The Enticement of New Readers

[Oddhi]

As we may all be familiar with, Homestuck only grows larger and more complex with each passing month. Getting people interested in a story that requires such a hefty amount of reading can be hard, and it only grows more difficult to entice new people to read it as it gets more complex. Things like the Epilogues, HS^2, PesterQuest, HiveSwap, and Friendim all make it even more intimidating when trying to tackle the behemoth known as Homestuck. In short, it is very easy to be overwhelmed when first entering the vast sea that is the story of Homestuck.

How can someone bring new readers in without them being scared away? I've found it to be increasingly difficult as the years have gone by.

This thread serves to allow for discussion regarding enticing new people to read Homestuck. It can also serve as a place to share stories regarding your own personal experiences with getting your friends/acquaintances to read it, or your own experience with being introduced to Homestuck as a whole.

[arachnidsGrip]

I think a good method may be to have potential readers break the reading into chunks? Like for example, have them make a goal to read just the first act over some amount of time. Then the second. And keep the chunks small as the act sizes ramp up, like with act 6. Breaking it into smaller bits can be helpful when going up against a large task, such as reading the entirety of Homestuck.

Another way, similar to the first, might be like, reading a few pages a day? I would say a single page a day, but sticking to that means it would take 8,100+ days to read Homestuck. It's just another way of breaking the task of reading Homestuck into chunks, except breaking it into a set amount of pages instead of acts.

[thorondraco]

I think a good method may be to have potential readers break the reading into chunks? Like for example, have them make a goal to read just the first act over some amount of time. Then the second. And keep the chunks small as the act sizes ramp up, like with act 6. Breaking it into smaller bits can be helpful when going up against a large task, such as reading the entirety of Homestuck.

Another way, similar to the first, might be like, reading a few pages a day? I would say a single page a day, but sticking to that means it would take 8,100+ days to read Homestuck. It's just another way of breaking the task of reading Homestuck into chunks, except breaking it into a set amount of pages instead of acts.

Think the Homestuck reddit does a yearly reread thing?

[calamityCons]

Chunking is a tried and true method for any large and intimidating task anyone must undertake, so i second that. Homestuck’s problem is not exactly unique, as traditional comics and even other webcomics have a history of becoming unwieldy and frightening undertakings for newcomers. The comics industry right now is struggling really hard with constant reboots or miniseries disguised as reboots. It’s why you see a lot of big number 1’s slapped onto the covers of trade copies despite the issue being #23 in a series. It doesn’t work, but it’s one of the ways corps have tackled this problem.

If I were to encourage a newcomer to read Homestuck, I’d ask them what they’re most interested in about it. If it’s the big video game fantasy creation myth, I’ll direct them to read the Act 2 opener of Rose’s FAQ’s first, and continue from Act 2 onwards. Act 1 is a big love letter to old school adventure games, so anyone without the patience for that should skip it with no shame.

If they’re more interested in the trolls, I’ll probably just hold my nose and recommend they begin reading at Hivebent, then double back to Act 2 and onward. I don’t agree with their choice but it isn’t my place to judge or discourage anyone from reading Homestuck in a way they enjoy.

If they’re interested in teen drama with superpowers I’ll recommend they jump to Act 6 and check the wiki for any details they need to brush up on.

Ultimately Homestuck will remain really scary for newcomers for a very long time without a proper conclusion or a cosmic reboot. The best way is not to judge them for starting late, or beginning to read wherever they’re most interested. I also think it’s fair to lessen the anxiety by reminding them they don’t have to know everything about everything.

[ThePungeonMaster]

I think the recap page on HS^2 should also include the entirety of Homestuck^1, for people who are interested in seeing the series as it updates. It wouldn't surprise me if many of the people who now know about Homestuck^2 haven't heard of or read Homestuck^1, and would be interested if they didn't have to slog through 8000+ pages and the epilogues. I think that if there is a continuation of the Homestuck IP after HS^2, (which it wouldn't surprise me if there was), it should be a kind of reboot. Not like a DC reboot, more like Jojo's, where parts 1-6 are part of a single continuity and parts 7-8 are part of a branch continuity. Shit, Homestuck is all about alternate universes. Maybe after you get deep enough you could bring back Dave or whatever to make all the OG Homestucks cream their jeans.

[Generalrabogolfo]

the way i got my friend into this mess was by problem sleuth. he read it in two days. completely focused on that shit. after he finished that i told him to read the intermission since its basically more problem sleuth but with the midnight crew. and after that? i didnt need to do nothing more. when he finished the intermission he was so intrigated by what in the everloving fuck was happening that he went and started it the same day he finished it. hes currently at, arguably, the best act. act 4.

[Sahxyel]

I've found that getting new entrants to watch the Let's Read by Voxus is the easiest entry point since they can listen to the comic like a podcast and not get immediately offput by having it read to them. Voxus doesn't go through the whole comic, but that's okay since I tell them to stop at Cascade for the Good Ending, Game Over for the Bad Ending, and to keep reading if they want to live in a hellish purgatory with me.

I even got a guy new to the series recently to dive in and partake within the last month! He's a Game Over lad, wants to read to the bad ending because he wanted to meet the rest of the characters.

Though I overall start with a very strong: read Problem Sleuth first since it's the better overall story.

[Generalrabogolfo]

Though I overall start with a very strong: read Problem Sleuth first since it's the better overall story.

ah, a person of culture.

[TH4NK YOU B3N]

i think you have to read problem sleuth first anyway? not because it's the better story (it is) but because it's the foundation homestuck builds upon. homestuck is just a more complicated problem sleuth

[csj]

Quality PS takes here.

Ultimately, I don't feel compelled to 'entice' people to read Homestuck unless the overarching concepts behind it are of interest. I also don't know if I would say the community was bigger than it was in circa 2013, though that is blinkered by it also being far more disparate and diluted by there being so many off-shoots. For those that are, sectioning it makes sense, jumping in post-hivebent is probably a Bad Idea.

[JakeMorph]

i get the impression the new content being put out is being made with the intent of being attractive to people who haven't read homestuck yet. a lot of people who hadnt read homestuck actually did end up playing hiveswap, and im sure a bunch of those people actually went on to play the friendsims. the friendsims end with a prompt for the player to read homestuck and then go on to pesterquest.

obviously the question regarding that method is whether it could ever actually work in the real world, lol. homestuck is a lot of reading. i think you could be forgiven for having doubts if sonic the hedgehog expected you to read several full length novels before playing sonic the hedgehog 2.

someone mentioned the let's read series as a good way of getting past that initial LOTS OF TEXT hurdle and i think the popularity of podcasts in today's media landscape definitely supports that suggestion. which only makes me even more curious about this mysterious announcement from ffxf. is an official audio homestuck a realistic thing to expect?

as far as OTHER things they could do to reel in new fans, i can only really hope there's actually enough content in hiveswap act 2 to make hiveswap act 1 more worth it.

[MorganMustDie]

I think, at least from the perspective of us, the fans, it would be handy to separate Homestuck into essential reading, optional reading, and extended reading. I'd say, if you want to get the Full Homestuck Experience, you could separate the entire body of work like so:

- Homestuck (I wouldn't really chop this up at all for a new reader, I think it's intended to be read in order and the payoff is a lot better if it's read from Act 1 onwards)
- Homestuck Epilogues
- HS^2
- Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff comics directly referenced in Homestuck
- Complete SBAHJ collection
- Paradox Space
- Hiveswap
- Friendsim/Pesterquest
- Problem Sleuth (Separated from other MSPAs due to the foundation it built for Homestuck)
- Jailbreak and Bard Quest
- TSO, Whistles The Starlight Calliope, And It Don't Stop, etc
- Homestuck Music Team
- MSPFAs

This is, without a doubt, an incredibly large body of work, comparable to other huge popular canons such as Star Wars or Marvel and DC. The way I've managed to get friends into this huge collection? Don't tell them about it all at once. Ease them in. When I started reading, I sure didn't know that there was going to be this much that I'd end up getting into, or I would have been very overwhelmed. In the past, I'd start a friend off by telling them to read Homestuck, and then depending on their immediate reaction, I'd suggest further reading like so:

"I just don't really get it?" Suggest they read Problem Sleuth first
"I understand it, I'm just not really enjoying it..." Try to insist they read until at least Act 4, but if that's too much, accept it isn't for them
"I finished it, and am satisfied with where the story left me." Suggest reading the extended works, but accept that they're probably making the right choice not to get lost in everything
"I finished it all already, and I'm craving more!" Then follow my suggested order below (or your own, if you like) for how to consume Homestuck

ESSENTIAL READING: Start with Homestuck and the associated SBAHJ comics, the Homestuck Epilogues and HS^2, and once fully caught up and waiting for HS^2 updates, move on to read Problem Sleuth if not done so already
OPTIONAL READING: If they can't get enough and need more, play Hiveswap and the Friendsim series, and read the Complete SBAHJ collection and Paradox Space comics
EXTENDED READING: If they have completely exhausted all official Homestuck Extended Universe media, move on to Hussie's older works; Jailbreak, Bard Quest, TSO, Whistles, and the works, wherever you can find them. If they crave more MSPA style stuff, send them to MSPFA, and suggest diving into the wealth of the music team's back catalogue

Basically, don't throw people in all at once. Tell them to read Homestuck, then reveal to them gradually that there's a whole lot more than they can explore if they so choose, that's been my general approach to getting people into it, and it's worked pretty well for me