Patreon Update

[k_a_webb]

I have no patrons at Patreon, so I'm thinking of shutting it down. If I was making a little income from it I would leave it as it is, but I don't see the point in expending the extra energy, of which I have so little at the moment, on something that's not helping me towards earning money from my fiction. At the moment I'm barely going on my website - all I'm doing is posting Case, before moving onto something else, so I need to change that, because I'm certain I missed a raffle. That doesn't really matter, because no one's entering them and no one seems to be reading at the website, so I really do need to think about exactly what I'm doing with that. Finishing stories, obviously, is the most important thing, but it's hard to do that when I get so few comments. With my ghostwriting I get input, people tell me they like what I write, which makes it easier for me to focus on that... and it does help that I'm getting paid for it as well.

Being able to make $1200 from my original fiction is now the thing I'm aiming for and to do that I think I'm going to put the novellas at the top of my list, so I can put them online (although I'm still searching for an easier way of doing that, because I don't want to ring the IRS to get an EIN due to my phone phobia), as well as finishing the stories I've started posting, so I can start publishing them as well. What I need is more time, which I won't be getting until 2015 I think, when we're in the annex, because then, I hope, I'll be able to sort everything out better than I have now. The plan is to buy some things that will help me stay organised - like a nice white board for me to write down everything I'm working on.

Comments

[lunesque]

I was just thinking--a whiteboard seems to be a really inconvenient way of keeping all your stories together. Have you considered using GoogleDocs to keep yourself organized--or if you can splurge, what about a writing organization program like Scrivener? With you being online, it just seems to be a step back to be using a whiteboard for organization. Just my two cents! /o\

[moonvoice]

You could consider doing what Ursula Vernon is doing - which is to have a Patreon with no rewards - that way you can keep the site up, but you need not pressure yourself with offering extras or bonuses (though obviously linking to things all the time can also get tiring).

It's also relatively hard to find (at least for me - I clicked on your profile page, where I couldn't see a link, so I clicked on your writing page and also your website, where I couldn't see a link, and now have clicked on further pages (including the crowdfunding and fundraising pages) and still can't see a link. Also I could be just an idiot and have missed it).

Anyway, there's also no reason you can't shut it all down now and start up again (if you want to) when you do have more time, with a different model / way of doing it. And not getting comments definitely sucks.

There's a really great youtube video that addresses artists about 'why they don't get good feedback' - and while it's artist focused, it's helped me so much as a writer. Mostly because he's so sweet and encouraging, and really speaks to all creative people. I watch it about once a month, lol.

Also on a weird side note, once people started paying for free fiction via crowdfunding / patreon, my comments dropped *a lot.* I don't know if this is a similar phenomenon for you, but if it is - it may be connected to the fact that people who pay with money no longer feel the obligation or need to pay with comments. And sometimes it's a disparity where you have old loyal readers who no longer comment (because that's more associated with the buzz of New Writer! Awesome Writing!) - and not so many new readers to pick up on that old buzz? Idk. This might all be way off for you, since personal experiences with this kind of writing vary so much. :(

I wish you luck getting through this part of the phase, and I'm really glad the ghostwriting is pulling positive feedback! I hope you can find the business model that works for you, that isn't too exhausting. *offers hugs*

[milkymoon]

... I'm wondering why you'd have to ring the IRS if you're not even in the US. You'd think they'd have something different if you're working from a different country.

(Also, I personally don't think your stories are crap - I like the amount of detail and creativity you've put into everything.)