How do you handle readers' expectations?

[joe_galindez]

I always have an ending in mind when I work, so getting derailed isn't a problem for me. But thanks to my readers I've had a throwaway character become much more important than I expected. Eirik was supposed to stay behind while the main cast rode off into the sunset, but audience reactions saw him become the main character's apprentice and the lancer's straight man.

[Croik]

My partner and I have a lot of chapters written in advance, so even though we leave some wiggle room, satisfying the readers' demands in terms of plot would be tricky. Thankfully our subscribers seem to be along for the ride so far :). I think the only major changes I would ever want to make for a work based on reader feedback is if something in the story just didn't make sense, or if (gasp of horror) someone discovered a continuity error I missed.

Which HAS happened already but it was just a bad date and easily fixed! Phew!

Other than that, I always say have faith in your story and stick to your guns.

[shazzbaa]

Maybe make a one off art page of them making out for Christmas or something?

But, if you really want to cater that wish, you can make that scene into an omake (blooper thing) of some sort, or even make another branching story where they make out and change everything.

oh p.s. also -- I would think REALLY CAREFULLY before doing this kind of thing if it's an option you're considering. Stuff happening outside of the comic still influences the way you see the characters, and can absolutely emotionally resolve an element out-of-comic or change expectations within the story proper -- heck, look how much fanwork can influence perception of popular characters and create weird "fanon" versions, and then consider how much more of an impact it has coming from the creator.

That doesn't mean "don't do it," since if you just want people to be able to have fun with the characters it might make sense for you, and a lot of creators enjoy doing this sort of thing! And I don't wanna cast aspersions on the suggestions, since it's absolutely an option. Just make sure you're thinking about the effect it'll have on perception of the characters, and make sure that that's something you're okay with!!

[jurinova]

My story moves very slowly, especially the romantic elements of it, so I do stress a bit about readers expectations. However the story is mine, so I don't want to change major elements because of what readers expect. I do think that in the end I wouldn't be happy with myself if I took the story down a different path because of what other people want. I do also think that readers may think they want things to go fast but end up enjoying the build up more than they thought.

At least I hope my readers enjoy the build up, because it's gonna be a really slow one, heh.

[keii4ii]

This was the bane of my existence for a long while. Though my case might be a little different? It wasn't people wanting something to happen in the near future; it was people misinterpreting the content so far. Drove me NUTS. It didn't make me want to deviate from my plan to cater to their expectations, but it did make me feel I was doing a terrible job as a creator. Like I was trying to draw a horse, but it was so badly drawn that everyone thought it was a cat. Except it was a writing issue, not a drawing one.

[DiegoPalacios]

you want to draw a slow-burn love story with the leads overcoming their respective emotional trauma before being able to confess to each other, but your readers start clamoring for makeouts the moment they have a quiet moment together.

That`s a good sign. Apparently you wrote them well in a way people can relate and project themselves into it. Make them wait for it as long as necessary, no more, no less.(overextending a plot is as bad as rushing it)

[Rhombik]

I think if you have a water-tight plot, the ending seems inevitable so even if you thwart the readers' expectations, they understand why.

And by inevitable, I don't mean predictable. I mean that all the different parts of the stories are moving to one point, whether the reader realises it or not.

But you can never please everybody.

[KoreanTacos]

I go by this quote:

"Promise nothing and deliver less"
-Matt Mc Muscles

Can't please everyone and I honestly don't want to.

[joannekwan]

Do what YOU want. If readers want to see two characters making out immediately, draw it and offer it as a Patreon exclusive.

[J.Z.Castillo]

If readers want to see two characters making out immediately, draw it and offer it as a Patreon exclusive.

Mad genius lmao!!

But yes, it is YOUR story, write it however you want

[Luminosophy]

If readers actually end up dropping your series because protag A and B didn't fall into an orgasmic frenzy at the sight of each other, I'd say they're not your real readers.

[sandpaperdaisy]

Yeah exactly...and if you change stuff to try and suit them, you aren't going to be the person they initially started reading anyway. In that sense you'd make yourself miserable and also possibly lose the people who subscribed to you in the first place.

(More of that "what they think they want" vs. "what they actually want" from above)

[YangKoete]

I lower them to absolute minimal so that they're there with me and then we all suddenly get great expectations.

Then I have fun soaking up all the joy we all make.

[UbePie]

However you need or want to tell the story, that is how you tell it.
I have tons of stuff that seems confusing and half informations and no ones made out yet, but the story is a slow burn kinda mystery. So i want people to only have a little info and the time for making out will come later. Realtionships don't just happend they develop. Thats good story telling, i like slow burn personally.

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

You can listen to your readers but you're allowed to decide what's best for your story.

My story isn't a romance, so it might be different but from my experience the story you write will lead you to different audiences. This is what happened for my comic, but I think it might help you.
Basically, my story started dark and continued to get darker and at some point I started wondering if it was too depressing. Cause you know, self doubt kills. So I decided to ask my readers if they preferred a "disastrous" or "less disastrous" ending. About 70-80% of the votes were for disastrous which was the opposite of what I thought my readers would want.
Point is, you can't please everyone but some one will love what you're doing XD

[indagold]

I had readers for one of my comics who I knew were only commenting when their °˖✧husbando✧˖° appeared.
I killed him off. Why? It was in the story of course! And of course they stopped commenting when he wasn't referenced. I even had it end with the main character telling the persona of him she's never going to love him because stalking, acting creepy and forcing someone to love you isn't romance.

I'm sure these people wanted a twilight romance and it didn't happen because I care more about focusing on my work than I do pleasing fans and writing schlock.

[nelmathyria]

First and foremost, I'm drawing my comic for myself, so even though I hate disappointing people, my story is too important to me for me to change it based on what other people want. The only reason where I can think changing your story based on reader's reactions would be right is if the response to something is overwhelming negative, like the story takes a turn the readers weren't expecting and the majority seem to feel it wasn't a good move (and it isn't something that's going to be cleared up later). But even so, if you decide to change something like this, you'll want to run it by trusted friends/family first!

But thanks to my readers I've had a throwaway character become much more important than I expected. Eirik was supposed to stay behind while the main cast rode off into the sunset, but audience reactions saw him become the main character's apprentice and the lancer's straight man.

I like this! I think as long as it doesn't derail the story you have planned, giving a popular side character a bigger role than you intended can be a good change. And I'm sure it feels good to know your readers loved a character more than you were expecting them to!

It is worth noting that if someone gives you a suggestion and you end up using it in your comic, you could possibly run into legal problems for taking their idea. There's probably a very small chance of this happening, but it's a good thing to keep in mind just in case! (authors sometimes have policies about not reading fanfic of their work for this very reason) (and of course this doesn't apply to friends who are helping you brainstorm for your story or anything like that)

Anyway, I think the main thing to keep in mind is that no matter how good your comic is, not everyone is going to like it and that's okay. It's disheartening when someone expresses that they don't like something, but just remember the people who do like it! And if you changed things then maybe they'd be upset. Just tell the story you want to tell, if you're passionate about it then others probably will be too.

[colonel_ressentiment]

Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences! I especially hadn't considered the thought that sometimes comments are just that - expressions of excitement and engagement with the story, not necessarily expectations or demands. (Not sure how that escaped me - I'm normally pretty good at not taking it seriously when people go "OMG DYING", lol) So that in itself does make me feel better. I'll also take to heart the rest of the advice to do what feels right to me for the story :o

[scythe]

Imo, if you foreshadow well, drop hints and establish which kind of story yours will be early enough, then readers have no right to complain when things aren't going exactly how they'd like it.

In general, readers are fickle, and the old saying always holds true, try to please everyone and you end up pleasing no one.

Better to aim to please just yourself, and take as many of your readers who agree with you along for the ride.

[colonel_ressentiment]

But, if you really want to cater that wish, you can make that scene into an omake (blooper thing) of some sort, or even make another branching story where they make out and change everything.

Maybe make a one off art page of them making out for Christmas or something?

oh p.s. also -- I would think REALLY CAREFULLY before doing this kind of thing if it's an option you're considering. Stuff happening outside of the comic still influences the way you see the characters, and can absolutely emotionally resolve an element out-of-comic or change expectations within the story proper -- heck, look how much fanwork can influence perception of popular characters and create weird "fanon" versions, and then consider how much more of an impact it has coming from the creator

This is actually something I was considering as a "well, what if I need to take an update off, maybe I can have a guest post draw the kiss that people wanted" solution, so I'm glad you guys addressed it and raised concerns that I honestly hadn't considered! It makes sense now why omakes should usually be less related to the plot, or at least only deal with topics the plot has already covered.