Thanks again for the responses!

[keii4ii]

I'd prefer that people followed my comic because they wanted to, not because I'd commented on theirs. The same goes for other kinds of support.

This, exactly. In fact, it stresses me out a lot when I sense someone is simply being supportive "in return" without being genuinely interested in my work. I'd rather they just not read something they don't enjoy reading? If anything, it would hurt me a lot if I found out someone who I thought was a real fan turned out to be not that interested in my story.

I don't ask my family to read my comic for this reason. I know it's not their kinda stuff. And they know me, know that I wouldn't appreciate them showing fake interest (it's fake even if the intention is good), so they also don't ask me to show them.

[emkay]

I try not to think like that. I like to check out people's content when they like/subscribe to mine, and I'm not always into what I see from them. So I understand that there are gonna be people I support who don't like my stuff, and that's fine! If I am not obligated to support people who support me, then they are not obligated either.

It's interesting you asked "would you hope the other person would read your stories and at least give an opinion", because I only give my opinion on content that I enjoy. If I don't enjoy something, I think it'd be awkward to leave a critique unless the creator specifically asks for critique. Otherwise, I say nothing. And while I would be fine to receive critique on my work, I don't expect people to do it either.

Frankly, I wouldn't want support from someone who doesn't like what I'm making. It's cool if other people like to sub for sub, but that's never been my thing. Not sure if that's what you were talking about though.

[Mari]

I generally don't read webcomics unless I come across them on my own / they're recommended to me by someone with similiar tastes. If there's a reader who I have talked to on a regular basis and they ask me to check a story of theirs out, I'll do it, but I'll never shout out anyone, period. It's way too much of a mess to go into shouting out specific people so I'll just not do it. I'll offer my opinion and refer them to guides and tutorials that might help, but that's it.

I think contacting someone with the premise that you want them to check you out is very insulting to the person on the receiving end. Just don't try to make friends under false pretenses.

[Rhombik]

I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds but I quickly went on Tapas and checked your stats and I think part of the problem might be that you're expecting too much, too fast. You've only been on the site since July and you've already got subs into the hundreds which is pretty good. Maybe the fellow creator can see this, remembers how slow it can be to start but also sees you're doing okay and doesn't feel like you actually need them to prop you up.

[Testaccount]

Excuse me...are you referring to me?

Just so you know, this post isn't about me. It's a discussion about the writing community in general, and the issues I've seen from different websites.

[Testaccount]

I agree with the "if you promise to support someone..."

That's something I've thought about lately, I've seen many blog topics about it on Wordpress. It is an interesting topic in the writing world right now.

[Testaccount]

Thanks for sharing! I agree about the shout outs. I find shout outs can be very messy and most people won't check out the other person's work anyone.

[Testaccount]

Thanks for sharing!

You are a good friend

As for follow for follow, I don't like that either, and I've seen the dangers it brings.

[Testaccount]

Yes, fake interest is a serious problem. I feel some people just fake interest to get a ahead. I've seen some readers fake interest in people, use those people, get popular, and then abandoned them.

[Testaccount]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me =)

I agree that it's best to follow if you're interested in the story

[Testaccount]

Thanks for all the responses!

I wanted to gather information for a blog post I'm doing, and I really appreciate it

[keii4ii]

Well, sometimes people show fake interest with GOOD intentions. Like, they're not trying to use me; they actually think I would prefer fake interest over zero interest. I'm like... noooo thank you.

Showing fake interest with the intention of using that person is of course terrible. I think we can all agree with that!

[Testaccount]

I agree with you, but I'm done with this topic now.

I got all the data I needed for my blog post today. I appreciate your help!

Just fyi, I run a blog about issues in the writing communities, so sometimes I use threads to gather opinions and data. Thanks again!

[SpavVy]

Never, I only read the comics because I enjoy them, I really couldn't care less if the other person doesn't watch my stuff back or even know of my existence.

[keii4ii]

That's fine but people may still want to continue posting here in order to have a discussion about this topic. This is a topic that's relevant to many of us, after all. You don't have to keep track of further replies if you already have enough to write about, but I feel people should be free to continue the conversation.

[Testaccount]

Sure! It is a big issue, but I don't want people to think I'm referring to myself, which is why I hate posting these things in threads, but it's the best way to gauge accurate opinions for my blog.

[keii4ii]

You may not have seen this, but this forum has had a history of threads being merged by mods if they happen to cover the same or even similar topics. It's better to have the discussion centered in one thread if that's where people gravitate to anyway. Merged threads can be very confusing to read. So if people want to keep talking about this, and you don't want the thread to continue... you can see how that can be an issue!

Maybe the best course of action is to edit the first post to clarify you just wanted different opinions for a blog post?

[Testaccount]

Thanks for letting me know. I'll remember to provide better clarification for next time.

[Rhombik]

Yes. In your original post (which has now been changed in case other readers are confused by these responses ) you shared a personal story about another artist not supporting you back and how that had impacted you negatively. I thought it was both about the writing community generally and your experience but I guess I was mistaken.

It's really great to see how many people have responded saying that they don't agree with "sub for sub" stuff. Sometimes when people sub me, I feel nervous that they will react badly if I don't sub them back. And more often than not, it's just that I'm not into the stuff they're doing, not that I think it's bad. So far the Tapas online community has been amazingly level headed, supportive and non-judgmental.

[Testaccount]

You were mistaken, and personally, I don't like things being assumed about me, but I understand where the confusion came from. Next time I'll be clearer in my post.

I run a successful blog about issues in the writing community, and I need to update my blog today, but I didn't have any good topics to discuss, so I decided to focus on fellow writer support. It was an example situation, nothing more and nothing less. Thanks for recognizing that. =)