Putting Some Feelers Out · 11:43am Jan 21st, 2018
A friend (and roommate) of mine suggested that maybe I should get into writing commission fics. I find the idea kind of intriguing. I'd get to exercise and sharpen some writing skills by working off a prompt for something I might not think to do otherwise, and someone with an idea but a dearth of writings skills (or just someone who likes my particular style) gets their fic made. There's also the fact that it would simply force me to sit down and write more. Sure, a hefty percentage of that market seems to be for writing porn, but that's a challenge I've been considering trying my hand at as well, just to see if I'm any good at it.
This train of thought was brought on by my current freelance writing gig for a web based education company drying up (they're moving away from text content) forcing me to seek out other freelance writing work or consider selling out and getting a "real job" by becoming a petrophysicst and working for an oil company. Not that I'm looking to make ponyfic writing my dayjob or anything, it's more I'm looking for an excuse to justify doing more of it, and that would be easier to pull off if doing so contributed in any way to keeping the power on.
I guess there's three purposes to this post.
1. Test the waters to see if this is an idea worth pursuing. To anyone who bothers to read this post (all five of you I assume), weigh in and let me know if it sounds like a good idea, or if there's a much better idea on how to convert ponyfic writing into remaining not-homeless. Should I revive my many years dead Scienceandponies youtube channel?
2. Solicit advice from anyone who actually knows how the commission game works. Are there some best methods and practices for how to set up payments and such? Some rules of etiquette to follow? Standard rates?
3. Accept any offers if it turns out one of you has always dreamed of throwing money at me to write something.
I've also heard suggestion of setting up a Patreon, but I don't like how that's set to a monthly recurring system, when I'd just want something analogous to a tip jar that people throw something in or ignore as they choose. I'd also have to figure out what I could possibly offer as member rewards. Input on what I write next just seems like a roundabout way back to commission writing. I don't know what "exclusive content" I could possibly offer, and hate the idea of paywalls anyway. Similar issue with GoFundMe and other such systems rely on specific "goals".
It has its pros and cons. On one hand, if you think taking commissions will motivate you to keep writing and that the money will be helpful, then it might be worth trying. On the other, it might make your hobby seem less like a hobby and more like a chore, in that you lose out on time writing stories you personally want to pursue.
I think commissions sound like a good idea if you're willing and able to churn out peoples ideas semi-consistently.
Also I'm more of a patreon guy myself. Donating up to a big goal isn't that easy or comfortable for some, but a small recurring payment is much easier to balance for me. It stings less than a lump sum and follows my paycheck so i don't really need to stop doing it ever, so it's consistent!
Some writers have both a PayPal tip jar and a patreon. You could do that to cover all bases from different types of spenders! I think there is also a tip jar site called Kofi that some artists i know use as well.
And I'd commission you, but I'd need to reread a story or two again to get a feel for what I might want. I have preexisting ideas, but they are on the more porny side of things