I'm new here (like, so new I haven't had a chance to post anything), and I was going to do my first story as a webcomic. I spent three years coming up with the story, tweaking the story, trying to learn different hosting platforms, doing character sketches, and all these things before I realized that this would never be perfect. I would never get any traction at all except from my friends and maybe family if I ever told them. I know I'm horrible at promoting stuff. I know that I am literally throwing a message into the ocean that is the Internet and hoping someone finds it. I know that I write in a niche not many people are that into (fantasy with somewhat weird concepts that riffs off established tropes in a way that can be a bit off-putting at first). I also know that if one person was impacted by my writing (including me), that I did my job. I've tried to chase engagement. It never ended with a complete story or with me satisfied.
If you're struggling with feeling like your engagement isn't enough, I would ask you to wonder why you want engagement beyond the "humans are social creatures and we get the happy chemicals from being accepted" aspect. If you can't find an answer to that, I would ask you why you're writing that story. If you're writing the story as a way to get famous or be known/have a community online, I would tell you to stop writing and get outside. If you're writing it as a way to express yourself, and wanting the engagement isn't the priority, keep going. If you want the engagement as a way to stay motivated, maybe find a writing buddy or someone else who can hold you accountable, but keep going. If there's a secret fourth option, I would tell you to keep going. The Internet is a big place. There might be a giant community that springs up around this long after you're finished with it. You'll never know.
Wow, "engagement" doesn't look like a real word if you write it enough times.
TL;DR: please don't make it about the stats. You won't be happy if it's just about the stats.
