The direction of CtS - or, a reply to the front page poll.

[Lithorien]

First time poster, but I've been reading CtS for... a long time now, come to think of it. And all I have to say is that, with every comic, I enjoy Chasing the Sunset more and more. It's one of those addictive comics for me - the ones where I check daily, religiously, to see if a new strip is up yet.

The story is wonderful, the art is breathtaking, and the attention to detail, as far as I have seen, is unmatched. Please don't feel like you're doing anything badly - in fact, you're doing everything right. But like all good comics, it takes time to be noticed, and sometimes that can feel like forever. But just keep doing what you're doing, and readers will come.

[Alien]

It's very kind of you to post, and to say such nice things.  Can make a person go all gooey inside, it can.  Both Mith and I very much appreciate you taking the time to post this, and the vote results also seem to point towards much the same as you've said.
Hopefully once we've proved we can stick to an update schedule again, things will look up.  Got to wonder a bit though, takes time to get noticed as you say, but we've been at it for 5,5 years, and have had some people ask how we manage to stay below the radar.  It certainly isn't on purpose.
In short, thank you.  We appreciate every reader we have, and hope the desire to get more doesn't make you think you're worth any less to us.

[Lithorien]

It's very kind of you to post, and to say such nice things.  Can make a person go all gooey inside, it can.  Both Mith and I very much appreciate you taking the time to post this, and the vote results also seem to point towards much the same as you've said.

I've been glad to see the voting results, actually. It's a good sign that the readers you have are going to stick around for more than just a few comics here or there, but are in it to read the entire tale.

Hopefully once we've proved we can stick to an update schedule again, things will look up.  Got to wonder a bit though, takes time to get noticed as you say, but we've been at it for 5,5 years, and have had some people ask how we manage to stay below the radar.  It certainly isn't on purpose.

In short, thank you.  We appreciate every reader we have, and hope the desire to get more doesn't make you think you're worth any less to us.

Out of all of the online comics I read (29 of them), there are only four that are popular enough to have gone "mainstream," or have more than ~1,000 - 1,500 visitors on a weekly basis. Some of those comics have also been going on for years - one as long as 12 years and it only has 700 or so readers (Help Desk / Ubersoft - started in 1996). The thing I've noticed from the more popular comics are that they have the advantage, the artists do, of going to conventions and meeting their readers. There are comics that link-share, and put up advertisements, but it's the ones where the artists meet the readers on a regular basis and get their readers fired up enough to spread the word that end up succeeding on a massive scale. Maybe that's something you two can try, if you have the means? Just an idea.

You're quite welcome, as well. It can be very... painful, to see an idea you have not take off like you hoped. But keep trying, and you'll get there, I promise you that. The most successful people can be summed up in one phrase - "Never give up."

[X-Kal]

It's very kind of you to post, and to say such nice things.  Can make a person go all gooey inside, it can.  Both Mith and I very much appreciate you taking the time to post this, and the vote results also seem to point towards much the same as you've said.
Hopefully once we've proved we can stick to an update schedule again, things will look up.  Got to wonder a bit though, takes time to get noticed as you say, but we've been at it for 5,5 years, and have had some people ask how we manage to stay below the radar.  It certainly isn't on purpose.
In short, thank you.  We appreciate every reader we have, and hope the desire to get more doesn't make you think you're worth any less to us.

It seems like the keeping to schedule bit would be the most helpful.  Of course, I've never minded the delays - it's *always* worth the wait. 

In one of my circles, CtS is essentially required reading.  I don't think any of us knew it in advance, but when I tried to get people to start reading this strip, they all told me that they already were.  So, I'm not sure where the rest of the world is, but in my world, you're pretty hot stuff.

[Mithandir]

I've been glad to see the voting results, actually. It's a good sign that the readers you have are going to stick around for more than just a few comics here or there, but are in it to read the entire tale.

Well, the poll is fixed, really. It's way at the end of a long block of text taht only peopel who are loyal fans are going to bother reading - ergo the results of the vote are positive.

Maybe that's something you two can try, if you have the means? Just an idea.

The problem is twofold here:
1) Almost all conventions are held in the US and we're in Europe.
2) Conventions (at least the bigger ones) are designed to favour already successful strips. It's very hard for smaller fry like us to even get in.

[X-Kal]

Well, the poll is fixed, really. It's way at the end of a long block of text taht only peopel who are loyal fans are going to bother reading - ergo the results of the vote are positive.

Oh... I hired a guy named Bruno to watch over everyone's votes.  That should explain the positive results

2) Conventions (at least the bigger ones) are designed to favour already successful strips. It's very hard for smaller fry like us to even get in.

Which conventions are you aiming for?  I remember seeing quite a few smaller webcomics at SakuraCon in Seattle, including much smaller ones than CtS.  I'm actually surprised by one - Tea Club.  It's a great comic, sure, but I haven't seen an update on their site since I started reading it in 2007.  I'm not sure if the comic will continue.  In comparison, I secretly hope to see a CtS booth at that convention.  I'm not so sure how well it fits with the anime genre, but it would certainly fit in with similar webcomics that set up booths there.

(Oh, and if you visit SakuraCon, I will want to buy books from you)

[Alien]

Chip in for the flight, and we'll consider it

[Mithandir]

Seattle is ... a long long way away

The only one I'm currently seriously considering is the Uk Web & Mini comics thing but that's something for march next year.

[Lithorien]

Chip in for the flight, and we'll consider it

Put up a PayPal link or snail-mail info, and you'll see people chipping in... :3

[X-Kal]

Chip in for the flight, and we'll consider it

Don't tempt me - that might be a possibility, if it weren't for my student loans.

[LadyIslay]

I read five web comics on a regular basis.  I'd have to say that the reasons I drop comics are lack of regular updates and plots that move too slowly.  I'm much more likely to get hooked on a comic that has a substantial archive (which you have, so that's a plus).  I tend to check all of my comics on a daily basis, or at least every other day, even if I know they're only updated 2-3 times / week.  I'm looking forward to this party getting out of the dwarf kingdome... things seem a bit bogged down right now.  Yours is the only comic that I picked up (and remain very loyal to) because I have a personal connection to the authors.

Issy.

[hailstorm]

i whould tell my school friend about CTS but they're not really into this sorta thing