What do you do when you lose interest in a work

[vothnthorvaldson]

Of someone you know?

(First, I'd like to say there is no need to play the guessing game, it's not about one of you . I specifically ask here because it's not any of you but you all may have been in that position as a creator or a reader/listener etc)

People already told me (politely) a few times that they lost interest in my works, but it was all non-professional, pretty niche works, so I don't see why I would take it badly. I know there are flaws and that it is not for everyone. I appreciate the honesty.

Now, telling the same to someone who's clearly much more skilled, has a bigger audience, and whose work is well-made, is a bit difficult, I think; especially if you were super enthousiastic first and the creator knows it.

If the loss of interest is due to the work going downhill in my opinion, I would see how I can make constructive criticism, but the problem is when the work is still good, has nothing that is objectively downgrading it, but it just.. subjectively doesn't fit my tastes/expectations anymore, and nothing can revive the interest after some time trying.

Going on following said work seems dishonest and loses everyone's time.

Telling the truth can be hurtful. People getting pissed, ok, I can deal with that; but I'd be afraid the person may (unnecessarily) reconsider their work etc.
It's difficult to know how much credit people give to a single fan, and I'm not expecting people to consider me so important that they will be upset of my lack of interest, but I'm still afraid it may sting bad when I was particularily interested about it (and vocally so) at the beginning.

Just leaving the work with no explanation may be the best way, and I would do it if I was sure the person would not notice, so no one is hurt. But if they do notice?... it may be the worst option. And well, alltogether, that sounds quite cowardly.

What do you think? What do you do in these situations?

[Kelheor]

I dunno, I will probably just stop reading it and if the creator asks me sometime personally, I will answer then It's okay to lose interest in the work, but I believe reading a comment that says "I'm not interested in it anymore" is more hurtful, because... well, you know, it's subjective for you that you're not interested, but the creator can go far in their thoughts about how the work may be not interesting for all the other readers too
Maybe I'm just a touchy one lol

[SweatingProfusely]

Unless they're a friend outside the artwork/someone you chat one-on-one with a lot, I'd just taper off commenting and quietly unfollow. People come and go from fandoms all the time. IF they notice, the first assumption is usually less "it's because my work isn't good enough" and more "they must be busier with other things and cutting down their list".

If they're a friend or someone you want to keep chatting with, just pop in now and then and drop a little casual encouragement. You don't have to be heavily invested to enjoy peeking in on a nice art style.

[vothnthorvaldson]

If I decided to tell them, I would do it privately and with a complete explanation, and especially, insist on how subjective it is, and how I still think the work is objectively strong. But, it would not stop some people to see it as an offense, or a call to change things. I know the person enough to have an idea that they will wonder what's going on with my absence, but not enough to know how they would react to such message. Tricky.
Thank you for having told me your feelings on the question

[Darkstrong]

Idk, telling someone that you are not liking something the write anymore is a bit bitter, I think. I would be ok if someone would just fade away from the readership, I would not be particularly happy if that reader was active before, but things happen. a lot of things can happen actually, and the writer doesn't need to know about them, unless they want to. I was a avid fan of many things before, and drifted away from them after some time. But to actively take your time to tell a person they are not interesting anymore is a bit more, I feel.

[Azifri]

This happened to me with some comics I used to follow since Deviantart. Similar to what has been said above, when that happens I usually just go quiet and disappear. I may check on that comic later (sometimes years later) just to see what happened in the meantime. I may or may not become interested again in that work but I'm usually still curious to see where the story went. I feel like, saying something like that to a person I don't know, without any significant previous interaction, is weird.

[loldolisboring]

Frankly, I give it a day, and if the work comes out regularly, then I give it the duration of the time in which it comes out. Then I read the new material, and if it satisfies me then good, and if not, I give it one more shot and if even then I don't feel so good I ditch it.

[vothnthorvaldson]

I understand. I felt it would be like that for some people, but that's not my personal feeling, hence the confusion on what to do.
I always prefer to know (even if it stings), than not knowing (that, I find bitter and frustrating). Because I have the feeling I can learn from any feedback (even if I'm not going to change anything due to it), and that every missing feedback is a missed opportunity.
But I had a good suspicion that it does not work similarly for everyone.
It's good to get other points of view.
Looks like there is pretty much unanimity in thinking it's better to not actively reach the creator to tell them, so I'll follow that advice.

[loldolisboring]

Then again, since it is a question of someone you know, so it is best to periodically check in once or twice on how their work is. Maybe it will rekindle your interest again but yeah, don't approach them about losing interest unless they ask first. Artists can be a little on the emotional side after all lol.

[vothnthorvaldson]

The difference is that it's someone I know, I'd say, moderately well, and with who I discussed in length about their works in the earliest stages. I never directly helped in the work or anything, but I was a early enthusiastic fan eager to discuss a lot of the works' facets. That what makes me uncomfortable with just disappearing. It's so uncomfortable, actually, that I even feel a bit discouraged from showing enthusiasm publicly or privately to creators about other unfinished works; so in a way, I'm not just trying to get out of this specific situation, but also, I need to start having an idea on how to tackle that when it happens again in the future (it WILL happen), so it doesn't block me from showing appreciation honestly and naturally.

[JRHoch]

Well...I have a policy that when I think I'm losing interest in someone else's work...I give it 4 more updates to see if the story excites me more over time. Many comics have weaker sections, so it's good to be patient. If the storytelling doesn't improve after that, I unsubscribe. There is no face-to-face chat by the water cooler. It's cold, cold as the Internet, baby.

[unknown_user]

Just leaving the work with no explanation may be the best way, and I would do it if I was sure the person would not notice, so no one is hurt. But if they do notice?... it may be the worst option. And well, alltogether, that sounds quite cowardly.

Lol why? I always do exactly this. I would tell an explanation if one would ask. But nobody does.

[JRHoch]

Exactly, the Internet is run by cowards and virgins.

[SweatingProfusely]

If they ask, be honest. Without critique since it's a case of shifting interests and not related to their work quality. Something along the line of "It looks great, I'm just leaning more towards [current genre/interests] these days!" If you know them a bit better, you might have an idea how to let them down gently and steer the conversation to how they're doing these days, maybe open the door to tossing ideas back and forth in a casual friendly way without the pressure of being A Fan. That kind of interaction is going to be different from person to person.

[Azifri]

Hmm... but if you showed interest in the beginning, maybe it has been a while and now you can slowly take a step aside? I guess it all depends on how you word it, but if there is something specific you now don't like, it could be a valid thing to mention. I would still not burn all the bridges, because who knows if the work becomes interesting again. Or if the author releases another work that you like. Who knows.
I had a reader that stopped following my comic after I killed a character and told me later that they preferred to stay away from comics where important characters died I still felt okay with it because it meant they were invested in that character.

[Iris-Grimoire]

Same thing as JRHoch, I give it a few tries, then I'm gone. I might still follow the person if I like the art(there's this webtoons artist whose comic I can't bother to read but they draw so well I'm always looking at their twitter to see their promo art), but not the work itself, and that's kind of it. And life is too short to feel guilty that you don't like a work anymore, sometimes you just don't. If you have a HUGE issue and you think the creator is going off a cliff, maybe put it in very kind terms "Huh, X is being a very mean person to Y" (to describe OOC for example), but in the end it's their choices and mistakes to make.

Chances are they won't notice if they're big enough, it's just a lot of work and a lot of time that can't be spent chasing a lost fan. And if they're small and ask, sure thing I'll give my honest words and they do what they want with it (just like any criticism), but if they keep nagging me to try and change my mind then they might also lose my respect.

[vothnthorvaldson]

It's kind of the contrary, (although I'm not sure how much it makes a change).
It's the work that changed, but not in a way that can be much perceived by readers that did not get early exposure to the project. I.e., it is not a flaw of the project.
Let's say it started on a pretty original, but not quite groundbreaking premise. But, they were huge avenues open that hinted to a possibility of going very groundbreaking and experimental (and we did discuss that possibility). However, the creator went the other way (went for more mainstream, more relatable). It's obviously a great decision commercially speaking, and I'm not bitter at all, because they never promised experimental or made me think that was 100% their thing. So no 'treason' or hard feelings there. I just thought I'd also like their more tame choice, but I don't.

[joannekwan]

I know for myself, and I generally think this applies to most other people, is we lose interest mainly because the story is not turning out as we would have liked. Or each new turn of events is less and less to our taste. It's not from lack of or down grading quality, it's just that the story isn't for everyone. And that's okay! Everyone has different interests and it's best for everyone to move on and focus their energy on other things.

I've quietly unfollowed a ton of things and I'm sure people have from my works as well. Doesn't bother me. We're all just human with varying interests. No shame in losing interest in a story. Happens everyday and it's no big.

[SweatingProfusely]

If it's not an actual flaw and you want to disengage without offence, is your personal preference something they need to be told? You can express disappointment if you want to, but unless you're veeery skilled with your wording or have a certain blunt relationship already you'd be bruising their confidence in the story for no reason. So my advice doesn't change! Up to you though.

[vothnthorvaldson]

It seems that's everyone thinks it's better not to tell, so, yep I'll follow that advice!

I had no intent to express disappointment, though (which I'm not ever sure I have anymore). I was just wondering if it was better to disappear or explain. It was not my intent to complain in any way.