Should I give up posting novels to Tapas?

I'm going to be real with you. Both your attitude and how many project you have up on tapas makes it feel like to me you don't have too much passion for doing this. I know that sounds like a stupid cliché, but it really does matter I think. I don't want to sound offensive, but if it is taking as much a toil on you as you make it sound here, it might be best for you to quick, at least until you can get yourself into a better mindset.

I think to be successful on tapas, you either need to be lucky, infinitely patient or infinitely talented. sometimes all three. dont force yourself to do things you dont enjoy.

Let's see, I want to state my opinion with you, but I don't want to sound as if I know what problems you're facing right now. All of us have our own things to deal with, and I know you have your own, too. I'm a new creator right now, and you're probably a veteran, so I don't want to sound like I don't know my place. But, I'll be straightforward.

If I were in your shoes, I think I'd go with... a mixture of B and C. For C, if you were to make something "basic", don't make it too mainstream, though. If a story would have too much clichés and expected tropes, it wouldn't interest a lot of readers. Plus, I think novels get fewer attention compared to comics, so this probably makes everything a bit harder. However, it depends, really. If you create novels to get supporters and many subscribers, then I don't think you'd be patient enough for that. Honestly, I think it'd take a whole lot of patience to wait for your stories to grow and get more viewers, and if you're not really doing this for your passion and as well as yourself, I don't think you have that much of patience. Anyway, putting that aside, let's get on with B. After you've made your "mainstream story", go and promote. I guess participating in Tapas events and threads in Forums would count for that. Promoting helps with getting subscribers, likes, and viewers a bit, so it's kind of a necessity if you want to start fresh and get some views.

This is my opinion. This will probably be what I would do if I were in your situation. It all still depends on you. If you really can't go on anymore, then it's best to quit. Your mental health goes before everything. And if you don't enjoy writing that much, or if it's not something you find happiness in, then it's best to stop. Doing something that you don't like isn't going to help with your current situation.

I can't tell you what to do, only that if you care about viewership, then you're probably going to have to accept that marketing is how you get that. This is the unpleasant truth that all creatives have to deal with, unless they just want to create for the sake of creation.

Most of us hate marketing, but it's a skill that can be learned. A lot of the time when you're getting started it's more about networking and building engagement by engaging with other people and their work/finding people who are posting about topics relevant to your stories. There are so many people with varying interests in the world, and as you've seen, you don't need to be a brilliant writer for them to like your work. They do, however, need to be informed that you and your work exist, and marketing is how you make that happen.

Personally I feel that toiling in obscurity is highly underrated.

I was coincidentally watching this youtube video today by Cathy Hay, who's this chick who's been trying to make this impossible fully beaded House of Worth dress for like...ten years...and her videos are generally a lot of very corny motivational speeches about finishing the big scary creative projects we start and how to recover from discouragement (which is ironic because she has not finished this dress. But she also founded and runs a pretty successful online sewing school, which is why she is insanely busy)

and while I usually take these types of videos with a grain of salt because they're filled with feelgood platitudes I don't always agree with, she had a really great nugget in this particular one.

She words it better than I do, but she mentioned that we often go into our creative passion projects expecting to have full control of the entire project. But things go wrong. Things never go exactly to plan. Really, these projects will always ask more out of us than we expect. They're are a bit like our teachers, especially when it's a project that is well outside of our comfort zone.

Now if you're doing it for money that's a different thing, and you have to judge if it's worth your time to continue as a business decision, but it sounds like this is mostly a passion project. So she mentions that when things go wrong, which they always will, to try and look at it as "what is this project trying to teach me?" rather than "I can't believe it betrayed me like that. It is no longer my friend. I am not working on it anymore." and then just throwing it out. Getting so upset about the injustice of it all, that it sits in the corner never to be finished.

So if the problem is that no one knows that you're writing a book (because for reals I haven't seen you link it too often at least here on this forum) maybe it's time to start making those baby steps towards marketing and linking your book at least on this forum. You're on these forums a lot. You know where to go. And it's hard, and it's uncomfortable, but maybe marketing is the thing that this project is trying to teach you?

And I have personally gone through something similar, where I had to recognize that my marketing was...I wasn't doing any. I had to start. and it was scary. And it sucked, and even with the marketing it wasn't going to make my content popular because it didn't fit the niche. So I had to find out what comics are in 2020. However, what I learned from that project made it so the low reception it got doesn't take the energy out of that particular project. In fact I just--continued it as a novel so that I wouldn't have to lose momentum for the story and that's been good for me.

So although that project wasn't like...finished or "successful" in terms of numbers, I learned a lot. If you think you have learned all you are going to learn, then yes, delete it. But if you want to learn more, then keep going. For me part of my decision to stop was because I wanted to do something else, I wanted to start a passive comic income, and I felt like I had learned all there was to learn from the comic version of that story.

And again, it is always discouraging to have low numbers, so I don't want to act as if "just keep going" is the best advice, because often it can be more stress than it's worth, and if it really bums you out, then it makes sense to step back. No one needs undue mental stress in 2021, it's been a wreck of a year. And, unlike sewing a dress, we put a lot of ourselves out there when we post stuff online, and so doing it on your own, at home, might be a great way of finishing this project without the pressure of numbers being reached.

ah and here's that video of this nice old antie ranting about rose bushes in a motiviational way. It's very corny, consider yourself prepared. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBY5eCyuzCs1

Have you tried using hashtags related to your comic and novels in your author notes (that part b4 the comments)? I've seen some creators do that and it may help you get discovered more.

Though I suppose you have to ask yourself: Are you in it for popularity, money, and fame? Or are you in it because you genuinely enjoy what you make and want to share it with whoever wants to see it no matter how small the audience?

I did check out what you have and it does look like something that has potential for gaining a fan base around. If you don't have twitter or Instagram, maybe consider using those to help advertise. Its hard in general I think to get your name out there, but with time and patience, you will get your fans. Someone will always like what you make, so don't lose hope.

Wait it's already done? Like done done? So you just...want to delete it although it's...finished? I'm kinda confused by what's happening now.

You know, I think if something is making you truly miserable, it's definitely okay to stop. I've had some projects that I didn't finish--and even now just talking about them makes me feel just the slightest achey inside--but I've sort of come to realize as an old woman that it's okay to stop working on things that don't make you happy. It hurts to let them go, but you sort of realize you can take ideas from them and incorporate them into a tighter, finer story. I have to say, I am definitely happy I discontinued my older stories because I have done just that: Crafted them into other stories that I'm truly in love with and wouldn't give up on for the world. The reason I start out by saying this is because it seems like you're no longer getting enjoyment out of your story, so I think it might be time to reassess what you do with it.

Getting that out of the way, I have to suggest doing read-for-reads (or B for reach). Read-for-reads are FANTASTIC because they often reveal the people on this site who are really, truly, as passionate about writing as you are, because they are willing to spend a little piece of their day reading your story so that you will read theirs, too. I've met a lot of people on those threads who are supportive, helpful, and great readers. Not only that, but it feels so good to just have people who consistently read your story, and the easiest way to find those people is through read-for-reads. Yes, it's scary putting yourself out there, but most people really are just trying to help when they give you critiques on this site, and if you ever get a mean one, just admit what you know to be true: the person who gives you a mean critique sucks and move on with your life. XD Will this method necessarily net you millions of readers? No. Will it net you some? Yes. I think what most people have to realize is that, if you want to do writing as a career, you have to treat it as a job. Therefore, you need to put as much work into it as you would a job. At any rate, even just having one person reading your work makes you that much more excited about writing it.

Why is there always an assumption that we “don’t have passion” or are chasing “popularity“ if we feel like quitting some days...? Like come on, putting yourself out there in an online community is hard enough without that kind of judgement.

It's been my experience in life that when someone starts talking about quitting something (unless it's smoking or something like that) they have already made up their mind and are looking for someone to say the one thing that assures them it's the right decision.

No one can make that decision for you. You've already made it, you're looking for validation. That's a tad bit unfair to people. Understandable, as it is a big decision, but ultimately it is yours and yours alone.

Best of luck.

So here's my take and I know you already made your mind (based on your latest response) but I didn't have tíme to respond before.

One thing that somewhat bothers me about your perspective is the idea that "others don't have to write that well to get reads". That is a very false statement if I may say. Although you may feel like something is mainstream or not unique enough does not mean that the writer didn't put a heck ton of effort into it. If something becomes popular, there IS something there that brings people to read it. Demeaning that and saying that the writers are not good at writing is just diminishing what they are good at.

Yes, popular does not equal good always, but good is subject to opinion. And as a writer, you have to understand the mentality of a reader. The truth is that a basic reader does not care if the writing isn't top notch, this is stuff that critics and other writers notice. A reader just wants to have a good time. I would know this as when I was an avid reader on various sites, I didn't care for typos or wouldn't quit just because the grammar was bad. I was a teenager. Who cared at that point. It was the story and the ideas that had to keep me hooked.

Saying this, should you quit? Well that is up to you. In my opinion, if there is something holding you on this app, then it might be bad for you to leave but I wouldn't know what your situation is. Does your story/writing fit the demographic on here? Again, that is something that you need to decide. If you want to continue on Tapas, then it's perhaps good to play by the rules. Do you want readers but not getting any? Then promote your story. Sorry if it sounds mean but it sounds like you're excusing your own laziness to promote. It's fun, and it's cool to find unique ways to do so. I personally have been pretty bored of the tapas forums recently so I switched to Twitter and so far it's been a much more fruitful experience. Again, it's different for everyone.

We all start at the bottom and from there it's just about the drill. If you want to quit, go for it. I went through the same thing when I escaped the hell hole of an app called wattpad, and migrated to the Chad Tapas app. In my opinion, it is superior, but also fits my story better as I've been lucky enough to get a readership in a MUCH smaller time frame than wattpad. I do consider wattpad as a learning process though since I tried to make my writing as good as possible and found readers there too. It was only when I was sure it was okay enough to post somewhere else that I did so. In that sense you could consider this same thing for tapas if you feel like there is a better option for you. Nothing necessarily wrong about that.

Again, my only issue is with how you compare it to the others. Not saying you can't compare, that IS the point of a competitive app, but once you start diminishing others' success is when I feel like there is a line crossed. Leave if it's bad for your mental state, but don't make it the fault of others' good time.

I think I feel you. Sometimes the disappointment in visible success at the thing you love doing feels like too much & breeds doubt.
But, you're only talking of discontinuing use of one platform for your work. The writing's done! It seems akin to having your hooks baited & ready to go fishing. Seems a small thing to go ahead & put your lines into the water on this side of the boat as well as the other side.
Sorry if I've misunderstood your position.

I think a lot of people forget that while Tapas is a comic/novel app, there is a very high social aspect to it as well, and you have to consider the audience if you want to succeed.

If you're so worried about readers, you have to put work into getting them. They're not just going to fall into your lap (unless you get really, really lucky). Making yourself appealing as an author is important in the webnovel world as an indie creator.

Checking your profile, it also looks like all of your works are short. It's important to keep in mind that Tapas (and its audience) is geared toward SERIAL works. Things that update regularly over a long period of time. Imo it's partially due to the fact that regular updates constantly push you back up to the top of the list when people are idly looking for new stories. Hence why when looking for submissions for premium works, Tapas puts an emphasis on considered works being 80k words are longer.

That considered you might be right in not posting to Tapas (especially since your attitude here is putting down other writers who have probably put in a lot of work to get the views/subscribers they have even if you consider them subpar writers)! Different platforms work for different people. It looks like you've already made up your mind looking back at your post, and that's probably for the best! Gaining popularity on Tapas takes a lot of work, advertising and socializing included.