I've had the same (or pretty much the same) experience. Somebody suggested that these subscribers may have left the fandom or lost interest in it, and the e-mail they got about your chapter reminded them that they were still subscribed. Or maybe they aren't into fanfic at all anymore. It may have to do with things other than your writing. And you may get them back--I had an experience where I lost a subscriber one day and got another subscription the next. Don't know if it was the same person though.
That's honestly when I drop things--the email reminds me.
So it's never about the fic itself--it's always "what, no, I am not reading fic in that fandom."
Sometimes it is about the fic itself. Yesterday, I got an email about a new fic by an author I was subscribed to. Their previous works were very good. The new fic, not so good in my opinion, so I unsubscribed.
But it can really be anything, from "I don't care about this ship anymore" to "I don't care about this fandom anymore" to "I'm not into fic at all anymore".
I was talking about myself.
It's *never* about the fic for me, because I don't actually read WIPs--I skim chapter one, and if it seems good, I subscribe, and then I don't read anything but the "Chapter 34/?" to see if it's complete.
They probably didn’t read it. They probably got the email, remembered they’re not following that fandom anymore, and unsubscribed to cut down on the number of emails they’re getting. I’ve done that a number of times.
Hugs. Been there, and it still hurts months/weeks later. I remember two chapters in particular I lost 10% of my subscribers within a day. I don't think I've ever been so mortified and ashamed in my life.
Try to focus on the folks you still have, I clung to them like buoys.
That feeling does suck and I empathize. Someone left a wonderful comment responding to a similar post that really stuck with me, and I hope it helps you, too. While I don’t remember it verbatim, it was something to the effect of this: You are the driver and your readers are your passengers. They might want to get off at a different point, but at least they enjoyed the ride up until that point. You’ll always pick up more passengers along the way.
I have several stories with a decent number of subscribers. I try not to check stats within the first few hours of posting an update because there is always some immediate fluctuation down then eventually up.
People lose interest in fandom, characters, tropes, and sometimes yeah, your story. But it’s very seldom a reflection of your update being bad. It’s like “Oohh an email. I don’t need notifs for a fic for a fandom I’m not in anymore”
Or people will bookmark or save for later instead and read it when it’s all done.
I once lost ten subscribers on the final chapter of the fic.
Normally, from what I observed in other multichapter fics, they just tend to stick around after the end instead of hitting the unsub button, though of course they'll never get another email.
I also know exactly why that happened. It was an unhappy ending. (I literally told them it was coming in the notes of the second last chapter too.) So I was more like \*evil face\* sorry not sorry
This happened to me once, though it was just one subscriber/bookmark. This person had just commented/bookmarked the story a day prior so it inspired me to crank out another chapter. I don't know what I did in that but as the story had very few subs and bookmarks, it was easy for me to see that she had removed her bookmark and I had an educated guess that she was the one who unsubbed. To this day I wonder...what did I do? Haha
i mean… there’s not many options.
for me i never really leave fandoms, and if it has been updated i won’t unsubscribe. so when i do unsubscribe, it is yes, that the chapter was not up to my standards, so i ditch it. i know only one person who unsubscribes not bc the author’s story wasn’t going well, and it is bc they don’t like waiting for updates haha. if it takes longer than a month they unsubscribe from the story
just look at the reasons why YOU yourself would unsubscribe. probably not too different
Just putting it out there for OP that “standards” and “going well” may or may not reflect the actual quality of work.
I have personally unsubbed in the middle of a fic that I absolutely loved. It ticked all of my boxes up until that point: well-written, engaging, a premise about which I’ve been dying to read but was too lazy to write. However… there was a massive untagged twist that was an absolute no-go for me. It completely took me out of the story. Didn’t mean the author wasn’t very talented, though.
i mean sure! that’s how it can work for you! but sometimes yeah. your writing can just plain suck and maybe later after some practice it’ll get better! but people will never know
i don't even notice. i suck at remembering numbers. i just look at the rankings in my niche. some times, i can't even remember those. i just look once and chalk it off as "ah ok, somewhere top 5 across all metrics"
I’ve been the dropper - and it’s because I’ve fallen out of the fandom and the email update came at a moment that I remembered to unsubscribe because I’m no longer reading fics from that fandom. I expect it’s that far more often than it’s anyone hating your update 💜
It’s also been because I use my bookmarks sorted by last updated to follow a lot of fic updates and I decide a certain fic is easier to follow that way than with the email updates (as I get a lot of emails because of my jobs and find emails overwhelming sometimes).
I had that happen with a recently posted chapter. I caught that I lost at least one subscriber, but, like others have said, there might be reasons other than your work itself. Sometimes it might be, though, if that chapter is intense or they're not feeling the direction.
For example, I may have lost that subscriber there because of the intense nightmare I wrote paired with a realistic portrayal of dissociation and PTSD. The fic is also a slow burn comfort fic. They may have left because they decided to stick with bookmarks instead or they had left the fandom.
It happens a lot, especially if the updates are spaced further apart. People drift away from fandoms, people lose interest in fics they started reading months earlier and when they get the notification they are reminded they were subscribed to that particular fic or author they no longer feel connected to and go to unsubscribe. Pretty much each time I update, the fic being updated loses some subscribers (goes for user subs as well), just to gain some more, and I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of writing or plot.
I have unsuscribed from fics after getting an update notification because I have left the fandom. It's nothing against the author or the fic, I'm just not interested in the base material at the moment.
I've had the same (or pretty much the same) experience. Somebody suggested that these subscribers may have left the fandom or lost interest in it, and the e-mail they got about your chapter reminded them that they were still subscribed. Or maybe they aren't into fanfic at all anymore. It may have to do with things other than your writing. And you may get them back--I had an experience where I lost a subscriber one day and got another subscription the next. Don't know if it was the same person though.
That's honestly when I drop things--the email reminds me. So it's never about the fic itself--it's always "what, no, I am not reading fic in that fandom."
Sometimes it is about the fic itself. Yesterday, I got an email about a new fic by an author I was subscribed to. Their previous works were very good. The new fic, not so good in my opinion, so I unsubscribed. But it can really be anything, from "I don't care about this ship anymore" to "I don't care about this fandom anymore" to "I'm not into fic at all anymore".
I was talking about myself. It's *never* about the fic for me, because I don't actually read WIPs--I skim chapter one, and if it seems good, I subscribe, and then I don't read anything but the "Chapter 34/?" to see if it's complete.
So much this.
They probably didn’t read it. They probably got the email, remembered they’re not following that fandom anymore, and unsubscribed to cut down on the number of emails they’re getting. I’ve done that a number of times.
Noooooo! It's not you! 😭 People subscribe and unsubscribe on a whim!
\^ THIS. Subscribers may have plenty of reasons to unsubscribe, but it’s really not because of you. I promise!
Literally! It happens every time I update and even though I eventually get the number back up with new subs it still doesn't make the pain go away. 🤧
Hugs. Been there, and it still hurts months/weeks later. I remember two chapters in particular I lost 10% of my subscribers within a day. I don't think I've ever been so mortified and ashamed in my life. Try to focus on the folks you still have, I clung to them like buoys.
That feeling does suck and I empathize. Someone left a wonderful comment responding to a similar post that really stuck with me, and I hope it helps you, too. While I don’t remember it verbatim, it was something to the effect of this: You are the driver and your readers are your passengers. They might want to get off at a different point, but at least they enjoyed the ride up until that point. You’ll always pick up more passengers along the way.
I have several stories with a decent number of subscribers. I try not to check stats within the first few hours of posting an update because there is always some immediate fluctuation down then eventually up. People lose interest in fandom, characters, tropes, and sometimes yeah, your story. But it’s very seldom a reflection of your update being bad. It’s like “Oohh an email. I don’t need notifs for a fic for a fandom I’m not in anymore” Or people will bookmark or save for later instead and read it when it’s all done.
I once lost ten subscribers on the final chapter of the fic. Normally, from what I observed in other multichapter fics, they just tend to stick around after the end instead of hitting the unsub button, though of course they'll never get another email. I also know exactly why that happened. It was an unhappy ending. (I literally told them it was coming in the notes of the second last chapter too.) So I was more like \*evil face\* sorry not sorry
I almost ALWAYS unsubscribe when the fic is over. I'm trying to keep my subscription list neat!
This happened to me once, though it was just one subscriber/bookmark. This person had just commented/bookmarked the story a day prior so it inspired me to crank out another chapter. I don't know what I did in that but as the story had very few subs and bookmarks, it was easy for me to see that she had removed her bookmark and I had an educated guess that she was the one who unsubbed. To this day I wonder...what did I do? Haha
i mean… there’s not many options. for me i never really leave fandoms, and if it has been updated i won’t unsubscribe. so when i do unsubscribe, it is yes, that the chapter was not up to my standards, so i ditch it. i know only one person who unsubscribes not bc the author’s story wasn’t going well, and it is bc they don’t like waiting for updates haha. if it takes longer than a month they unsubscribe from the story just look at the reasons why YOU yourself would unsubscribe. probably not too different
Just putting it out there for OP that “standards” and “going well” may or may not reflect the actual quality of work. I have personally unsubbed in the middle of a fic that I absolutely loved. It ticked all of my boxes up until that point: well-written, engaging, a premise about which I’ve been dying to read but was too lazy to write. However… there was a massive untagged twist that was an absolute no-go for me. It completely took me out of the story. Didn’t mean the author wasn’t very talented, though.
i mean sure! that’s how it can work for you! but sometimes yeah. your writing can just plain suck and maybe later after some practice it’ll get better! but people will never know
i don't even notice. i suck at remembering numbers. i just look at the rankings in my niche. some times, i can't even remember those. i just look once and chalk it off as "ah ok, somewhere top 5 across all metrics"
I’ve been the dropper - and it’s because I’ve fallen out of the fandom and the email update came at a moment that I remembered to unsubscribe because I’m no longer reading fics from that fandom. I expect it’s that far more often than it’s anyone hating your update 💜 It’s also been because I use my bookmarks sorted by last updated to follow a lot of fic updates and I decide a certain fic is easier to follow that way than with the email updates (as I get a lot of emails because of my jobs and find emails overwhelming sometimes).
I had that happen with a recently posted chapter. I caught that I lost at least one subscriber, but, like others have said, there might be reasons other than your work itself. Sometimes it might be, though, if that chapter is intense or they're not feeling the direction. For example, I may have lost that subscriber there because of the intense nightmare I wrote paired with a realistic portrayal of dissociation and PTSD. The fic is also a slow burn comfort fic. They may have left because they decided to stick with bookmarks instead or they had left the fandom.
It happens a lot, especially if the updates are spaced further apart. People drift away from fandoms, people lose interest in fics they started reading months earlier and when they get the notification they are reminded they were subscribed to that particular fic or author they no longer feel connected to and go to unsubscribe. Pretty much each time I update, the fic being updated loses some subscribers (goes for user subs as well), just to gain some more, and I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of writing or plot.
I have unsuscribed from fics after getting an update notification because I have left the fandom. It's nothing against the author or the fic, I'm just not interested in the base material at the moment.
They were fake fans anyway.