. It's really refreshing to hear another comic creator tell how they feel on the day-to-day webcomic journey.
It's really hard to give all in creating something, keep doing it every day&week and receive nothing in response. But everyone of us is going or went through it.

[haleymewsome]

I have this every time I post a comic page or a Youtube video. ;w; I'm always scared that everyone's going to be disappointed or unsubscribe or leave a rude comment, even though it so rarely happens for some reason I always worry about it. ;x;

[Aspie_Gamer]

@haleymewsome

With your art, I'm not sure why anybody would want leave a rude comment, but the nice thing about having a YouTube channel is that you can mod the comments section of your vids anytime some jerk shows up to say something mean.

[Greg_Dickson]

@Down_the_Rabbithole - I'll definitely have to try the vitamin D thing. Today, it was dark by 3pm! I can see how that could even subconsciously affect my mind. I'll try harder to stay more aware of my emotions.

@Aspie_Gamer - Yeah, I don't feel as alone as I once did now. Surprisingly, I looked at my stats for the first time this month, and I was shocked...my November numbers for views and comments were...the highest? I feel ridiculous being so anxious now, but I could have SWORN that this was one of my most barren months! I do feel better being wrong right now.

@heterodont - Spacing out sounds nice...I wish I had the time to feel bliss like that. Haha.

@69Erocento - I do feel excitement during those highs. It's just as activity starts to dwindle down that I get kinda lonely, and the quiet time gives me too much time to think...which starts making me anxious. I envy that way of thinking that you have on a 24 hr basis.

@akoneko - Oh the whole Time Zone thing absolutely messed me up. With my first handful of pages, I was posting first thing in the morning, which was like, 3am to a lot of people. Plus, I went from posting on Mondays (too much traffic), to posting on Sundays (a deserted wasteland) to finally settling to Tuesday afternoons. I like that statement of having something to look forward to every week. Maybe I'm like a kid who wants Christmas every day and should find more value in waiting for that eventuality instead.

@niinasalmelin - I know what you mean about pacing slumps. The same thing happens with action too, if a fight takes multiple weeks to draw. Something so fast should not be stretched so long. I'm guessing that waiting for the mystery to build up is a similar feeling too. I do actually have readers that comment pretty often too, and I'm glad for every one of them. I guess because I know each and every one of them, once I see that it's close to everyone stopping by, I get a little anxious, not wanting the joy of responding to them to stop. lol. You're right, it does get more fun when you can just lose yourself in your art instead of just focusing on readers.

@haleymewsome - Yep, the fear of disappointment is something I've come across. Just about every update, I pray that no one is going to hate my content, or just realize my comic sucks and move on. I know we all go through with it, and I do realize that the opposite can always happen. I hate being a "glass is half empty"-kind of guy. I've always wanted to be the opposite. I've always been a bit too hard on myself.

[akkoneko]

Glad you like the statement. Haha, ever since I got those first 4 views, I have been looking forward to the next scheduled update. It's almost as if I am waiting for another person's comic's update sometimes.

Now that you mention that timezone issue... I think I might move my posting time to a later time. I'm still going for a weekend update, though, since that is my only free-ish time and in case I don't have a buffer, I have a higher chance of making a page on that day.