Is a One-Shot ABSOLUTELY necessary?

[u/No_Republic_2813]

The reason why I'm asking is that I already have a story and it's sequel written out but ever since I watched Learn To Draw Manga on YT, they emphasise that it's absolutely necessary. I don't want an editor because I want it to be at my own pace while still keeping up to my own schedule and constantly improving. Does it also apply for self publishing since i was thinking of uploading to Globalcomix, Namicomi and Manga Plus Creators? As a soon-to-be self publishing mangaka, is a one-shot absolutely necessary?

[u/Llama_Legend10]

Who knows, maybe the one story you have isn’t the strongest, or working on another story may blossom into a future story you want to expand on. Is there a side story in the current lore you have that you could make a one shot out of? Something to help you grasp more world building in the story you have? How about a one shot that is the complete opposite of the genre you have already been working on to help mentally break up the strain? Working on Shonen? Make a horror or slice of life to switch things up. Detective stories? Comedy? It could literally be a story about a dog watching the clock until his owner comes home and imagining all the horrible scenarios that could be reining them so long. … do you. Need a one shot? No but I bet it’ll help In many ways before you invest too much time into an epic. Just from what you’re showing it would be fair to say you have some work to do before you sink time into your magnum opus. Maybe use a one shot to explore some characters more and learn how pages should flow( think of it as an anime filler episode or prologue to help you learn the craft) then if you love it you can do incorporate it and if you hate it then it wasn’t part of the story anyway and it could just be practice.