Two Important Announcements (one of them is Letters From a Friend related) · 6:46pm Dec 4th, 2014
What has it been now? 7 weeks? Just about there, I think. It's been nearly two months since I posted the last chapter of Letters From a Friend at the End of the World, and at the time I said that I would be posting the first chapter of the sequel shortly afterwards.
...That did not happen. Instead, I did a lot of soul-searching and realizing that I may have fucked a few things up, and so and so forth. The point is that I delayed the release of the first chapter of the sequel, Unread Letters From a Friend at the End of the World, until I felt it was better than whatever crap I would've released unedited and unchecked, as I had been doing for the past two years. It took a long time until I finally felt ready to tackle that chapter, and begin this saga anew. Well, I finally finished the rough draft of the first chapter, and it is awaiting editing now. I finally feel ready to start writing this story again, and I'm actually enjoying writing for what feels like the first time in months. I sat down and cranked out about half the chapter in one sitting, then finished the rest in short bursts, while at work, and while driving to visit my mother for Thanksgiving. Anyway, the point is that I'm back, and Letters is back as well. For those of you who were unhappy with the ending, but decide to keep reading once I post the sequel, I hope you will be pleased with where the story progresses from here. And for those of you who maybe had your doubts about the ending, but were not upset by it, I hope that you will continue reading and perhaps come to understand why things happened the way they did.
I don't know how long it will be until the sequel is posted. As I said, it's currently awaiting editing (something I've never really done before), but I don't imagine it'll take too terribly long. So, here's a peek at what we're looking at for the future.
The cover art is temporary, though longtime fans will recognize it.
Because you guys have been so patient in waiting for this chapter, here's a little preview (unedited) of what you'll be reading soon.
Trixie barely had time to ponder this thought before she was being shoved into a narrow stairwell that spiralled upwards around the outer edge of the tower. Here, larger windows illuminated the staircase, and allowed Trixie an increasingly privileged look at Frostvale, the higher they climbed. Passing one window, Trixie saw what looked like the market square where hundreds of ponies had already gathered to sell their wares. Another window and she saw a line of large buildings built into the side of the mountain that anchored Frostvale's northern border. The way the buildings were tiered suggested to Trixie that they were homes, likely for the more wealthy citizens. And, in fact, her guess was soon proven right as she reached the next window which showed Frostvale's slums. Squat homes were all smashed together with no regard for any regularity. It gave the impression of being built haphazardly, one building at a time, where a pony simply built their home wherever there was room. Trixie watched a couple of foals race out of a dilapidated house and into the pile of snow on the opposite side of the road. They had just started hurling snowballs at one another when Trixie’s gaze was broken.
With another turn, Trixie felt her breath leave her lungs. Out of the window she saw the whole valley laid out before her. The mountain she and her friends had come out of sat ominously to the west of a thin river which ran right up to the city walls, and probably inside too, Trixie guessed. It was very likely that the river flowed down from the mountains which made up Frostvale's northern wall, which would also explain why there was such a large city so far north. The gates of the city were closed, and the snow-covered road which Trixie had walked very recently was being patrolled by a contingent guardsmen, their black cloaks and silver armor making them rather conspicuous against the harsh white of the snow. As she tried to look down, Trixie felt herself being pushed forward by the guard behind her. She stumbled a little, but stayed on her hooves.
Well then, now that we've got all that stuff out of the way, let's talk about the next topic I wanted to bring up in this blog. You see, as some of you may recall, I was lucky enough to attend Bronycon last year, and I had a fucking blast doing it. This year I'm a little less certain of my ability to attend. Money is tight, and I burned through the majority of my savings simply paying for the hotel last year. With winter upon us now, my working hours have greatly diminished, which means I make significantly less money every month... but my rent doesn't decrease. Last year I was unable to save any money for about 5 months, and it's looking like it'll be even worse this year. I now have no savings to fall back on, and I'm struggling just to pay my bills. Throw on top of that the fact that I'm starting university again, after several years of waiting, come January, and things are going to be rough for me.
I have no doubt that I'll make it through this just fine. I always have, but the likelihood of me being able to both pay my rent, and save enough money to attend Bronycon is looking decreasingly possible. So, to that end, I've been thinking about the possibility of starting up a Patreon account to help raise money. The purpose of this is two-fold. On the one hand, earning money from writing helps me be able to save more money for the future, especially with regards to things like Bronycon. And on the other hand, earning money from writing means I don't have to spend as much time at my "real" job to be able to pay the bills each month.
I want to make one thing extremely clear here. If I go through with this Patreon thing, it does not mean that I'll stop writing unless I get payed. I will continue Letters and other fics regardless of the outcome. I don't want this to appear as though I'm blackmailing you guys to continue writing these fics. That being said, what will likely happen, especially once I go back to college, is that I will have less and less time to spend writing for you guys. Updates will be slow and infrequent, more so than they were in the past. However, with Patreon, if I'm able to raise some money, it will decrease the pressure on me to work to pay the bills, and will in turn free up time to spend on writing, meaning the more money I earn, the more frequently I'll be able to update things. Again, just to be clear, I will continue writing no matter what happens, but I will be able to write more often, and update with greater frequency the less I have to work to pay bills.
So, with all that being said, if I were to start up a Patreon account, first off, would you guys be interested/willing to contribute to something like that? Second, if so, what kind of rewards would you want for pledging your hard-earned money to me? I've taken a look at other people's Patreon accounts, like Wanderer D, and he offers things like "Pledge $2 and you get to pre-read the next chapter of whatever fic you're endorsing" or "Pledge $10 and I'll write a minimum 3.5k fic based off an idea you give me (the details of which would be up to me)" etc. etc. In addition to that, I wonder if you guys would be interested in something like "Once a cumulative goal is reached (like say $50 raised) every month, I'll hold a skype call, or google hangouts, for anyone that contributed to discuss whatever you want while I write a chapter of a fic that gets the most endorsement". Another idea would be to offer my services as an editor/reviewer (since I am both a member of WRITE and Seattle's Angels), or perhaps to write short little commissions, maybe under 1k, for small pledges. I could also plug you, or a fic you want to be plugged on my blog, though I'm not sure how effective that would be given I don't have all that many followers.
Anyway, in the comments, if you're interested in this idea please tell me two things. One, what you think of the ideas I've given for rewards, and two, what ideas you might have for rewards for pledges. I really do want to be able to update things more frequently than I used to, but that will be very hard to do if I have to work more just pay my rent. Just one more time, because again I want to be extremely clear, this is not blackmail. I'm not asking for money as bribes to keep writing. I'm going to write regardless. I just won't be able to write as often if I have less money. That's all.
So, lemme know what you guys think. Here's a picture of Trixie to help you think.
derpicdn.net/img/2012/10/21/128705/medium.png
Glad to hear you caught your second wind on Letters Book 2. I also wrote a new chapter for my Chrono fic. We should totes coordinate and be Feature Box buddies—you in New Fics, me in Updated. Sock and Ferret are, as you're undoubtedly aware, good people, so I'm expecting that the new process for chapter updates should be a smooth transition for you.
I really love the idea of Patreon in general. I don't personally have one, because I'm a hack, but it's a great format for fans to support content creators. As you stated, it's not about blackmail; it's just tossing a little something something your way.
I like the reward ideas, sticking to things that people know you for—brainstorming Letters, writing reviews, and the like. I don't know what your plans are for That's Historical and your movie reviews and that like of stuff, but another potential reward is letting people pick a topic for you to blog about. Bookplayer has been doing something nice with that, if you've been following her recent blog serieseses. Another possible reward is recording sound clips of yourself moaning the contributor's name, all sexy-like.
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Both excellent ideas, actually. What would one pay for the second suggestion? Let's start the bidding at $100.
Thanks for the preview, but I won't read it due to not wanting to be spoiled for the sequel. Aside from that, YAY IT'S THE ORIGINAL COVERART AGAIN (even though I know there is already an official cover art being worked on for the sequel, but I'm glad to see it again).
As for your Patreon idea, it's not too bad but you have to consider the fact that it is a commitment your followers would have to keep if you ever need that money. Patreon is a system based on trust, and depends on the stability of your users' income as well. For example: I don't have a job and thus I can't afford to give you money every month via Patreon due to my own problem.
So yeah. Patreon can be great, but only if everything is solid with your relationship to your followers as well as their money issue as well.
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Very true, however, there are two ways to go about Patreon. One way is the monthly payments, like you said, but the other way, the one I'd more likely do, is payment upon completion of certain content. So, someone would pledge say, $2, and then I would receive that money upon publishing of a chapter, or a new fic, depending on what that person was pledging money towards.
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We talking just some phoned in "oh baby oh baby", or actually putting some feeling and emotion into it?
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Son, if I'm gonna moan your name into a microphone, I'm putting my fucking heart and soul into it.
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Sounds like a good idea.
I liked Letters but it did have some large issues so hearing this delay was caused by you polishing the sequel and that it will be released soon is the best kind of news.
Go for it. If I'm not able to go this year, I'd rather have someone I know and trust go in my stead.