Fear of backlash?

@hades
As said in another reply, this is a normal reaction that we all go through, and sadly the fact that people who have enjoyed the work don't bother doing the small act of pressing a like button only makes matters worse.

I think something far worse than backlash is turning people away and sadly I know that some elements of my story lines has done just that, leaving me with the dilemma of should I change things just to be excepted? After thinking it over I decided to say No, my comic is Indie and proud! and indie comics can do what the hell they please, we are meant to show a different type of story and if it causes backlash well so be it. Not everything is trendy right away, sometimes it takes time to build a following.

so yes keep trucking on.

I understand this fear a lot, and I think I go through a lot of the same anxieties that @sorrelma mentioned up there. Telling a story can be really difficult, knowing that you're putting out something that you put a lot of time into, and the possibility of a bad response is inevitable in some ways. Anything from the obvious to the more subtle can cause an unfavorable reaction to different people regardless of whether we expected it or not because the human experience is so varied! Things that are alright with some may not be okay with others, and I think as creators this is just a risk we end up taking.

I say to really think about your story and if what you're doing is important to your intention and the story that you want to tell, then do it. Just do it. There will always be people who will be uncomfortable with certain things, and it sucks knowing that you might lose a few with the directions you take, but if telling the story you want to tell is the thing that is most imperative to you, then do your best with your intentions.

I think adding warnings in author comments or gating a page is a good way to warn people who are more sensitive to certain materials if you worry about that. I think it's good for you to think about these things! It means that the audience means something to you Best of luck, it's a discomfiting path to tread sometimes.

this is very true ! i think the best advice for avoiding backlash might just be to always be receptive to feedback from readers. "the customer is always right" well noo - not always - but it's definitely worth addressing any concerns readers have. it builds a lot of rapport with your fanbase to be someone who is willing to listen and make changes when someone brings up a valid point

Game of Thrones, both the book (A Song of Fire and Ice) and the television series are known for ripping their readers/viewers heart, then chewing it, and then proceeded by spitting it back out while they watched. Yet, no one ever said "I'm not going to read/watch this series ever again!" because YOUR real supporters are the ones that say they can't wait to come back for the next book/episode. Sometimes backlash can be your friend if done right.

The worst thing that can happen is 1 person not reading your story vs the 5 that actually enjoy it. I'd rather keep those 5 people happy. Just my 2 cents.

Like some here, I actually have a similar fear for one particular part of my comic, to the point where I've been flip-flopping on whether to try and avoid it or not, this coming from someone who's comic has had throat tearing and popping eyeballs. XD

However, that also means my comic has had some very messed up scenes already and I've never received any real backlash, even though the comic started out pretty tame. I can only trust people to turn away and stop reading if the comic becomes too uncomfortable for them.

You can say "there will be dark stuff in this comic" or "tthere will be violence/trigger fuel/ect" if you feel the need to be more specific, I don't think either of those type of warnings will really spoil the flow of the story. Then at least you can say you warned people.

I doubt any shift in the story's mood will make you lose tons of your regular readers, I wouldn't worry about it, but either way, sometimes you just have to go with your gut so you can tell the story you want to tell and not worry so much about people's feelings. Being considerate is all well and good, but worrying about that too much can also drive you crazy and lead to making edits you don't really want to make...then suddenly you've lost your original vision.

sorry but I did, in fact i got so pissed waiting for the last book to come out I sold my books. I must admit i have watched the tv show since i said that but im not half as interested in it as a was. My personal opinion is Martin love the shine of profit more and the love of fans and has sold out , but that's just me. (sorry to go off topic with this answer)

Attention? What's that?

I'm in the same boat, and yes my social anxiety kicks in when I feel there will be a backlash against my work. There have been some potent attacks on mainstream superhero comics of late as to how they portray their characters, where as I like to think I put a little saucy postcard titillation in my art, you never know who is going to be offended. I worry because I enjoy working with diverse cultures but I have no experience of them except through the media and I'm afraid I wont get something authentic and potentially upset someone, which would in turn upset me.

Oh gosh, I think everyone who creates anything has that sort of anxiety. (You do a good job at managing it though, the work you produce is lovely and well thought out.) I think everyone has some sort of anxiety over how others will see their creative work; writing, art, sculpture, food, anything!

Thing is, there's always that fear, especially when your story takes a different tone than perhaps your readership started out with.

Yet, I think that as long as the events occur over time, what someone said above fits perfectly - it's a natural progression of story flow. You may get some comments or folks who choose to put your comic aside because it doesn't quite follow their taste in reading - but you also will no doubt pick up other readers who enjoy depth and will give you lovely feedback and enjoy the issues/situations presented.

I would absolutely consider the disclaimer if you're concerned - it takes some of the stress off of you and puts the choice right in the hands of your readership.

Good luck!

I also have anxiety but when it comes to backlash, I am on the fence.

I want to in the future dive into darker themes with my comic like abuse and manipulation but I am a bit afraid that if I don't handle it right, people will think I am being tasteless.

However, I am also tempted to push the boundaries "too far" just to get a reaction out of people.

The approach I've always taken to this is, make stuff that you want to read. Don't try to make comics for a specific audience, or even worry about who that audience is. If you're making the stuff you really love, the right audience will flock to you. Of course that said, you do have to market your stuff via social media in order to find "your people" but the main thing to remember is, there's an audience for everything. So bottom line, make what you wanna make!

PS if you want to check out my comic, you can do so here: https://tapastic.com/series/The-Adventures-of-Toad1

I have severe anxiety as well actually and have a similar fear even took a comic down a while back because I convinced myself the art wasn't good enough and when people where commenting (the occasional mean human) it would just ruin me. Mine never had to do with the content turning darker(because I never got that far into it ) but with my ability itself, Took me almost a year again to work up the courage to make a new comic and post it.

There's a comic here called Patrik The Vampire that did something like that and i think it actually gained a whole lot more readership after becoming darker and more plot heavy. (it's also fantastic i 100% recommend)

Honestly, this problem has stopped projects in their tracks for me. Just thinking of all the constant criticism I could get.

I think a good thing to do, with any social anxiety problem, is look at how you perceive others. Like, you don't notice or care about things about other people that you get anxious they're judging you for. Nobody's gonna get angry about your anatomy slip up there, or shout about how terrible your plot is. In fact, from what I've seen here, there's very rarely backlash in general. When people don't like something, they just don't subscribe, or don't read.

But also, as someone dealing with this anxiety, I know understanding that doesn't always work. I'd honestly say, fuck all of them, you're making this comic for you and you're gonna enjoy it even if they don't - and some other people will, too. The best way to deal with anxiety for me is to just give zero fucks. It's hard - especially since deep down you really really really really care - but just try to convince yourself, see how it goes.

Well first of all, there will always be backlash on something, it's just something that you gotta deal with. Also a little advice me friend told me once, you really should' worry so much. Rebecca Black did a pretty crappy music video and it still got famous and popular.

As for your story, I don't know if it would cause backlash, but it sounds like a sudden shift that could take the audience by surprise, almost like it's a direct 360 in audience direction. I would say yes you should put some warning up and kinda ease the audience into that "darker" tone your trying to set later. Don't just spring it all of a sudden.

Good Luck.