Your opinion on unfinished comic?

[BobbyjoeX]

this is me for the last couple of years. I recently started to get more frequent with uploads. the reason it was speratic was because of the loss of my mother in 2019 and then with my depression. i had to recently drop a friendship because it was getting toxic.

now i'm back on my grind... and hope to keep it... but my mental health doesnt have a schedule

[Chocolate]

Oh no, I’m sorry for your loss. : (

I meant to separate the two as their own identity: the comic vs the artist. I didn’t mean to bring your personal life into the topic. My apologies. Would you like for me to delete my post?

[Kelheor]

So yeah, you know. If the story is good, whatever.

[BobbyjoeX]

oh no. i was more guess getting at that sometimes stuff like that is why people drop comics. its not so much they are being lazy. more they just cant get themselves to do it no matter how hard they try.

[Chocolate]

Yeah, what I meant is that what if someone had like a lot of unfinished work (like myself), would my viewership lose interest in my work if there’s little progressions? It’s more so of a statement for myself. Sorry for wrong wordings.

[BobbyjoeX]

oh. well when it comes to Tapas. people dont normally purge their subscriptions so i doubt it. the ones that actually reads my comic. not all those dead subs... stuck around during my lowest point so i guess. the ones that do leave never really read your comic or novel to begin with.

[Chocolate]

Ahh okay, good luck with your work. :3 I’m hoping to be able to go on a schedule this year for my comic because I have a job irl to support myself.

[BitterBadgerZ]

I respect every author I come across no matter if their projects were finished or not.

[neichasart]

Yes I would.
Learning when to give up on a project is part of the creative process.
This is tapas, not a publishing house (as much as they dangle partner programs etc).
I see this platform as a space for creators to try out any comic they want to make. So many of those shelved projects would never see the light of day if things were different.

Even your most respected authors have drafts, partly finished projects, etc laying around. It's just bound to happen.

The only difference is, here you get to see those.

If you want a real life comparison, (I'm european things might be different based on country) when you sell a story to a publishing house you typically get a stipend to finish the album. You then have to pay back that stipend before you touch any royalties.
So most authors don't make much money off of comics alone. They basically use the stipend to live on while they make an album, and then start a new project once that's done.
Residual income is rare unless you're really successful.

Which means you constantly have projects laying around at different stages of production. And only the ones you know you'll be motivated enough to finish get through.

So yes, I think the only difference here is how visible those projects are.

[Chocolate]

So would you recommend for authors to stick to 1 comic and set a schedule for it? Or working on multiple comics with inconsistent schedules dates? OsO

[neichasart]

I personally think it's something we learn through trial and error.
I used to update every week and then when I switched from student to working life I changed my schedule to be every two weeks because I knew it wasn't going to be sustainable.

But I think it's important to continue to nurture other ideas while you're working on one project long term. So that you don't burn yourself out creatively.

In my case, I know that until Nitro's world ends I'll only be releasing one-shots (around 24 pages) that I know I can work on alongside and then release in one go.

But when I was a teenager I had many projects I gave up on because I was so excited and then didn't realize I lacked : 1) the skills to make it 2) the foresight to know how motivated I'd be long term.

So now when a new idea pops in my head, I write it down and wait to see if it sticks. If it's something I think about consistently, it goes on the pile of projects I'll be developing in the shadows.

There are also projects I shelved for years and then finished later.
(If you want to see paradise, is one of them)
The only difference is, I didn't share it before I know I'd 100% be finishing it.

I get the frustration as a reader, but I'm just trying to highlight that comics are a huge commitment and most of us won't know if we're ready to see them to the end. Until we've failed a few times.

So while I completely understand why you're annoyed, maybe try to see it as a chance to see projects you'd otherwise never get to read.
I think it's quite special to be allowed to follow someone's passion for a story, even if it means you see it wane over time.

[Chocolate]

Oh no, this question is more so for myself to learn and gain knowledge on how to work around my comic and irl. Thanks for the input! :3

[KSlinger]

Nah, I don't judge authors for discontinuing their projects or starting new ones here and there. Most of the people on here aren't being paid or supported in any way, this is just a hobby they're sharing. I'm not going to disrespect them for taking their time or changing their mind about their entirely free work. 🤷 Also after six years of putting out three pages annually I can't say anything. Life needs attending to.

[feuersichel]

So far, I never checked, if an artist has other, unfinished work. If the story I discovered clicks with me I stick to it. Yes it sucks, when a story just stops, never to be updated again but I can deal with it. in such cases I often think about an ending myself ^^
Also just had a story coming back from a 3 jears hiatus though, those are the happy moments

[TheLemmaLlama]

Personally I'm a binger, so even a twice-a-week update schedule is too slow for me if I'm read each update as it comes out. When you're someone who waits for a bunch of updates to build up before reading, it doesn't matter if it updates regularly or slowly, consistently or inconsistently; it's all the same to you. The only thing I might pay attention to is if I think the creator has abandoned a project, so just check in at least once a year to let me know you're not dead That said, I'll only unsubscribe from the project if I think it's dead; I don't dismiss creators as a whole if they have abandoned projects lying around :]

In fact, I think I have even more respect for people with unfinished projects out in the open because it means they're not afraid to show you the messy stuff their journey and evolution as a creator :] But then again, I might be biased XD

One thing I can understand might cause someone to lose respect for you is if you actively promote a project, then abandon it. But don't let that dissuade you from talking about your project in discussions and stuff; some people just have an irrational hatred of (amateur) creators bringing their work up in any context at all :'D

Oh, and I personally think you should work on whatever you have the drive to work on. If the means multiple projects at once, then work on multiple projects at once. Imo if you focus on one project because you feel like to have to, you'll end up having to force yourself to churn out material even if it doesn't feel right to you or fit your vision, just to meet the update schedule.

[Chocolate]

Oh yeh this definitely helps thanks! Like, my schedule for my comic is VERY sporadic. But I have a small group of viewers who kept checking in on my comic; and I feel so bad for not giving them a set date for updates.

[smokesalty]

Honestly, if a comic isn't working for you, quitting might be the best thing to do. There's no shame in looking back and saying "I don't want to work on this anymore."

You'll still transfer over skills from your previous projects, and you still would have learned something from your unfinished comics. BUT- you should try using what you've learned about your work and process to plan for success. Find what works for you to make sure you get your project done if that's what your goal is.

And for me, I don't tend to look into authors much. If I like the story, I'll read it. However, if I notice an author I'm familiar with keeps dropping projects consistently, I'm less likely to read as I don't like to be left without a conclusion to the story.

But, keep in mind that unless you're super well known, people aren't going to know if you have unfinished projects most of the time. I created a test comic I knew I wasn't going to finish as it was just for me to prepare for my long term project, so I made sure to let my readers know. The people who read my current project likely won't know about the other one. Just know your goals and what's achievable for you.

[TheLemmaLlama]

I feel so bad for not giving them a set date for updates.

Hey now, that's even more reason to not feel bad about sporadic updates, because you didn't even give them a set date for updates, so we can't even say you're breaking your promises or anything :] (I wouldn't judge people who set a schedule and then go back on it though; I know how easy it is to overestimate how long you can sustain a schedule that didn't seem too strenuous at first :P)

[GingerLoge]

I'd respect them as an author and if I like the story, I'll wait. I've done that for a lot of manga like Berserk or Saiyuki or Elemental Gerad, so I think it's not a big deal. If the story is never gonna come to an end, well too bad but at least I've enjoyed the ride so far.

[system]

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