If You'd Like to See Me Blog More... · 7:33pm Aug 12th, 2014
I’m kind of scared to even put this out there as an idea. Before you get angry or write me off as greedy, please talk to me in comments or PMs. This blog post is only trying out an idea, it’s not a request for anything other than opinions. Okay? Here we go...
I need income. The reason for this is kind of depressing, and I’ve avoided mentioning it because so much else has been going on, but in the interest of full disclosure: I used to work for my grandmother, as her companion/caretaker. She’s been in decline for years, and the day after Trixie was born my grandmother passed away. It was… somewhat expected? With her collection of health problems there was the possibility of her dying at any time (or living for a few years in her current condition, or declining further before passing away).
In addition to missing my grandmother, and wishing she could have held on a little longer because I think she would have enjoyed having a baby around , my grandmother’s death puts me out of a job at a time when it’s not exactly convenient for me to look for work outside the home.
To that end, I’m looking for ways to make money at things I can do from home. Writing is something I’m good at, and I hear some people get paid for it, but I’m generally against taking money for fanfic. Not because I think that it in any way harms Hasbro or the creators of original works, but because it’s a legal gray area with the potential to cause problems for fandom if anyone was too successful, and the last thing I want to do is be the person who messed things up for everyone else.
(If you were wondering: Why yes, I do have an original fiction novel that’s supposed to be published. This is one of the downsides with dealing with a small press publisher: I don’t believe anyone involved has been working on it as their primary source of income, and so it tends to slip between the cracks. Since it might well be my primary source of income now I’ve started pushing harder, but I can’t blame my editor or publisher for not hopping just because I need the money.)
So, I need a revenue stream; I won’t take money for writing fanfic and my book will not be out for a while. What can I do?
For one thing, I can blog.
Here’s what I’m thinking: With a combination of a Paypal tip jar and Patreon, I’ll run a kind of kickstarter for a month of blog posts-- one blog post every week, rain or shine (probably on Mondays). They’d be on more or less the same subjects I usually blog on: writing, meta commentary on MLP, fandom goings on. All of them would be as substantial as I can make them given the subject.
All of them would be available to everyone who reads my blog, so in addition to the extra blog posts, I’d offer rewards for contributors:
$1 - A thank you link to your userpage on the last blog post of each month you contribute.
$5 - A monthly thank you link, and prefered suggestion-- you can bring up topics for future posts and I’ll give it extra weight if I think it’s something I could wring some words out of. This is no guarantee, but I know I owe you and I want to give you what you want to read about. (The only things you shouldn’t bother to suggest are real world politics and religion-- I don’t like to blog about those, so that’s a much higher price point if you cared for some reason.)
$10 - Above, plus a one-on-one brainstorming session-- I’m not good at most editing (with one exception, noted below) but what I am good at is ideas. A number of people seem to come to me for thinking up story ideas or finding the problems and solutions in fics they’re currently writing. My goal in these sessions isn’t to tell you what to write, it’s to figure out what you want to write and offer everything I can think of that would help you write it and end up with a story that people will want to read. If I ever put my foot down on something, it’s in the sense of “if you do that, this is the story you will end up with. If that’s not the story you want, don’t do that.” If you offer $10, and are interested in my input, I’ll clear an hour for skyping or chatting on gdocs, or go back and forth on emails or PMs about your story for a week. (I might stretch those out if it’s something I’m interested in, or I really feel like I can help more.)
$20 - Thank you link, prefered suggestion, and choice of brainstorming session or dialogue editing on 10,000 words or less-- the one kind of editing I’m actually good at. I’ve helped a few people like Tchernobog and Bad Horse spot places where dialogue was weak or OOC, and sometimes offered alternatives or tips for what to change. So I’d be happy to make a pass over your short story or chapter to see if there’s anything I can suggest. Keep in mind I wouldn’t really be editing-- don’t ask me about grammar or spelling, or pacing or prose. I’m just there for the words that come out of a character’s brain or mouth.
$50 - Above, but instead of a prefered suggestion you can just tell me what to write about for one blog post. Even if it’s something I don’t want to write about. Politics? Religion? Good things about FlutterDash? Why Bad Horse’s death ray will be a benefit to mankind? I’ll write it as seriously and entertainingly as I can, in the spirit of the request.
Over $50 - All of the above, plus you’re my new best friend and I’ll love you forever. As my best friend, feel free to hit me up for favors.
How much do I need to fund this each month? I don’t know, exactly. In addition to his full time job, Old Toby has been getting freelance work as an RPG writer (he’s currently doing work for Cubicle 7 on their One Ring RPG line, and is hoping to branch out to a few other lines with them and other companies.) This fall I’ll also have honey from my beehives to sell locally, and I might supplement my income with some self-published stuff I’ll be sure to let people know about. (Some of which might be TOTALLY NOT humanized, serial-numbers-filed-off stuff, and/or erotica, if people are interested in that direction. Despite not liking monetized fanfic, I have zero problem with the 50 Shades of Gray route.)
Since I can’t quote a number, this is how I’m going to work it: If I make a post asking for donations for the next month, I’m locked in. You’ll get your four blog posts, and whatever reward you qualify for. If I didn’t make enough the month before, I won’t ask for (or collect from Patreon) donations for the next month, and I’ll blog as I have time. Not because I wouldn’t love to continue blogging regularly, but because I’ll be looking for a job and probably won’t have time to write as much.
Some of you might be wondering if this means I’ll write less fanfic… I don’t think it does. If anything, thinking more about writing and ponies will probably mean I’ll be writing more, and since the alternative is to find work outside of my home there’s a good chance I’d be writing even less if this doesn’t work out. I haven’t exactly been a fanfic publishing machine recently, but I don’t think this is likely to change that for the worse.
In terms of having time for all of this, with a new baby… well, right now the idea is that I would have even less time with my baby if I got a job somewhere else. I have family literally next door, and they understand my financial position, so if this is how I’m making money then Trixie can spend some time with the grandparents in a more informal, flexible way than I’d have to ask for with outside employment. Besides the fact that writing is something I can do during naptimes or when she’s in her swing.
So… what do you guys think? I’ll put up an official donation post before next month if no one brings out the torches and pitchforks on me, or has a better idea. I don’t expect to make a ton of money here, but if little donations add up to an extra hundred or so a month, it would be a big help.
If you’re curious, some ideas I have for potential blog posts that I haven’t gotten around to writing are:
The Three Levels on which a Story is Built -- Something I made up years ago to help me think about where problems are in a story and how I can (and can’t) fix them.
What Fanfic Can Help Writers Learn (and What it Can’t.) -- Basically, how fanfic can help build certain writing skills, and which ones you need to practice someplace else if you want to get better at original fiction.
What Each Ship Is Good At -- Beyond liking or disliking a ship, or a ship working or not working, every ship has stories that come easily and stories that are harder to tell. I’d go into the mane six ships, and maybe other big ships, and talk about the kinds of stories each is naturally suited for.
Scope and Focus -- How stories can change based on the scale of events and where the writer puts the focus, and how to use POV, person, tense, and narration to change the focus.
Worldbuilding in the Details -- Adding minor details like objects, language use, and references to imply larger aspects of a world or make established aspects of the world feel “real.”
The Shifting of a Fanfic Community -- My observations on how the kinds of stories produced and enjoyed by MLP fandom have changed over the years, and predictions for the future.
Five Under-rated or Misunderstood Background Ponies Who Deserve Your Attention -- Characters I feel people make weird assumptions about, and why they could be pretty cool in a different light.
My Long Winded Take on Earth Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasi Subcultures -- Using the implications in the show to talk about how life in Equestria is different for different types of ponies.
I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your grandmother, I wish I had the money to help you out. But I hope that Trixie was able to see her.
An elder passing after extended health problems can be a blessing and a tragedy; I'm sorry.
Light up that Patreon.
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Unfortunately, Trixie wasn't able to meet her. Trixie was born at 11:41 PM on the 28th, and my grandmother passed away before noon the next day, so we were still in the hospital.
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And I totally understand not having the money. If I'm lucky/successful, this will hopefully be an ongoing thing, so if you ever have a windfall I hope you'd be willing to keep it in mind. Of course, that's a lot of "if."
2365054 I hope that I can support you in other ways.
Best of luck to you.
I know Trixie's pain, my grandmother passed away just a month before I was born. Heartfelt condolences to your grandmother.
I'm kind of weird with money right now as I don't know if I'll have much in the future, but I can try to donate some as a one-off thing.
Firstly, my condolences on grandmother's death. It's never easy.
Secondly, I can't imagine anyone can see anything at all objectionable in this. It's a perfectly understandable and reasonable.
Thirdly, I am a bit... thin on cash, both chronically—for reasons you can probably guess—and acutely. The first is a continuing problem I'm dealing with, but the second does preclude me from contributing right away. With luck, and if this is a continuing thing, I should be able to do it in a few months provided certain checks clear. Sorry.
If I was older I would donate, but there's close to no chance of getting my dad to donate any money (especially this month... I kind of used up all of my phones data plan for the month, and he got really mad.) But maybe sometime in the future I can convince him into donating a dollar or so
(PS: Beatrix is adorable.)
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. My grandmother is slowly leaving our lives and it's such a struggle. I'm sure Baby Trixie will do her level best to keep you busy and happy nevertheless.
Post that Patreon, I have monies to give to help!
Patreon, is that like only weekly stuff, or can you also shoot a one time amount?
It certainly can't hurt to try. The ability to write an entertaining and informative article is a commodity that is sold all over the world, so if you have a willing base, there's no reason at all to be unwilling or ashamed. You may end up with diminishing returns, though. People that are willing to donate at the beginning may get tapped out, but at the very least, it would help for a while. That's better than nothing.
There is a saying over here that when an old life comes to an end, a new life begins. I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother.
About your idea: Patreon really is the way to go. Heck, I've thought about trying it out as well. It's not instant money, but it really hedges out quality products (such as your writing) from the rest. I'm behind you 100%!
Also give a kiss to Trixie for me.
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Patreon would be monthly, but I'd also set up a paypal tip jar that people could use for one time donations, or if they're not sure they can commit to a monthly amount.
And just so you know, Trixie is awake right now, and I hate to not pay attention to her while she's awake (since it's only a few hours a day right now.) So, she's sharing my lap with the computer, and listening to me read this while I type it.
And, 2365246 , I gave her a kiss right on the forehead from you. She'd like to offer a kind of blankly amazed stare back.
This may seem like an odd opinion, but I'd honestly rather just donate than enter into a financial transaction where it feels like you owe me anything.
No pitchforks here! Go for it.
This link talks about how to set up a successful patreon campaign. This link is focused more on video content producers more than writers, but the same underlying principles apply, more or less.
Personally, I'll help out if I can. I know very well how difficult it can be without a job. Some other things you could consider while you get yourself in a stable position again:
"disability" pay: Check your local laws for maternity pay. Basically, when you give birth, or have been in the hospital for a while, you can apply for a sort of temporary disability while you recover. I think your employer might have to sign off on it, which would be very hard to do in this case, but if I were you, I'd ask about it. Giving birth does count, after all. And no, it's not like the usual disability that you usually see; this is for people like you, in your case; in the hospital for a while and need some help while you transition back to being home.
Another option is unemployment. Since you are now unemployed, you definitely qualify for that. Assuming you're not already doing this, of course.
For this first month, I would consider just doing the paypal tip jar. Patreon isn't meant to be a sort of a "every month" type of deal, not once a month, and then who knows after that. If, after this first month, you decide that you like what you're doing, and go to continue it from there, THEN set up a patreon. Just keep in mind the link I linked you at the beginning of this ramble.
I hope that you can figure this all out, and I hope that this helps.
You and Trixie have a good day!
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You can definitely shoot me a paypal link.
Tell Trixie that crazy Belgian said hi
2365318 I'll take it!
I gots no moneys to give...
...but I got this.
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I hate being poor. I could help so many people if I were rich...
$50+ a month and I'll get a new best friend? Hahaha!
No, but seriously, I'd be more than happy with donating a few dollars to you. Monthly? Mmmm, I'll look into my budget, but I know for sure I can AT LEAST do it once. Just set up that Patreon and we'll see how things go.
And don't worry, life has it's low points, and I am very sorry that your grandmother passed, but... life always gets better. It's a rollercoaster ride from start to stop, and you better hold on because this isn't the end for you. It's gonna rocket back up here pretty soon.
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Thank you for the link! I'll be keeping that in mind. I'm actually less worried about the first month not going well than I am about continuing it two or three months down the line, when I have a feeling a lot of paypal donations will have trailed off. (Basically, what 2365241 said.) The problem is that I won't know how this will hold up long term until it does or doesn't hold up long term. It would be nice if, by then, I've come up with some other situation that would give me time to keep the patreon campaign as some extra money coming in, but in the event that's not the case I wanted to let people know what would happen.
In terms of the other things, I'll look into them, along with other forms of assistance (WIC, for example.)
I appreciate the help!
I'm just a drop in the ocean in support for you, but yeah. I'll get your back on what I can spend.
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That said, expect me sometime to be a faggot and make you write a blogpost on why RariJack is a good ship, or something just as detestable to you, though. I can't let you get off scott-free from it, after all.
Sorry about your grandma, but from what you've been saying, it was a circling the drain issue anyway, so it's for the best that she finally is at rest.
If you put up a Patreon, I'd be happy to toss in a buck or so each blog post. Say three or four bucks a month. The benefits of having a low, but fairly stable income. Can't give much, but it can be a regular thing.
First I wanna say, congratulations on the kid! She's adorable. I've been meaning to say that since I saw the pictures two days after the fact, but I have quirks about timing, and didn't catch posts as they happened, and that's all pretty much irrelevant so I'll get on with it.
Sorry to hear about your grandmother. ...Words for unpleasant things don't come easily to me, so forgive me if I don't say more, but I do know how much that sucks, even if I don't know how to express it properly.
As for the rest, I have to say I'm all for seeing you blog more! I never really launched into the community here like I'd wanted to, but following your blog has always been entertaining. I particularly enjoyed your Ask The Ponies (I think you called it?) bits, and the writing theory stuff has caught my attention much more thoroughly than I would have expected (even without writing anything myself, it helps me appreciate more in the things I read). I'd be more than willing to put a few bucks towards that regularly, if only to support your desire to do it.
BUT, all that being said, if it's prompted by need, I'd feel much more comfortable just giving you money without the obligation to write being attached. If you're intent on doing this anyway then I guess it would be redundant to just not count what I give, but I am willing to help out where I can even if this falls through. Just keep that in mind if this setup becomes unsustainable or starts feeling like more trouble than it's worth.
Ever heard of Fiverr.com? The idea is that you offer people to do a job, and they pay you five dollars for it. You can do something like offer to write 500 words of copy writing for five bucks. There are a lot of little websites and blogs that are always looking for cheap people write little articles. You'll get contracted to do almost nothing but SEO articles and fake product reviews, but I know someone whose made a pretty decent supplementary income through it, though my own experience with the site is limited. If you're hard up for money, might be worth looking into.
I've just been delving into some work-from-home type stuff lately as well. I've found the blog http://realwaystoearnmoneyonline.com/ to be a pretty decent, up to date resource. A lot of them are low paying, but some are decent, like essay grading for writescore and such. They do a big hiring push right before school starts, so you might be in time for that, if you want to look into it.
2365571 Exactly the same things I was about to say.
I think Patreon is a good idea. It's basically not so much 'hit up all the equally starving people you love', but 'amaze some random people who code databases or something for a living, who make about $1000 an hour and to whom your problems are literally nothing'.
It's an ideal technological response to gross inequality, sort of? Put together a video in which you are dandling Trixie and explaining how you're a writer doing thus and so, with a new baby. Go heavier on what you can do going forward, but don't skip over the more dire parts of your situation: I think you'll need both.
The reason Patreon excites me is, it's geared toward people who can keep stuff up. Not so much about the 'I randomly decided to make potato salad', but 'this is who I am and I want to live a life of making art/things/stories, and I think I can keep 'em coming'.
If you can imagine more grandiose things and put them in a 'unreasonably high' donation bracket, and then be prepared in case Patreon decides it wants to make you do all the stuff you imagined (I think you just get paid on completion of things but you can cite very high fees for making grandiose things), that can turn into a real job :)
I think Patreon is a good idea, but I'm not sure if publishing would be more effective. Beside the legal gray area, I think you might be able to turn a decent profit on some original or fan novels. Fan ones might have some more success.
I'm afraid I don't really have money to give, but I wish you the best of luck nonetheless and I'll still be here if you need some talking.
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I have no problem if people would like to donate without expecting anything... it's still being offered, but I think of it like Girl Scout cookies-- you can buy them because you love the cookies, or because you want to give money to the Girl Scouts, or maybe you wouldn't normally pay four dollars for a box of cookies, even though you like them, but because it's for the Girl Scouts you will.
Since I'll probably need to ask on a regular basis, having some kind of cookie might tempt some people, and makes me feel like I might be less annoying.
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Thanks for the links! I've been looking at them, and both look like really good resources. I appreciate the tip!
After looking this over again, I have to ask, what do you mean with the fifty shades of gray route?
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Writing a story that is obviously a fanfic but with the names and setting changed so that it can be published, and/or writing said story as erotica to make it more popular.
2420025 So, this would serve as an option for people to basically comission stories from you, which are altered so that they aren't fanfics?
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I was specifically talking about writing one I wanted to write and selling it on Amazon, but if people were interested in that, and they didn't mind humanized, I could do that. It wouldn't be anything anyone wanted, I have limits, but I'm not opposed to the idea (like I am commissioning fics.)