Co-author of Parlor Tricks45 here.
I'm of course super grateful for all the subs we've gotten, and the nice comments and encouragement, but between our launch of the comic a month ago and now we've lost a generous helping of subscribers (it is rising slowly, though), and we can't help but be a little discouraged. : ( Is this normal for a new series? A little encouragement might help us get our mojo back. -c
May '17
Jan '19
For me at least it's very normal. I still typically have net gain, but it happens quite often. I know it can be discouraging, but I think it's something all creators go through, keep going with your work!
Yup. People's interests change and not everything they originally followed does it for them anymore. I've followed new series before and as it progressed decided it was not something I was invested in and unsubbed. It's hard to not take it personally sometimes, but a fluctuation of subscribers is normal.
Completely normal, I probably lose 20-40 each day..? Kinda hurt when I first noticed it, but then you realize that you'd rather they unsub than stay around as expected readers that don't actually read.
Absolutely normal. The more subscribers you get, the more you will lose too. Don't worry! : D
Edit: Also, after being featured by the staff either on mobile or on phone you will see a huge drop for quite a while. Also normal, you will just have to work through it until it balances itself out again.
yeah, thats pretty normal. your comic just wasnt what some people expected (parol tricks is far out) and as you start updating regularly, people are reminded abt your comic regularly and if theyre not actually into it, thats when theyll unsubscribe.
you definitely shouldnt feel bad abt your subscriber count, youre doing great!
Completely normal and expected.
Look at it like this. Would you rather a small but engaged readership, or a large but unengaged one? While I'm always sad to see readers go, I'd rather know that whoever hangs around is actually interested in the work I'm putting out.
Another thing that some people do (and this is pretty common on any SNS platform) is people will like your comic hoping you'll see their comic and like it back. If you don't return the favor, they might dump your comic.
I sometimes follow a comic I know I don't have time for thinking I will give it a shot another time, and then maybe unfollow it when it turned out to be something other than what I was hoping for. If I was in the mood for a yuri comic and the comic started out that way and then ended up a BL comic, I might be confused and unsub it. Or sometimes I follow a comic, forget why I followed it, and then unfollow it half a year later... sometimes I just get sub happy XD I'm sure other people do something like that. Can't please everyone! Don't worry about it.
for some reason I have been losing a lot of subscribers lately. I wish they would tell me why they unsubbed.
I think this is how many people may lose their subs actually because a lot of the time, a comic is more than just one single thing, and people who went in and wanted only that thing will be disappointed eventually.
This is probably how I lose most of mine, since mine is story heavy, AND some chapters heavily focused on erotica. So some people get into it for story and then get really pissed when a chapter of erotica rolls around. They're like "FUCK THIS SMUT I'M OUT"
Or someone gets into it to see boys kissing and getting hot, and then we get a chapter full of traumatic pasts or, god forbid, a lesbian couple discussing their life issues. Then THEY'RE like "FUCK THIS SHIT I'M OUT"
It used to offend me when I was still new to it occurring, but now I just find it funny. I create what I like and people should just come and go as they please. People who genuinely enjoy what you make are the ones that are ACTUALLY fun to keep around.
Never change what you do to satisfy someone else (unless someone points out something ethically problematic you're doing and you recognize that it's an issue), and don't get too offended by others going about their own way freely just as you go about yours. Even if their way is away from you.
I see that you update your comic regularily and answer a lot to subscribers so those aren't possible reasons... Try asking in the author's note of your next update instead of as a comment in the comments section. They're more likely to see it there!
When it comes to sexual subjects, it can be really tricky. I actually have a warning on my comic saying "there's some violence, there are religious issues, there's nudity, and homosexuality, etc happens in this comic." I don't think these are really things that need warnings, necessarily (and I've had people give me shit over including homosexuality in the warnings list), but I do it so that people who are homophobic or religiously closed-minded, prudes, etc etc will stay the heck away from my comic. It's not for them, obviously, and I'd rather they know that before they get started.
I also have the opposite problem, where I have nudity in the first chapter (not even sexual nudity, really) and I know some people will start reading my comic, realize it's not porn, and then unsub it. And that's okay! I'd rather they unsub then write comments saying "needs more tits". It happens, and it's nothing to get upset about, so I hope the OP doesn't get their feelings too hurt over it.
and thank you @ everyone else too! we've just been worried about this because eventually we're hoping to maybe turn comic creation into a career? (or at least worthy of some pizza money)
it's hard to remember that these things take time
-g
When I started out with Night Twink14, I was pulling it down some mushy romantic road like some of those BL comics and people seemed to be enjoying it. Then I savagely tore the relationship apart hahahaha. I lost some subs then heh. But aye it's going to happen. I think it's more odd when you have a large body of work behind you and people know more of what you're about that they'd later unsub, but maybe people just get tired of the same old format?
Actually people keep mistaking my comic as BL, and when they realized it's not they tend to unsubscribe XD So it's not a weird thing for me.
I don't think I've hit that threshold with The Beard1 yet. As far as I can tell, I still have all 30 original subscribers. I do dream of the day I have a big enough following to alienate 30 readers in a single update, but I'm pretty up front about how bizarre and irreverent the story is and, never having been featured in any capacity, I guess those that find it have been tending to stick with it, thankfully (small readership, but an awesome readership so far).
