Feeling a bit discouraged in writing

[Comatoast]

I feel a bit bummed. I have a story to tell but I suppose I haven't found the right audience. It's also tempting knowing that I could write some cliche title and get a very quick set of clicks.

How do I find my niche (if there even is one) and at what point should I give up? I don't want to keep writing 2300 word chapters if nobody would enjoy them like I do ?

Thank you for your time,
Comatoast.
[Edit:]
Rereading this it can seem like fishing for responses, I'd like to clarify.

My two biggest issues here are; Not being able to find a niche & The temptation to write an Isekai (no hate to isekai writers, It just seems that we have a lot of isekai readers)

 

[BearlyAlive]

If you write for an audience, then seek out people with similar interests or write long enough for the community to come to you. Otherwise, learn to bathe in the superiority complex that comes with writing and posting a story instead of waiting for others to write like most suckers here.

 

[Jocelyn_Uasal]

I agree that it can be very discouraging to see trashy garbage make all the money in the world, but if you want to tell a story then you absolutely should no matter what!

I think you've just got to decide what's more important, being found or telling the story you want. Personally, as an artist I've decided that I care way more about creating my art the way I want to, rather than creating something for someone else. If I finish this book with literally zero readers, I wont really care because I would have added to the arts of my generation, and that means so much more to me.

Besides, even if you don't pick up any readers right away, just having a finished novel might be enough to attract readers to read your next project. I absolutely do not think there is or should be a point where you decide to give up on a project just because of a lack of viewership, but I acknowledge that might be an unpopular or unwelcomed opinion. (then again I reach enough readers by writing articles, so maybe thats why I don't care)

 

[wresch]

I think I gave up on being a famous writer about forty years ago. And the last 50 agents I contacted agreed - no fame and fortune coming down the road. But I keep writing. Yes, because I like to write. But readers do matter to me. I check draft2digital every morning. I like seeing a few more downloads (all free). And I notice which of my books get the most downloads. And, yes, it does direct my projects somewhat.

So, to answer your question (finally), Readers matter to me but writing matters more. I have stories in my head, and I put them in print. It's how I start my day. It's what I like to do. My guess is you have the same passion. So write.

 

[Iwriteforfun]

Dude, you have like three chapters. Nobody reads a book that is so short. Wait till you stack up some chapters, maybe then you'll slowly grow. I am gonna leave a review soon on your work, thanks for your review btw.

 

[aj.canaan]

If you're talking about the one you're writing right now don't be so discouraged. You definitely need to write more before second guessing your story. It's just not enough like @Iwriteforfun said.

 

[Comatoast]

Dude, you have like three chapters. Nobody reads a book that is so short. Wait till you stack up some chapters, maybe then you'll slowly grow. I am gonna leave a review soon on your work, thanks for your review btw.

It's the least I can do, I love this community and it's a very inspiring group of people that are friendly and helpful to newcomers.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

What type of story/stories do you write? This seems to be a good place for offbeat romance stuff, usually with either a gender swap or other LGBTQ content but not a lot of boy on boy stuff for some reason, and fantasy elements.
Other sites are better for horror, mysteries, more traditional romance, etc. So you might want to look for other novel sharing sites and see how you fare there.

 

[Comatoast]

I think I gave up on being a famous writer about forty years ago. And the last 50 agents I contacted agreed - no fame and fortune coming down the road. But I keep writing. Yes, because I like to write. But readers do matter to me. I check draft2digital every morning. I like seeing a few more downloads (all free). And I notice which of my books get the most downloads. And, yes, it does direct my projects somewhat.

So, to answer your question (finally), Readers matter to me but writing matters more. I have stories in my head, and I put them in print. It's how I start my day. It's what I like to do. My guess is you have the same passion. So write.

Thank you for the inspiration! If you can do it, I can too. ?
It's always nice to do it for passion so who cares if I'm writing into the void, We'll do it passionately!

 

[ArtBusterBeeze]

I feel a bit bummed. I have a story to tell but I suppose I haven't found the right audience. It's also tempting knowing that I could write some cliche title and get a very quick set of clicks.

How do I find my niche (if there even is one) and at what point should I give up? I don't want to keep writing 2300 word chapters if nobody would enjoy them like I do ?

Thank you for your time,
Comatoast.
[Edit:]
Rereading this it can seem like fishing for responses, I'd like to clarify.

My two biggest issues here are; Not being able to find a niche & The temptation to write an Isekai (no hate to isekai writers, It just seems that we have a lot of isekai readers)

I had the reverse of this. Years go, I wanted to avoid writing Isekai, but the story I was passionate about working on was falling in line with the genre regardless of how I decided to spin it, so here I am writing something like that. Here is what I say to you: Do not limit yourself even if something is popular. If you have a story you want to tell, then get out there and tell that story.

Now this does not mean you can't have your personal preference or things you don't wanna do. That's fine. If you have something that you want to do for your story personally, that's up to ya, but i'm just saying you should be free to tell whatever you want to. You want to find a niche other than that, then look at what stories you enjoy and want to write and niche down from there. It would help to read some others and decide if you haven't done that already. The choice will be yours to make and you have to do it if you want to get a story out there.

 

[John_Owl]

I pretty much just go by the quote from Field of Dreams: "If you build it, [they] will come" (the actual quote says "he", but "they" is better known.)

So... write what you want. If you pander to an audience, no one will be happy because you're not writing what you want and they'll be able to tell that your heart isn't in it. if you write what you want, your audience will find you. maybe not immediately, but eventually. When I started, it took me 3 months before I finally started getting noticed. and even then, my growth was slow. which is kind of weird, considering the genre I write seems to be among the more popular here (Fantasy plot-driven smut. my main story features a dragon girl as the love interest).

Disregarding the 5 month break I took (life, illness, moving houses, etc), I still have decent engagement.

but yes, focus on what you want and let them come to you.

Also, as a final note, Isekai can be good. you just have to find something - some twist - that sets yours apart from the rest of the chaff. what makes YOUR isekai worth reading as opposed to all the other isekai out there, floating in the ether? I'm planning an isekai novel and, while I don't want to give it away just yet, it does have a hook that I think people will enjoy.

 

[LoneQuack]

First figure out what you yourself want. Why are you writing for? The answers have way too many routes for me to list them and each goes on its own path. Figure out your path and research. A good research is 50% of the planning and planning is 50% of the work. Then after you have a clear and concrete image build discipline. Discipline isn't only a writing advice. It's a life advice. You won't succeed in anything without it.

 

[Rezcore]

Just write.
I've always believed that nothing, truly, worth doing is ever easy.