When do you know if your work is worth it?

[LostSpirit]

Hi everyone! <3

I'm about three months old to Tapas, and I've loved and enjoyed every moment here in exploration. I've read works from new and popular authors alike, artists even, and yes, I've enjoyed them to varying degrees. As I walked through these stories, I could instantly feel something kick me on the inside, telling me that this might be big somewhere down the line. It's instinct perhaps.

I know some writers go through the motions as a platform for expression. Some cherish the idea of being at the center of creating something new, while most feel pride with an earnest desire towards making a million or more people fall in love with your world. I mean, why else would hundreds of authors find their way into the forums, devising inventive ideas behind promoting their work, making it shine through the clusters and heaps of rough diamonds? It's effort!

This is a more philosophical question. There comes a moment, when you'd love to know if something you're working on might stand the test of time. After 7 years and several iterations, I've asked myself that question a lot in 2020. Is your writing truly, truly worth it? After touching a 100 subscribers last week, I thought I might be onto something. But what do you think?

Here's my story: Curse of Immortals: Tempestatem

Some of the stories I think might actually stand the test of time, for different reasons:
Shadow's Prey
Shackles
Delphine and Zigadias
--

Do these stories spark something that might urge you to invest in them? Well, that is the question I'm seeking an answer to. At the end of the day, there's a lot more to this than just numbers. The engagement, the subscriber count and such are merely byproducts to how invested your readers are in carrying your story to success.

Apologies if I may have rambled on for some time. But outside of my story, I find it hard to collect my thoughts every now and then. ^_^

And yes, do feel free to drop in your work. I'd love to check them out through the weekend.

Much love. Much love.

[ar-ninetysix]

Not that I've published anything on here, but...

I'd say it's when you find a perfect mix of self-gratification, personal growth, and foreseeable sustainability.

First one's easy, you have to love your work. What's the point of taking a risk on something you don't even like? You don't gotta be 100% excited to work on it everyday, but lemme tell you, it'd definitely help you get it done. On a different note, the audience has a sharper eye than you think.. Chances are they'll be able to tell when you're losing interest. If you lose investment, they might lose it too. Keep that spark going!

Second one's easy in that.. No matter what, you will improve over time even if the story or art is basic and fundamental. That's just how building up experience works. However, you should get out of your comfort zone every once in a while, this way you get a chance to expand on what you already know. There will never be anything wrong with widening your range!

Third one is all down to planning, really. If you work with a buffer, you're off to a great start! Be realistic in what you can accomplish. You can set smaller goals to get to the big ones. For example, rather than focusing on a whole chapter.. Just worry about the next page. Little changes like this help in the long run. There's also the aspect of burnout, in which your productivity will be affected by either affecting the quality and/or output rate. Pushing at full speed will drain you of your energy eventually, so take your breaks when you can! Additionally, this will also prevent you from having to put your series in hiatus, even more so if you have a buffer.

[LostSpirit]

Yep. I'm fighting burnout myself at the moment. Running a full-time job while working on the chapters with a buffer has caused me to wane mentally, just a little. I started feeling it after finishing chapter 50. Almost like a weight lifted from me. But these are good points. I'm taking a break right now, and hopefully, I'll be able to get that spark roaring in no time at all. In the meantime, yes, using my buffer to avoid a hiatus.

[davidtalon]

Serious congrats on 100 subscribers! (and I mean that) I have...drum roll please...

One. However, that one person wrote me the nicest, most uplifting message about my work, telling me how my fiction brings them joy. So, even though I doubt I'll get anyone else's interest (I ran the first episode through the Hemingway editor program and it threw a fit, telling me I'm writing at too high a level and need to dumb it down), I will continue writing for my one fan. Will my writing be appreciated, or even read, by people yet unborn? Probably not, and yet, so what? If your writing brings joy, not only to yourself, but to someone else, then your writing is truly, truly, worthwhile, and your labors not in vain.

You are obviously bringing it to a hundred times more people, so rock on! I'll have a look at 'Curse' after leaving here. Best wishes.
https://tapas.io/series/Shadowlands

[LostSpirit]

I chose to respond to this on your story. And yes, while we find joy in the little things, the greed of man runs wild often. For who's to say you wouldn't be happier with a thousand more, a million more?

Thought I'd work out a play on words here myself. Thank you! I loved your story's start

[ratscout]

I ask myself that question all the time. I think I've been writing my main project for nearly two years now and I sometimes wonder how it's managed to keep me interested in writing it for this long. Without a lot of interaction, my interest in writing a story often fades, but for some reason, this one's keeping my attention and I always make time to write in it despite having a pretty heavy work/school load. I think I just found a subject that is personally fascinating to me and lets me explore my feelings through it since a lot of my personal fears and dreams are embedded in it. This is the first time I've ever taken on a project this big, too. Usually I just write novellas/short stories, but this current project is probably gonna blow up to a lot of pages. XD

I guess my story is worth it to me because it gives me a space where I can write down my feelings in a way that is cathartic to me.

[Shanny8]

I hit a burnout point a number of times- and hit some injury zones as well...but I really like my story, so I keep coming back. The burnout aspect isnt from the story; it's more of A) working in a vacuum and B) the mechanics of trying to spit out pages at an alarming rate. I am on hiatus right now- I've been slowly working on single drawings, but havent hopped back into the driver's seat on my comic yet...I may buffer a few pages before I start putting stuff out again; between my FT gig and doing this, I stay busy.

[k5rakitan]

For me, it's mostly about the personal interactions I have with people who feel validated or inspired by my story. I represent two stigmatized groups of people, so my story is controversial but also comforting to those who have personally experienced marginalization for being sex workers and/or for being polyamorous:
https://tapas.io/series/Kaibas-Prostitute

I also had a lot of fun on Wattpad entering their mini contests and managed to claim several prizes.
Also, someone on Wattpad said their original story was inspired by mine, and I absolutely love it:
https://www.wattpad.com/story/202642886-the-year-package
Then, I got kicked off Wattpad. My husband says it's a badge of honor to have been kicked off Wattpad.

[LostSpirit]

I can relate to you here. I've worked on different genres growing up, when I wanted to experiment and tinker with stories. From crime to science fiction, to urban fantasies, to high fantasies. Somehow, the story I'm working on right now is the one that stuck with me. All the rewrites, all the years, and here we are, finally on Tapas!

@Shanny8 I can only imagine here. Drawing is a different ball game altogether. I have friends online who talk about how difficult it is to maintain their schedule. I recently started following some of the comics on Webtoons and Tapas, and it astounds me still - how authors there are able to pump long, quality chapters on a weekly basis. But from the burnout aspect, yes, I can see how your day job might intervene with keeping your motivations up. You wouldn't believe how often I would hit inspiration in the middle of the day, only to be stuck at work. That also slowly bubbles into a burnout, in my opinion.

@k5rakitan People appreciating your work is definitely a driving factor. I've had a few of those myself. In fact, as recently as last week, Ratscout held this mini contest that gave me a lot of confidence with my story. Yep. I'm happy you've found a space here. Wattpad aside, I'm sure you'll find those people here on Tapas as well!

[CarltonIsaac]

To answer the question in the title, when you make money from your work.

Everything else is just fine, yet what really counts is actual physical sale-ability .

[LostSpirit]

It's a byproduct though. I tend to focus more on reach. But if my goal is to have thousands of readers invested into my work, I think the money would follow - from them, from how they might ambassador my work, and from my own outreach initiatives. Though I do agree that the value of art, to a certain extent, is in the value with which its sold! ^_^