Should I just release my story as is?

[jamontoast98]

I have had this comic idea for years now and havestoryboarded many chapters for it. I have been trying to improve it over the past few months. Specifically the fight scenes are a bit complicated, and it features a tournament with 8 characters but the main character doesn't get much focus.

I'm wondering whether it's better to keep improving it or just go with what I've got. I'm getting really stressed trying to improve it; hell I tried writing an entire prelogue arc to introduce the characters better, but I'm not that passionate about it. I'm starting to think it's better to just release SOMETHING, and use what I learned on whatever I do next, instead of constantly trying to improve and improve and not really going anywhere. But at the same time I would like people to read it, and it would be a shame if they can't enjoy it because of those problems. But maybe that's not so bad. Maybe it's time to actually release stuff for the first time in years, and fail with grace! Or succeed. Who knows.

[HaltArrtay_RangerGod]

Well you can always improve but once you feel that it is good, go ahead with releasing it.

[cherrystark]

Maybe release a few chapters as a trial run? If you're not certain it's up to par, you could get helpful feedback. There are a lot of good people on this site who could help with that.

[jamontoast98]

I'll probably never be satisfied with how good it is. Honestly I just want to release something rather than nothing, and move on.

[jamontoast98]

I think that could help. I received some feedback before on the first chapter which is what I mentioned above. I think I just need to work with what I have rather than trying to add new stuff on. Try to simplify the fight scenes a bit. Write a short introduction to showcase who the characters are. Stuff like that.

At the same time, I'm worried that getting feedback will push me to want to improve my story again, and the endless loop will continue on forever...

[cherrystark]

@jamontoast98 That struggle is real. If you decide to ask for feedback on certain scenes, I'd say it's okay to be specific about your issue/request, so you're not necessarily adding new elements. I got tons of help with my first chapter that way. If you decide to not ask for feedback, mini-releases could help test the waters for sure.

[Jay_Tanburn]

(Not an expert but) Try not to overthink the process and as you release your story you can think about improvements.
If you really want to see how you can do better, it is better to release something and not keep doubting yourself-- that doubt also will make your story seem messier.

[naoro_san]

Release what you have. You can always improve, and that's the problem. You can spend a lot of time improving what you have but at some point you have to stop and consider that your work is good enough, otherwise you will never release anything because you can always do it better.

Release your work, get feedback, learn from it and work in your next story/plot, just try to enjoy working in your project. If you are doing this for fun, keep it fun and don't get stuck or stressed trying to do a masterpiece on your first attempt.

[Berserker]

The best practice I've found is having a project that I consistently work on a bit every day. Release what you have and improve steadily as you can.

[jamontoast98]

That was the original idea for me too, to create an ongoing series and improve my writing as it goes on. Somewhere along the line I got stuck though. But I do want to continue with this project! So I'll keep going.

[silverjackie1]

Mmmm Why don't you try making a new series to publish and come back to this one some time later? that way you would have already improved a lot and maybe got new ideas for introducing the characters and make the story a lot better.

I had a story that really liked even with its flaws and everything and decided to publish it. After some time of not getting enough feedback I realized the story could have been told different but I was too ahead to start over, and was already too much of a mess to fix. Now I have a new story to help me improve and later I'll come back to it with a new drawing style and a better story-telling and characters.

But if you really like the story go for it! and you will keep on growing as the story progresses.

[Kelheor]

Release it and don't stop. Take feedback for future reference, but start drawing it and continue doing it for some time at least. There's no end to improving. Your sketches look pretty good at least =) Maybe you will stop after a few chapters to re-evaluate what you did or even reboot if, but you have to start anyway

[jamontoast98]

Thanks, I'm going to continue with this one. I tried doing other series in the past, but this one is just where my heart belongs XD

[jamontoast98]

Thanks for the kind words, you must have seen my other posts then?

[domisotto]

Yes. Unless you put it out, you’ll never know

[Kelheor]

Yeah, I believe I saw you posting some layout sketches Just go for it