marulelie

Hello everyone! I just wanted to write this now that the con is over, and I’ve finally finished my real-life responsibilities.
I want to talk about the first doujinshi I ever created and sold at Comifuro—yes, I participated in Comic Frontier 21 on November 15th. This time I joined my friends’ circle (Prisma Sunshine), who kindly accommodated me, and I’m really grateful to everyone there for being so welcoming and helping me, especially since it was my first time boothing at a con in almost a decade.

Back to the topic: when I went to CF last year, I saw so many artists selling their original works, and many of my artist mutuals on social media were doing the same. I bought a bunch of original and fandom-based doujinshi, and when I read them, I was struck with inspiration—a flow of creative energy pulsing through my brain. Without thinking, I confidently said, “I want to make a doujinshi and sell it at a con!” But at that time, I didn’t know what to create, and especially I am just nobody, a minor artist who wasn’t really known. Still, somehow my instinct and gut told me to make an original yuri work.

It was a risk, but in the end, I did it anyway. I went through a lot of concept changes, and I finally decided to make it 25 pages since it was my first doujinshi, so I shouldn’t make it too long. It turns out making a 25-page comic is actually pretty hard—especially the pacing. But the whole process gave me so much valuable experience, from drawing (paneling, pacing, etc.) to printing. It was such a great experience for a rookie artist like me, and I definitely don’t regret it!

Once the book was finally done, I couldn’t believe I had made an original yuri doujinshi with dead dove elements. I was nervous and anxious—would anyone even buy it? When I put up the catalog and opened pre-orders on my social media, I was shocked to see so many people pre-ordering my doujinshi. It became the most-ordered item in my entire catalog! I was honestly so happy to see such huge interest in my work. It made me even happier than when people buy fan merch I make.

For the concept, I aimed for a quick, digestible story—not too focused on plot. So I made it R18 because that’s easier to approach. But even then, making good R18 content isn’t easy, and drawing NSFW art is quite hard LOL. It made me respect ero doujinka even more. I chose to make it dead dove because I am into it, and it complements with erotic content well. The story is about a schoolgirl who gets fawned over by an adult woman she meets online, and then dark things happen. It’s simple and easy to understand, which focus the kink more. As for the title, I had no idea at first, but I chose “Strangled Night” because it matches the events (strangling at nighttime). I think people can understand the vibe just from the title and cover, hehehe.

After everything was finished, I also printed some stock for on-the-spot sales, and I kept getting nervous whenever people checked my doujinshi, wondering what they thought… but then it sold out very fast! I kept the stock small because I wanted to be conservative with logistics—I didn’t know if people would buy it, so I kept my expectations low. Even after it sold out, many visitors kept asking about the availability of my doujinshi, and I’m so happy it got so much interest. It really motivated me!

Despite it being my first time boothing, I’m so happy with the results. A lot of my items sold, and I got to meet many like-minded people! I kinda regret not printing more freebies… maybe next time! Now I feel motivated to create more books for the next con because I feel more comfortable doing that compared to making 10–20 illustrations for charms, posters, or merch wwww. Maybe I’m old-school, but as an otaku, I’ve always associated comic cons with selling doujinshi/books. As a young otaku, it was always my dream to publish my own books, and I’m so happy I finally did it after so many years. Even though it took until adulthood, it’s better late than never! And I definitely wouldn’t have regretted it even if it didn’t sell out, because the experience was so valuable, and I learned so much, especially about boothing! Someday I wanted to solo booth with my own circle.

This whole process also made me excited to create more original works, especially since there’s actual interest! It makes me want to revisit my old OCs and revamp them, polish their personalities, stories, and designs. It makes me emotional to know my OCs could have their own audience. I love them like my own children and want to share them with people. Most importantly, this is my passion—I want to create different tapestries of stories and explore different tropes/fetishes.

I’m currently brimming with ideas and want to revamp my old OCs a bit so I can polish them better. I have a lot of ideas for new original one-shots, like Samantha & Lulu, which will probably be vanilla but maybe a little spicy? I also want to make another fandom-based doujinshi about UiSaki (Ave Mujica) with a darker tone. These are just ideas for now, and they might not happen, but it feels good to have goals again. I also want to create a Daughter × Mother Omegaverse story someday… So many ideas, but I’m not sure if I can execute them all, wwww.

I also hope to sell my books internationally someday, probably as e-books first. For physical copies, I need more research and opportunities, since I don’t live alone right now. As for e-books, with the current payment processor situation, I feel a bit pessimistic… I’d love to sell on DLsite if I can translate my work into Japanese. If anyone knows other NSFW-friendly platforms, please let me know! I’d love to share my book with overseas readers, too.

Anyway, that’s all! I hope I can be more productive next year. I also want to grow this account so it’s not in limbo, LOL.
Please stay tuned, and thank you so much for supporting me!