beep

[CountVanBadger]

bop boop

 

[JayMark]

Still doing better than anything I write.

 

[Jerynboe]

Well from a tactical perspective you’re probably right to finish the first book, maybe even make some edits to put a bow on it for the sake of your few readers. So no cliffhangers or aggressively unfinished arcs.

I won’t bore you with the standard “you shouldn’t bank too hard on this being a side hustle any time soon” answer because I’m pretty sure you know that. I’m making about 30$ a month and I feel very proud of that but it is so little money that it barely registers in my budget, and that’s for a story that’s been ongoing for… I think about three years now? It’s even an isekai with a harem and a system, the whole nine yards.

Don’t abandon the story. Finish it, at least to the degree that you can, and then make something else that you like. Continuously improve, keep your patreon open, and remember to enjoy yourself. Turning your hobby into a job can suck the joy out of it, and if you do so when you’re not even making meaningful money yet that’s just self sabotage.

 

[Anonjohn20]

I was really hoping to be able to turn this into a side hustle for some extra income

it'll strike it big?

Imma just point out that most stories don't. If you wanted a side hustle that earns income, then try landscaping, tutoring, photography, cleaning, babysitting, selling crafts on Etsy, etc.

 

[Hans.Edward.Trondheim]

I like XNPC and enjoyed working on it, and I don't want all that work to go to waste, but I also don't want to waste my time writing the second book of a series nobody's reading. I was really hoping to be able to turn this into a side hustle for some extra income

Story of my author life.

Like I said, I don't want to just abandon it. I'm at least going to finish uploading the first book.

Yes, do this, at least take the elegant exit.

But if the series as a whole isn't going anywhere, then my time would be better spent working on something else, right? Or is there still a chance that people will notice it and it'll strike it big?

I'll be honest. While not all of us will have the same way/path, the sad part is that, hard work will never replace talent. I know, because I've been there. Unlike you, it took me an entire story, five arcs, and hundreds of chapters before realizing the ugly truth. And in the end, I had to swallow the bitter pill that I have to turn my energies elsewhere because nothing is happening to my written works.

Cut your losses now, before you get deep in delusions. Passion will never pay our bills, nor help us with our debts.