I'd recommend you go at it alone for a while until you have something to show around to spark people's interest with. The fact that you made a ball-lightning attack shows that you're not nearly as un-skilled as most people who come here as newbies -- most of us were delighted to make cluster grenades when we got started, so you're quite ahead thus far.
Also, make sure you've planned a lot of what the mod will be like before recruiting. Vague objectives will work in new games like Doom3 and HL2 because the communities are just getting started and most people are novices, but they raise red flags in the minds of veterans. If you have a mod that will require a project team, spend some time planning it out in a word processor or what-not. A project that's 50-90% done is nice, but when that's not possible, some clear descriptions and concept art can help fill in the gap.
And finally, just because you're going at it alone, doesn't mean you're isolated. You can come here and ask for advice, directions, help, and ideas any time you please. We've dealt with some very obnoxious and arrogant newbies (like the dreaded Shadowwalker) and managed to keep our cool (relatively speaking ;P ), and you're far from obnoxious or arrogant in any way, from what I can tell. We're a real relaxed community and we try to not jump on each other or scream down each other's throats like other, more troll-infested communities. You should fit right in. So, feel free to ask any time you need help.
As for finishing 90% of a mod before asking for help, that depends on what kind of help you need. My mod, , is only about... 30-60% done, depending on how you look at it. I'm not yet willing to recruit mappers (some of the hardest people to enlist, because it's such a large time commitment required), modellers, graphics artists, or any other official helpers, but that doesn't stop me from asking for advise and submissions. I've asked people to point me toward some decent weapon models, monsters, smoke sprites, and other things I'm not able to satisfactorially produce myself. FrikaC has gotten lots of help with Prydon Gate by doing a large portion of the mod and only then showing it off, letting people drool over it until the compulsion to submit models and sounds becomes overwhelming.
The best places to chat about Quake outside of this forum:
forums.quakesrc.org (currently down?)
irc.gamesurge.net on port 6667, channels #qc #prydon and #djquake
too many late nights trying to mod Quake).
I also have my photo on the wall for being in the top five most absent people.
