Patreon - Chain Story

At the beginning of the year I started up a Patreon Page. I have to admit that right now this experiment is an utter failure. Part of it may be because I'm unwilling to beg my friends to pledge to "get the ball rolling" and show the world that I do indeed have some patrons. But I think the biggest part is that I don't have a big enough fan following yet for my writing. This is something that's going to take time, and far more publications under my belt (also clearly getting a hang of marketing for more visibility). With indie publishing, the Long Game feels like a bit of an understatement sometimes. ;)

This doesn't mean I'm completely giving up on Patreon, though. I was seriously looking forward to having some fun with it, to interact with my patrons and write super short stories or poems in response to offered prompts. Writing can be a lonely business, elbows deep in a novel especially, so mixing in a bit of a game for fun and interaction sounded appealing to me. After next month, though, I likely won't be actively posting to Patreon. At least not until I actually have a patron (or more books and a bigger following behind me to make a bigger push with the Patreon platform).

So, here's the game plan:

❦ Last month I posted the beginning of a Chain Story. This post is a public post. That means anyone can see it and respond to it with no need to be a patron (in other words - free). Only one person has added to it so far, and then I added another sentence as well. I'd love to see more people add to it. You don't even need to be a writer to add a sentence! Chain stories can wander down some pretty strange paths. So, I'll try to get more people involved with the Chain Story over the next month or so. Share it around - this is supposed to be for fun!

❦ In September, I'll post another story. This one will also be public. I recently got my kids some Story Cubes. I intend to use them to write the September story! As a bonus, if my eldest daughter writes something with the same roll, I'll post that as well (if she lets me).

❦ Some time in October, if I still have no patrons, I'll announce a hiatus on Patreon. Though I'll likely post public updates at least every other month.

❦ If any interest is finally shown in my Patreon Page or when I feel I might have more of a following that would be interested, I'll be happy to start creating more content for the page. I just can't keep creating content that no one is seeing at this time!

So, go on and add to the Chain Story. I look forward to see how it progresses!

Patreon

So, I'm always interested in trying new things, and since I completed my Baker's Dozen Experiment, I figured it was about time I experiment with something else.

I made a Patreon page!

I've been publishing my short stories and novels, but I have a bunch of flash fiction and poems that I would love to share with the world. I thought Patreon would be the perfect way to offer these shorter works, as well as a way to have an option for readers to interact with me a bit more.

I know some people aren't completely familiar with Patreon, so I figured I'd take the time to let you all know how it works. It's similar to Kickstarter, but instead of pledging for a single project, it's paying for new content that the artist adds to her Patreon page on a regular basis.

What it really boils down to is it's kind of like a magazine subscription, but you get to choose how much you want to pay for that subscription. And depending on the amount you choose to pay, you'll get some fun bonuses. As a matter of fact, right now it's the only way you can get a signed copy of The Mind Behind the Mind (unless you happen to run into me, since the only signing I plan to attend in the coming year is at In Your Write Mind)!

There are two options that an artist can choose when she sets up her Patreon page. The first is to charge monthly. So, if you pledge $1, you would be charged every month to receive the content included in that price. The other option is to charge per creation. Every month you're charged for the content posted from the previous month.

I chose to charge per creation. Mainly because I only intend to post one flash story or poem per month. I might post two now and then, but not that often. As a subscriber, you can also choose the maximum amount of creations you're willing to be charged for each month. So, if you only want to pay for one each month, you won't be charged if I post a second one.

The lowest pledge for my work is $1, and that includes the ability to feed me writing prompts for the content I'll be posting on Patreon! To look at all my pledge levels (starting with The Pixie and all the way up to The Unicorn), please visit my Patreon page. Your support is appreciated. =)

I also added a handy little button to my blog and website that will take you to a page to subscribe. See it there on the left?

And if I hit some of my pledge goals, I may add some other bonuses as well for those already subscribed. ;)

Oh, and how could I forget? I posted a Drabble for free! So, you can read that while you're considering subscribing. I'll be posting another Drabble tomorrow, but that one will only be for paid readers!

Happy reading, everyone! I can't wait to share some of my shorter works with all of you.