Readers have asked on several occasions about the possibility of supporting me on a platform such as Patreon. I actually like the concept, and even posted about it on my old blog. More than that, I’ve always been incredibly flattered each time someone expressed a desire to support my writing in this manner. However, the notion of putting the idea into actual practice always left me a little numb because, in my instance, the ask was always an eye-popping number. Nevertheless, I recently broke down and now have my own Patreon page.
The term “recently,” however, is a bit of a misnomer. I actually created the page months ago, but really haven’t put much effort (that is, practically none) in finding patrons. Simply put, the number hasn’t changed (it’s still big), and I can’t help but think that it may rub people the wrong way. However, I’ve come to accept the fact that – simply put – it is what is.
Anyway, this may shape up to be just a grand experiment that results in epic failure, but I’m grateful to those readers who encouraged me to give this a go. Hopefully I’ll hit my goals, but if I don’t I’ll at least be able to say I took a shot at it. And as Wayne Gratzky once said, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
In my past urgings I was never really after you quitting your job. Just extra income on your side and more excerpts on ours.
Thanks. The good news is that – courtesy of the generous support of patrons – those two things are definitely happening.
For patreon I’m generally looking for early access to chapters. it doesn’t have to be the whole book, but maybe 30% of the book before release for patrons gets my support.
There will certainly be early access to chapters. Honestly, however, I hadn’t thought about how much to make available in that regard, because – in my head – I see myself mostly posting about a work-in-progress as it’s being written. When it’s done, I move on to the next book and post about it, rather than the previous novel. Thus, I’m wary at present of making claims about how much is going to be available prior to release. That said, if it becomes clear that patrons lean towards wanting more info of that nature, I will definitely take that into consideration.
Haven’t seen any growth on Patreon since day one or two. I’ll admit I’m just doing the minimum but I expected more people on there. Is this the only place to find out about it?
First of all, thanks for being a patron; I really appreciate it. (In fact, today is “Thank You Patrons Day” on Patreon.) Frankly speaking, I’m happy for any level of support, so I’m practically giddy about those who have signed up. But to answer your question, I did include it in my newsletter and mentioned it on my Facebook page. I still need to tweet about it, but I’m wary of overwhelming potential patrons at this time of year. (With the holidays coming up, I assume that most people have a gift list and related obligations, so being a patron is something many may put off until the new year.)
In short, I’m really excited about having patrons and hope that I’ll continue to attract more as time goes on.
I’m glad you are dipping your toes in the patreon pool. Have you thought about more passive income from blog advertizements?
I’ve thought about it and I actually did have a couple of ads running on the old blog – mostly Amazon banners and some Adsense stuff. I’ve been less inclined to do that here because I don’t want the site to look too commercial. (If you look around, most author pages – aside from selling some related merch – usually don’t have much in the way of ads, if any.) Thus – aside from my Shop – all I’ve really done up to this point are things related to my status as an Amazon Associate. (Basically, the links to Amazon are usually affiliate links, which allow me to earn from qualifying purchases.)
The other part of the equation with ads is that you have to drive traffic to the site in question if you’re trying to make a decent amount of money from them. Many moons ago – before I started publishing my fiction – I had a bunch of articles on various sites generating around $100-$150 per month in passive income. But just keeping the income at that level – let alone alone scaling up – was a running firefight, because Google was constantly tweaking their algorithms. As a result, you’d be discoverable one day, and the next you’d be in the Land of Lost. Needless to say, that affects income. For instance, on one site I wrote about 80 articles over a 7-month period. Initially, those articles were earning me about $40/month. A few years later, those same articles were only earning about 7 cents a day. Today, I think they may earn a penny per day. The only way to overcome that ongoing diminution of income is to constantly make adjustments in order to stay in line with search algorithms, but after a while that can start to feel like a second job. Frankly speaking, I’d rather spend that time writing books.
In short, income from ads is something that I am considering and may still do, but I’d want it to fit as seamlessly as possible into the site and not give off too much of a commercial vibe (and, of course, detract as little as possible from my writing).
Any new cover reveal or teasers on the next book or four?
LOL. I’ll probably reach out to my cover guy this coming week regarding the cover for Ignotus. And I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve already started the next Kid Sensation and Warden books. Finally, I’ve been planning to post something soon, so your comment may be the impetus for that, so thanks!
So any New year’s notices? I missed my Christmas gift of future snippets?
I am Very curious about how the return of Tom frees Errol to fulfill the prophecy. I expect him to learn more from Samara to use his gift from the plant life along the way. I wonder about the strain on the relationship with Gayle since Errol will need to travel more.
I am eager to see the next phase with Gant Maker, and how is escapades, and those of failed high officers that tried to thwart him are handled.
And of course, the evolution of kid sensation. I am thinking that Rune is involved in his return to the past as he establishes the first dominating kingship, leading to his future wife’s reaction to Rune In the prior book. I thought you were going to clear the way to Myshtal but Vestibule is still firmly in the picture. i keep wondering whether Jim will now get multiple powers at once or somehow delays his incarnation status. I expect Myshtal to sneak in another power or two somehow. Then there is the bit about how long will Jim live given his genes and incarnate status.
Anyway, I will stop ruminating, returning to my whining plea for a cover, partial text sample or at least an update on where you are.
Happy New Year. Looking forward to two or three more of your masterpieces this year.
I’m admittedly behind on posting to the blog, but I do have a subject I’ve been intending to write about (although it doesn’t relate directly to my books). Regardless, I plan to get something up as soon as possible.
You make insightful observations. However, it will be difficult for me to offer candid commentary without giving something away. With that in mind, I’ll do my best to respond.
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times previously, the next Fringe Worlds book is done and in the hands of my editor. However, she stays pretty busy, so I can’t guarantee when she’ll complete her review. That said, I’ll probably make the book available for pre-order so that readers will have a date certain regarding when it will be released.
Kid Sensation #8 is next in the queue. The relationship angle will continue to develop. Also, there will be additional news about Jim’s future and powers.
Like KS#8, writing on Warden #4 has already begun (it actually began a while ago). Right now it’s second in line, and I will probably make it – as well as the next Kid Sensation book – available for pre-order.
You’ll probably see a cover soon, LOL, especially with me planning to make use of pre-orders. Also, you’re generally caught up on where I am, but I’ll probably do a formal post on it and will try to put up an excerpt soon.
Happy New Year to you as well, and thanks for being a reader!
Is all communication on Patreon now I don’t see recent comminications
No, not all communication is on Patreon. The plan is to continue posting on my website as well, but in all honesty I’m trying to give my patrons value for their support. Thus, they do get access to exclusive content – things that I generally and historically have not put in my blog posts. For instance, I’ve posted some of the early cover art on Patreon, such as the initial rendition of the Wendigo from the first Warden book.
Basically, I still intend to post on this site; however, as I stated previously, I’m just behind in that regard.