I feel like giving up on my novel

[Kara_dija]

I've been very excited to finish my novel and its done except for like the last chapter. And while I've had no delusional expectations of being famous overnight, I was hoping to get at least some sort of feedback/interactions when I started publishing.
Now it's just overwhelming, and making me feel like I'm throwing my hard work in a void. I'm not even good at marketing it on insta or any other platform. Should I just delete everything?
Edit: I no longer feel that way. But I'm keeping the thread so if any other writer ever falls in the same place (hopefully not). They have this thread to help them just as it did to me ?

 

[OokamiOkuri]

The readers on this site are silent. Try posting your novel in other writing platforms and compare the results.

 

[LiteraryWho]

The readers on this site are silent. Try posting your novel in other writing platforms and compare the results.

This, and also: https://forum.scribblehub.com/threa...-a-good-blurb-lessons-with-dr-shoemilk.23397/

 

[Tyranomaster]

From my analysis, webnovels take a minimum of about 70 chapters before they acrue beyond double digits of readers, unless the author already has a following.

It takes months to build momentum and get any feedback. If you are already discouraged, you might be too feedback dependent to make it as a webnovel author.

 

[Kara_dija]

The readers on this site are silent. Try posting your novel in other writing platforms and compare the results.

I posted on wattpad. At leats I'm getting views on this one, wattpad has like 1-2 views per chapter and spam comments

 

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

Well the sort-of-good-news is that you only have ten views on your first page, would seem to indicate its not that everyone's dropping your novel because its bad, rather they aren't picking it up at all. Couple of things you might perhaps tweak:

- I personally wouldn't click on the cover art, it's not especially exciting and sort of feels like a 1990s photoshop. Maybe try something else?
- Your synopsis is a sort of abstract poem, this might work for a pro, but you'd be better just offering a couple of bulletpoints that convey what your story is about and why people should give it a chance.
- The first chapter opens with a lullaby urging a baby to 'seep well tonight', you should probably see to that typo.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

I've never understood this mindset. Why is it either deletion or getting feedback? I got feedback before so I probably can't relate to you fully, but I just can't comprehend why people swing between two extremes. I perfectly understand that getting a silent treatment and zero views hurts as hell, but it won't unhurt just because you delete it.

 

[Kara_dija]

I've never understood this mindset. Why is it either deletion or getting feedback? I got feedback before so I probably can't relate to you fully, but I just can't comprehend why people swing between two extremes. I perfectly understand that getting a silent treatment and zero views hurts as hell, but it won't unhurt just because you delete it.

I was thinking of deleting even before posting it ngl. ? My friends urged me to start posting because according to them its good and I'm not seeing it because of my impostor syndrome.
But when I didn't get views, I thought they just said it because they're my friends and it's futile to put my energy into something that's not wielding me any results.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

I was thinking of deleting even before posting it ngl. ? My friends urged me to start posting because according to them its good and I'm not seeing it because of my impostor syndrome.
But when I didn't get views, I thought they just said it because they're my friends and it's futile to put my energy into something that's not wielding me any results.

Oooh, now I understand why you wanted to delete it.

Well, you gotta understand one thing; views, readers, comments, all of it has nothing to do with quality. I'm not trying to say you are wrong for desiring interaction, what I'm saying here is that those things come to you if you do work other than actual writing. Contrary to popular belief, it's not marketing. The thing that brings views, readers, comments, in other words interaction is studying the market, and adjusting to the said market.

As for quality itself, it is secondary. You might write the best sci-fi detective, you might win nebula award with it, but as soon as you post it here, on SH, it will flop. The reason for that is simple. Readers here don't really like sci-fi that much, readers don't really care about detective, but most importantly readers want long stories here.

You can't just start selling steaks in the middle of vegan neighborhood and expect to drown in money. Even without any outrage or scandal, you simply won't profit, vegans don't eat steaks. You might get SOME profit, but that is completely letting go the reigns to your destiny and relying on chance.

Same thing with writing. It is very unfortunate, but there isn't really a lot of places that would promote AND have readerbase for shorter kind of stories, or in general stories that aren't web\light novels. At least I'm not aware of those sites. @Paul_Tromba Did an extensive list of various writing sites, it gets updates at times, so maybe you can find something there.

Long story short, views do not correlate with quality.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Oooh, now I understand why you wanted to delete it.

Well, you gotta understand one thing; views, readers, comments, all of it has nothing to do with quality. I'm not trying to say you are wrong for desiring interaction, what I'm saying here is that those things come to you if you do work other than actual writing. Contrary to popular belief, it's not marketing. The thing that brings views, readers, comments, in other words interaction is studying the market, and adjusting to the said market.

As for quality itself, it is secondary. You might write the best sci-fi detective, you might win nebula award with it, but as soon as you post it here, on SH, it will flop. The reason for that is simple. Readers here don't really like sci-fi that much, readers don't really care about detective, but most importantly readers want long stories here.

You can't just start selling steaks in the middle of vegan neighborhood and expect to drown in money. Even without any outrage or scandal, you simply won't profit, vegans don't eat steaks. You might get SOME profit, but that is completely letting go the reigns to your destiny and relying on chance.

Same thing with writing. It is very unfortunate, but there isn't really a lot of places that would promote AND have readerbase for shorter kind of stories, or in general stories that aren't web\light novels. At least I'm not aware of those sites. @Paul_Tromba Did an extensive list of various writing sites, it gets updates at times, so maybe you can find something there.

Long story short, views do not correlate with quality.

Here is the previously mentioned thread.

Pros, cons, & audiences of every writing/webnovel site[a continual discussion]

I want to produce a helpful comprehensive list of all the writing/webnovel/publishing sites and what each provide so I come asking for your knowledge. What are some of the pros, cons, audiences, popular genres, unpopular genres, communities, and scandals or unethical business practices that each...

forum.scribblehub.com

 

[Kara_dija]

Oooh, now I understand why you wanted to delete it.

Well, you gotta understand one thing; views, readers, comments, all of it has nothing to do with quality. I'm not trying to say you are wrong for desiring interaction, what I'm saying here is that those things come to you if you do work other than actual writing. Contrary to popular belief, it's not marketing. The thing that brings views, readers, comments, in other words interaction is studying the market, and adjusting to the said market.

As for quality itself, it is secondary. You might write the best sci-fi detective, you might win nebula award with it, but as soon as you post it here, on SH, it will flop. The reason for that is simple. Readers here don't really like sci-fi that much, readers don't really care about detective, but most importantly readers want long stories here.

You can't just start selling steaks in the middle of vegan neighborhood and expect to drown in money. Even without any outrage or scandal, you simply won't profit, vegans don't eat steaks. You might get SOME profit, but that is completely letting go the reigns to your destiny and relying on chance.

Same thing with writing. It is very unfortunate, but there isn't really a lot of places that would promote AND have readerbase for shorter kind of stories, or in general stories that aren't web\light novels. At least I'm not aware of those sites. @Paul_Tromba Did an extensive list of various writing sites, it gets updates at times, so maybe you can find something there.

Long story short, views do not correlate with quality.

Thank you. I know that you're right. But sometimes I just feel like, I have no objective notion of whether my book is good or not. And I cant improve it if idk what's wrong, right?
I'll try to stick to a proper schedule and stop hoping to get views. If it hits, it hits. If it doesn't, well it just doesn't. ??‍

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I've been very excited to finish my novel and its done except for like the last chapter. And while I've had no delusional expectations of being famous overnight, I was hoping to get at least some sort of feedback/interactions when I started publishing.
Now it's just overwhelming, and making me feel like I'm throwing my hard work in a void. I'm not even good at marketing it on insta or any other platform. Should I just delete everything?

Are you writing to make money, or just writing because you feel the story needs to get out, or writing for something to do, or writing for validation?

• If writing to make money, you NEED to start doing the promotion everywhere - I would suggest starting on SubStack.
• If writing because the story needs to be told, then finish it and post it and to Hell with the world and its lack of comments.
• If writing because you just need something to do, step away for a few days. Engage people, discuss THEIR books and ask them to look at yours. See what happens. If you still feel like you wasted your time, then you are probably right. If you don't, finish it and move on to the next project.
• If writing for validation - you're in the wrong place. Find other free sites and try again.

 

[Kara_dija]

Are you writing to make money, or just writing because you feel the story needs to get out, or writing for something to do, or writing for validation?

• If writing to make money, you NEED to start doing the promotion everywhere - I would suggest starting on SubStack.
• If writing because the story needs to be told, then finish it and post it and to Hell with the world and its lack of comments.
• If writing because you just need something to do, step away for a few days. Engage people, discuss THEIR books and ask them to look at yours. See what happens. If you still feel like you wasted your time, then you are probably right. If you don't, finish it and move on to the next project.
• If writing for validation - you're in the wrong place. Find other free sites and try again.

This made me laugh (sorry) because yer right. I'm writing it because this story needs to get out. I wanted to give people a story that's different. Smth that doesn't undermine the need for romance but doesn't make romance the purpose of their life. So yer right, to hell with comments.
I was hoping if it does get any interaction, I might make money but lol that thought is out of the window (not because of disappointment) I need to first make my base and mindset strong enough. :D

 

[CharlesEBrown]

This made me laugh (sorry) because yer right. I'm writing it because this story needs to get out. I wanted to give people a story that's different. Smth that doesn't undermine the need for romance but doesn't make romance the purpose of their life. So yer right, to hell with comments.
I was hoping if it does get any interaction, I might make money but lol that thought is out of the window (not because of disappointment) I need to first make my base and mindset strong enough. :D

Hey, my two that got the least interaction are both up on PocketFM and "ready" for contracts (which means getting paid in more than just site coins)... Granted, one of them got very little because it's NEW here but still...

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Thank you. I know that you're right. But sometimes I just feel like, I have no objective notion of whether my book is good or not. And I cant improve it if idk what's wrong, right?
I'll try to stick to a proper schedule and stop hoping to get views. If it hits, it hits. If it doesn't, well it just doesn't. ??‍

I think obstinately trying to revive the corpse, pardon me for this depressing analogy, isn't healthy. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with deleting stories that didn't hit it big. You should keep in mind that you are solo. You don't have a publisher behind you. A publisher with a team that will do all the work outside of writing, the work that the novel needs to get popular. You do it alone, and you have to be more flexible. Two of the very big authors here on SH @Corty and @RepresentingEnvy did it multiple times. They deleted works that flopped.

You have to understand that deleting or axing your work does not equate to destroying this work for the rest of your life. You can come back to this story or an idea once you satisfied your craving for interactions with a new novel.

 

[Kara_dija]

Hey, my two that got the least interaction are both up on PocketFM and "ready" for contracts (which means getting paid in more than just site coins)... Granted, one of them got very little because it's NEW here but still...

Woah so happy for you ?

I think obstinately trying to revive the corpse, pardon me for this depressing analogy, isn't healthy. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with deleting stories that didn't hit it big. You should keep in mind that you are solo. You don't have a publisher behind you. A publisher with a team that will do all the work outside of writing, the work that the novel needs to get popular. You do it alone, and you have to be more flexible. Two of the very big authors here on SH @Corty and @RepresentingEnvy did it multiple times. They deleted works that flopped.

You have to understand that deleting or axing your work does not equate to destroying this work for the rest of your life. You can come back to this story or an idea once you satisfied your craving for interactions with a new novel.

No. I think I do wanna post it still. I'd have deleted if it was any other story without even posting about it. I'm doing all this (attention seeking for some it might be) because I genuinely wanna post this story. It's close to my heart and if I'm being completely honest, it's half decent and readable. I should keep my original goal in mind. To complete and post it. Y'all gave me motivation ?

 

[Tyranomaster]

Sailus and Charles already stated it in a way, but being a successful author with readers actually has little to do with your story. It's about business and marketing. Almost every new author envisions it has to do with your story itself. It doesn't. Bad stories have readers and feedback. Gotta play the game properly to get readers.

 

[beast_regards]

If you post your novel on the site like this, or its competition, and don't receive the feedback you expected or worse, don't receive any feedback at all, the most likely answer is that it is (or was) nearly invisible. No one found it, no one knew it existed, and thus nobody reacted to it.

Visibility, or discoverability (i.e. potential to be discovered by readers), is usually the biggest hurdle, not quality.

Claims that "good" stories would be read are simply wrong. If nobody shows to read your story, how could anyone judge its quality? Does your story even exist if no one shows to read it?

There are only three ways for others to discover your story on this site, and all of them are low probability.

First, your story appears on the latest series list. At the very best, if you are very lucky, it would stay here 24 hours until the list refreshes, but realistically, it is overshadowed by the other novels simply because there are only 10 spots and a lot of authors. At least, more than 10 trying their luck each every day, so chance you would be seen there is very, very low.

Second, your story would appear in latest updates when the new chapter is posted. It will stay there for a few minutes, and only because this is tiny site, and if nobody looks at the webpage in those precious few minutes (or seconds, or other sites) your opportunity window is gone once again.

Third, someone finds your story by search. This is, statistically, low probability too, as no one knows your story exists, no one searches for it specifically. If someone searches the by tags, there are often dozens of stories above in the list. For example, the most popular tag for your story, relatively speaking, is "poison" and there are 54 more stories above you in that category. Who browses 5 pages worth of content on some obsure tag? Very few people. If you go by the more popular tag, like romance, there are most likely hundreds of stories above yours, because there is a lot of stories and they were here first.

There is no real way around this ...

Only chance is patience.

There is a reason the web novels have dozens, if not hundreds, of chapters, as they need to be noticed by the method which relies on pure chance: More chapters equals higher chance to be spotted.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

No. I think I do wanna post it still. I'd have deleted if it was any other story without even posting about it. I'm doing all this (attention seeking for some it might be) because I genuinely wanna post this story. It's close to my heart and if I'm being completely honest, it's half decent and readable. I should keep my original goal in mind. To complete and post it. Y'all gave me motivation ?

I just want you to understand, that lying to yourself will eventually burn you out. If you want readers or interactions, you have to be honest with yourself. The reason why I harp on this so much is because I've seen lotsa authors here who were NOT honest. They were not honest to themselves. All those authors dropped writing. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of seeing it.

On the other hand, if this reply is 100% honest, I'm happy for you and your newfound motivation. Don't lose sight of your goal.

 

[Tsuru]

I've been very excited to finish my novel and its done except for like the last chapter. And while I've had no delusional expectations of being famous overnight, I was hoping to get at least some sort of feedback/interactions when I started publishing.
Now it's just overwhelming, and making me feel like I'm throwing my hard work in a void. I'm not even good at marketing it on insta or any other platform. Should I just delete everything?

(Preface Note : What i say next can seems brutal but know that im just rationally giving the cold truth in a very honest but brutal way, which can be misunderstood as evil (it is not). Just think me of an AI giving a lesson if it can make you&others feel better. Nor have i bad feelings others unless its others attacking me first. tldr : i sucks at teaching/explaining)


SH should seriously consider adding a front page notice : Readers mostly zergrush when a series accumulate 50+ chaps. (so dont give up + some themes are more liked than others)
Because it is both coincidentally identical in west and east reader communities decide to try a series. (and why there is paywall start at this range of ch)



Thing is.
50+chaps is like a big waving flag, telling everyone(readers) : "I am a big series ! Come in ! I am NOT a random shop that will close down the next day ! I will be opened for a long long time with lot of fun !"
Because not sure if you know it, but for veteran readers, the number of epic masterpieces that could blow the competition easily, BUT BECAME AXED/DROPPED
are dimes in the dozens.

Reasons are often unknown but nonetheless it doesnt change the fact, that PEOPLE ARE TIRED TO READ A SERIES ONLY TO BE ABANDONNED the next day or author MIA somewhere.
(Hyperbole) Its like the famous trope of "immortal x mortal", the immortal bc of often having heart broken of seeing loved ones die bc they are mortal, choose to no longer have relations.
Same thing happens with readers (which btw are often veteran readers).
They are tired to try a series, only to return to it and see it didnt have updates for months / axed.


Not publicity but look at :

Fate as a Servant

Is it not enough being reborn in the Nasuverse? Is it not enough being a servant? I can deal with all this, but why do I have to be Aqua?! She shouldn't even be from this verse so why?!?! Mc won't be as stupid as Aqua just in case. There...

www.scribblehub.com

There is smut, yuri, popular IPs, interesting protag (cooler and smarter AQUA), funny comedy, interesting new ideas, more smut ! etc
THIS #### is a banger, it got all the elements to be VERY POPULAR and frontpage of SH and occupy it for month like some does.
but right at 40+, BAM. Author totally disappeared. And it wouldnt be a stretch that maybe she really died (corona virus period).

This, is just 1 among dozens if not hundreds of VERY HIGH QUALITY series (KR/CN/JP), people are tired to read, love, and heartbroken its dropped.
Not just WN but mangas and ton of other stuffs too. People are TIRED of disappointment.



PS: Negative example : There is this user that recently spammed threads "Trade reviews" (sorry for using you as an example if you see this USER)
Guess what. This user had like A BUNCH OF SERIES axed at chap5~11 and think that having more reviews > bring more readers.
AND know that low chap number = low reviews numbers.
But ironically doesnt understand that axing the series early on, is basically what is causing to NOT get reviews. (and now i think about it, maybe even have a negative notoriety to axe nonstop, who knows *shrug*)
Its like killing a newborn or destroying an invention because of low sales in just 3days.
Its dumb.
You too OP are like that. (or basically unknowledgeable about this)
But dont worry, everyone, me included is dumb. The thing is to learn from mistakes and become smarter&stronger.


PPS : Look at new series. SH or whatever.
You will see like A HUNDRED NEW SERIES APPEARING EVERYDAY.
But look at how many continue to write after a month ? Not a lot.
So yes, its kinda ironic that readers have a prejudice against writers, and writers reinforce this prejudice unknowingly. Spiral of death loop.


--------------------
Also im sure others will tell you. But your theme is VERY niche and unpopular.
Also its shoujo/josei-like > for female reader. So yes, low viewer count as SH is mostly for male hormonal males that want to.....see smut.
And yuri-genderbender-futa-etc..............with smut.