Why Audience Is Important
Audience gives a creator a purpose, a reason to keep producing. An audience is proof of what the artist created is meaningful to some degree. Yet for as long as this site has been around, there has been no audience, no proof, no feedback, no critique, no meaning. Where are my comrades? I don’t blame them, why care for something that doesn’t exist.
Why I Have No Audience
Viewership comes from exposure, but why would an artist expose something they deem as mediocre? My art, my stories, platform, are outcompeted by others attempting to achieve the same goal. Theres a reason I keep delaying to publish my stories, because they are subpar from the standard.
Every time I attempt to convert idea into pages, I’m always reminded on how inferior my artistic skills are compared to others. If I were the audience, the story presented to me would not be deserving of my time whatsoever, and be laughable at best. The Sleeping Mahu is the prime example, amateurish art and panelling, as if the artist didn’t try. I didn’t try.
Storytelling is my greater confidence, yet how does The Sleeping Mahu compare to other works? What is a Mahu? How do they control trees? These questions were never satisfyingly answered. There was no emotional hook, flat ending, no clear reason for the story existing. I failed on every metric. The story was created as a practice one-shot for a larger series I plan on creating, but if the one-shot is terrible, how great would the series be then? What use do I have for society if I have no skills?
In short, I have little motivation in continuing, because I have no audience. And I have no audience, because my works are undeserving for an audience.
Realistic Outcomes
Lets say I do publish works, the most important part of stage 1 is getting readers interested in an ongoing series. The question is however, why would they even care? Other platforms have thousands of titles to read, brand recognition, and know exactly what the reader will read and why. I have none of that.
But lets say I promote the platform and readers visit, what if my works aren’t good enough for them? If 1,000 readers come to this site when Street Race Extreme is published, how many will stay? How many will come back? Half? 50? 5? None? Whatever the number is, having atleast 1 individual coming back means my work has some value. It would still be demoralizing that 1 out of 1000 people care enough to stay, but one comrade is better than no comrade. A personal goal is seeing 100 readers becoming members before stage 2, but I understand this number is too optimistic.
Monetization is another whole concern. If no one is interesting in reading, then no one sees value. Therefore I have failed as an artist. But lets say there are a substantial number of readers who stay and continue to visit, how many of them would monetarily value the stories and platform? Only the reader can answer, but I’d like to see atleast 1 out of 10 readers join the subscription in the beginning. Be it 10, 5, or 1, any number of readers monetarily valuing whats on the platform proves whether my work is worthy of monetization. That my labor and theory has been correct, for this platform can infact stand on it’s own two legs to some degree.
It is just that, isn’t it, theory? These numbers are just theory. In reality this site is a ghost town. I can create a platform, but for who? If there’s no eyes to see my works, no people to inspire, what is the point? “Don’t worry about others, create stories for yourself, and others would naturally come”. If forced to question it, I cannot validate my own life, so how could a person like this solely validate their own works?
I don’t plan giving up on this movement, but it’s hard to continue on my own, with no one sharing experiences with me. I feel lonely, because I am lonely. It’s hard to not see a point anymore.
The ConcIusion I Should Make
The conclusion an artists will make at a roadblock is simple, climb over what’s blocking their path. If an artist falls, they get right back up. These thoughts I’m experiencing are nothing more than my will to sabotage myself at any given moment. I know this. But to act against it is another story. When I fall, I stay down and contemplate why I feel it near impossible to get back up. While sulking in the idea of others having the ability that I lack, the courage to move forward. But thinking like this only leads down the path of eternal suffering.
Which is exactly what the large platforms want from us, feeling apathetic and subservient, where the only answer to happiness is escapism. The movement can never come into being with this mindset, it will never lead us to prosperity. Prosperity comes from defeating failure and apathy, not embracing it. So the conclusion I should have for myself is not give in to the negative thoughts and slowly disappear into the void. Instead, keep moving forward and never give up, because you are worth more than what you’d like to believe.