As some of you may know, Patreon recently announced a change to its terms that shifts the onus of most of the fees onto the patron. For some creators, this may result in more money, but the manner in which the whole thing is being executed leads to some less than pleasant conclusions about their attitude toward folks like me who have handfuls of followers and take in gas money instead of hundreds or thousands of followers making what I would consider more than a decent living.
This is business these days, I know. One cannot simply have a business and provide a service and have everyone involved go about their merry. No, one must channel the shark, become bloodthirsty and honed, sharp as a razor, trimming away the less productive parts of your business and feeding the best producing, striving for the top. Not everyone should be at the top, and everyone, clearly, cannot be at once. It’s a contentious, destructive system which will only end badly for all. I feel like I’ve veered off into a political rant. let’s steer this boat back on course.
I’ve been with Patreon for nearly six months now, and they’ve been good months. I’ve written half of my fantasy novel, Breaking The Word, as well as a few short stories, and felt more motivated, knowing people were actually waiting for and enjoying my work, rather than tossing short story after short story into the void and jiggling the line to try to attract new sales, only to have the line snap or have dropped the wrong bait for the wrong fish. I’m not sure where all these fishing/ocean metaphors are coming from. I don’t fish and I’m not generally comfortable in water I can’t stand up in…
I’ll be keeping an eye on the situation with Patreon as well as searching for new ways to keep myself going. As mentioned int he title, I’ve started a ko-fi page, which allows people to drop by and donate “a coffee”- about $3US – in support of my work. It’s not as directly tied to production as Patreon, or recurring as a subscription, but it’s something. Once I get a feel for the site, I’ll be posting content over there, some stories that have appeared only in print (not ebooks) photos of current sculpture and game creation projects, etc. This stuff will also go up on my Patreon whilst I continue to use it and have patrons over there as those people have stuck with me and deserve to see it first.
I’m also looking into Drip, which I believe goes live from its current closed beta early next year and looking into starting up some projects on Ratafire, which i know nearly nothing about and seems to have manifested itself in one of my browser tabs recently. Whoever sent me that link, thanks!
For now, though, I must attend the real world and ponder the ever-shifting landscape at the intersection of business and art. Thanks for dropping by! Keep reading!
And here’s my link for ko-fi, if you feel so inclined. Buy Me a Coffee
In and Out of My Mind 