Keep Writing

i saw this post and wondered to myself, "why all the down votes?" and, despite hating the reddit voting system in its entirety (imo, the number one source of conformity, dullness, and unnecessary-obsession in our online world; the whole thing really should be burned down with prejudice), i thought to myself, "the down votes are probably because this person seems to be more interested in building an audience than the art of writing."

but then! lo, i checked your profile and quickly realized that you're either a gamergate refugee with an inoperable 4chan-brain tumor, or you're a really bad troll (and i hate just dismissing people as "trolls" because it's too easy, but this is a special case); your sole work is a poorly supported anti-feminist critique of a female anime character posted in the feminism community (lol), with an opening line that is just oh so obvious bait: "As someone who believes in traditional gender roles and views women’s primary value in their appearance and domestic skills." which then goes on to just make blanket statements with no real conviction or supporting arguments. it's one thing to argue for traditional gender roles, it's another thing entirely to post stuff like: "Maomao, the protagonist, is portrayed as highly intelligent and skilled in medicine, a field traditionally dominated by men. This challenges the notion that women should focus on homemaking and child-rearing instead of pursuing intellectual or professional careers." like, OK, it does challenge the notion that women should focus on homemaking and child-rearing etc. but you fail to explain how this is a negative thing, which means either A) you're incapable of forming a coherent argument for your own beliefs, or B) you're trolling.

so, in conclusion: you are receiving so many down votes because you're either a troll or a bigot (or both).

It largely depends on what kind of niche audience you are attempting to reach. I've also faced this challenge (not in writing specifically, but I create mods for videogames and for DnD) and I guess there's no correct answer. Sometimes it's up to luck if people finds you at all.

I don't like compromising my artistic integrity for improved marketability. I'd rather remain unknown but happy with what I create, than making things I don't like. There is an argument to be made about finding a compromise, but I'm not that good at giving up my vision. Of course this doesn't mean that you shouldn't take feedback into account: accepting criticism is the number one step to get better, and I've always been grateful for other people's feedback on what I create. But I want feedback focused on improving what I want to do, not aimed at changing it to make it more preferable to others.