What were your biggest fears when you first started your webcomic?

[realSean_Murphy]

Has anyone ever felt anxious when you first started or maybe after you submitted your webcomic, such as how it might be perceived?
I feel like I'm struggling with this right now..
Such as I might write something down and wonder "Is this any good?", "Does it look good?" etc.
Basically it's a nagging feeling that never goes away..

[heterodont]

I always get stressed whenever I share my webcomic with people (particularly the reason why I never link it to people when they're in my presence, I send it to them when they're nowhere near me!) because I always get so worried that my writing is awful or the story (what's there so far) is badly written and/or doesn't make any sense. I'm like that with any kind of written narrative however, I have extremely poor self-esteem when it comes to writing.

It's really the only persistent fear/worry I have. That the story sucks and I did a bad job of getting the story across, that the pacing is awful and that it's just a trainwreck in slow motion. I'm already highly critical of my own work which is why I never submit for reviews, because most of the time I already am aware of the issues in my story. Even comments that are simple questions related to the writing itself can set my paranoia off pretty bad p:

It comes with the territory though. You're proud of your work so obviously it's gonna hurt if someone doesn't think its as good as you feel it is.

[Kura]

Not too much from starting, but as the story continues to progress I always get worried that story elements I introduce may not be well received, or that readers will not like that the story will / is progressively getting more serious the deeper the readers are pulled into the plot.

Also always have the feeling that 'I hope they enjoy it even though it looks like complete shit because I suck at drawing'

I'm also not good at sharing my comic especially with family and friends (been trying to get over this the last year, as you kind of need to advertise your comics to try and get readers.

EDIT: And I'm terrified of reviews, this is a thing that has persisted for years. I have never asked for them, ever. And when I get one from someone it takes a while for me to gather the courage enough to open it.

[demthorshie]

My biggest fear when starting my webcomic here on Tapastic was time. Being able to balance my everyday life with the comic is still somewhat of a challenge for me, but it's not as difficult as I anticipated for it to be!

[Mharz]

My biggest fear when I started was people might flame my webcomic and say that it sucked or it's horrible or something along those lines. So far I haven't encountered people like that and I'm pretty much surprised that there are some people who appreciate my story and that makes me happy.

[AnnaLandin]

Aside from the general anxieties of "Will it be any good?" and "Will anyone else like it?", my main fear was whether or not I was capable of doing something so big. Grassblades is going to be epic in length. We're talking about hundreds and hundreds of pages, possibly as much as 1000. That's a huge commitment.

This is a fear I'm going to have to live with as I work - I'm in this for the long haul - but I'm 6 chapters into drawing it (with chapter 4 just starting to be posted), and so far it feels as if it's possible. I've been managing for the first 100 pages without losing momentum or motivation, I'm sure I can do another 100. And so on.

[aspiderjonny]

I guess when I started uploading Jonny Web Series back in August 2014, I was just worried that people wouldn't care. I kind of knew I'd want to continue making it (at least up to Book 5), as well as doing my second series Valve Web Series but not having people read it is something I still fear today. I have close to 150 subscribers total now so I guess those fear's aren't entirely justified. Though now I'm surprised at the people who've stuck since JWS Book 1, 'cause my early work sssssuuuuuuuuucccckkkkksssss.

I also expected more hateful comments, but I've yet to get one. Tapastic is pretty nice in that way.

[zetina]

I'm worried that I'll realize that it'll take a long time and lose motivation. I'm a really impatient person...

I totally get your worry though. Once you stick your foot in the bathtub, you'll realize that the water isn't that hot. Idk if you've already posted before or not but I assume part of your worry might come from the unknown?

[niinasalmelin]

With Numb it has been mostly "Will people like it or will they find it boring and bad". Alongside with "what if something happens and I fail at making enough pages on time and updates will be laaaaate" that's about it (for now I guess)

...oh and I'm not sure if I picked very good name for it.... too late now I guess l'D

[Silerna]

Mine would be that nobody reads my comic. Like your drawing it for nothing, ofcourse that ain't true but still.

[igneriss]

I was afraid that my story is so bad that nobody would read it C;
Well, those fears don't go away easily. Even know I sometimes have little voices telling me that my current subscribers are just being nice. But still, what can we do? Keep drawing and ignore those voices C: There are people somewhere there waiting for your story!

[AffectedMind]

I was always scared people won't like it and I won't achieve anything. When I was on InkBlazers I had like 100+ readers on my work and starting from zero here on Tapastic really let me down, BUT! I'm doing much better! I guess the only thing you can do is just move forward, listen to criticism and keep connected to your readers.

[zod]

Always had the feeling that people would hate it and I mean really hate it, however I think having a good writer has helped a lot, though I am planning on taking over and writing my own, this is what I am fearing the most, Im not a good creative writer but I come up with ideas, but lack putting them together into something of a story

[Cade]

My biggest fear was quality. I've been worried that my comic wasn't worth publishing. But then if you look hard enough on the web you'll find web comics drawn as stick figures and I realized that mine does look better than stick figures so if stick figures are liked then mine will be too right? We'll see. I'm publishing a new episode tonight and tomorrow morning. WADE

[shazzbaa]

Not too much from starting, but as the story continues to progress I always get worried that story elements I introduce may not be well received,

This is true for me too! Getting started I had no expectations and was just excited, like "I'M FINALLY PUTTING THIS ON THE INTERNET, WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS!" It's later pages where I started thinking "ahhhhhhhhhh I hope this lives up to what it could be, I hope people understand, I hope it's fun"

[helloapanie]

I have this fear that people will hate my semi-stick figure characters. Especially if you compare to the many talents in here. I know that some people only read if your comic looks nice. But there's also people like me, who don't really necessary go for nice art, but also for the comedic side in it.

So if your comics are quirky and humorous, please drop me a line! I'd love to subscribe to you! <3

[helloapanie]

What a coincidence! I JUST commented about how I think people will hate my comics because I draw stick figures!

[Cade]

You might like Wade, if so please subscribe and share to show your support.

[SethJH]

I was afraid of people not finding my story interesting, but more importantly, I was afraid people would decide not to read my comic because the characters are animal people instead of humans. I actually remember joining the forums and finding a discussion about how stories with animal people ("anthros") can still be serious and accessible to a broader audience rather than the niche audience most would expect. I was afraid that most audiences would skip it and leave me to only write for that particular niche community- which I don't want to be limited to.

[HNLEE]

My biggest concern was definitely "Will I be able to keep this up every week." I plan to see my webcomic through to the end of course but I was and still a little worried about how it will affect my daily schedule. Yes it has kept me busy during the busiest of time but so far I'd say I'm doing ok. Though I really wish I had an assistant to help me out sometimes hehe.

My other fear was having some people who know me irl find out im drawing all this gay