This is not a joke. · 6:45pm Jun 21st, 2019
I need money.
Every time I say this, it gets brushed off. Because it's not an emergency, because it's not a big number, because it's not a one-time thing.
Here's my situation: My income is patreon, and that is it. I publish six chapters of fanfic worth a month, and that barely pays my bills. I go to the food bank twice a month to cover groceries. My rent is paid by my parents... who themselves have recently been fired because why the heck not.
Every time I say this, I get the same responses. "Get a job." Nobody's hiring. "Save more money." I don't have enough of an income to have that option. "Take commissions." I put up commission prices and barely ever get anybody commissioning me. "Write more." Six chapters a month.
I need money. 475 dollars a month for rent. That is what my parents pay, and they can't pay it any more.
I've been busy this whole month helping a whole lot of my fellow writers on massive collaberations and haven't had a lot of time to work on my own stuff. I can't charge for collaborations--that would be rude and complicated. I'm going to have to double down in these last few days just to get my standard output done.
It feels like I pour a lot into this community--into many fanfic communities--and I get 'hey this is neat' and 'this made me think' and I like that, but it's also... just, the usual. Just something that people do because it's expected when I read my stuff. I know that's not the case, but...
I need money. Regularly. And the only thing that has ever worked for me, the only way I've ever been able to get it, is by writing fanfic and begging my readers for spare change.
Yes, I'm a starving artist. Living alone. Heck, if I could find a roommate to pay the rent, that would be fine, but the one time I put up an ad I was inundated with spambots and phishers.
I.
Need.
Money.
I don't know how much clearer I can be.
sorry to say this dude but in respons to 'nobodies hireing' there are two responses to that either your not looking hard enough or you need to move on to greener pastures, it sucks, i didnt wana do it myself but ya know what i did it anyway cause i didnt have a choice
you go where the money is, if you need help ill give it for a bit, but if your situation is THAT bad, you NEED to move to a place where you can find work.
also a link to your patreon page or paypal so i can actualy give said money would be nice
5077673
Yeah because this country(if Masterweaver lives in the US) obviously doesn't have a problem of too much excess labor and not enough demand for it. There are so many people needing minimum wage jobs that every person taking that job is expendable because there are 10 people able to take their place.
5077675
i'm a 460 pound blob with no formal education, i get paid 15 bucks an hour, if I could find a job anyone can, you just have to be willing to go where the work is, i never said it didnt suck absolute donkey balls, nor did i say it would be easy.
but its the truth of hte mater.
and because i know its not easy is why im willing to help i just need a dang link to the place where the money needs to go :P
If you post your resume, I’ll make recommendations. Everyone has usable skills. I work in the Aerospace industry and you would be great at tech writing. Tech Orders, proposals, procedures, etc. Clarity of writing is a big plus and you’ve got that.
Also, just because you got slammed by spam the last time you looked for a roommate shouldn’t dissuade you from trying again. Might need to advertise on a different medium. Maybe Facebook Marketplace?
5077687
My resume is "Professional fanfiction writer."
I feel you :(
I’ve been enjoying a glut of your work lately. But instead of this site, it’s been on Space Battles. Mostly the Boldores and Boomsticks thread. I’ll definitely boost my Patreonage to you to keep that going. I also feel like commissioning something, Pony related or not, and can wire some money anyway.
The responses you're seeing are also not a joke. I realize you're in dire straits, and advice might seem of no immediate help. But your friends are encouraging you to continue to look for work, because you need to hear that right now. You cannot count on writing donations to pay your expenses, and that does not mean your friends aren't being generous enough.
If the only thing you are doing for money (aside from begging from friends and family) is writing My Little Pony fanfiction for a small audience, and you only write six chapters per month(!), what are you doing with the remaining 95% of your free time? That time needs to be spent looking for solutions to this problem.
I hope you are able to land on your feet from this. If you accept donations that aren't recurring, I'd be happy to throw something your way right now so you have time to figure out what to do with yourself. You should link to a Paypal or Kofi account where you will accept donations.
I lost a job too recently but I'll reblog this when I go back to the University.
Have you experimented with posting on other fanfiction sites?
Do you really need your own apartment (That your parents were paying for anyway.)? Move back in with them.
5077691
You can rephrase this in a way that makes you more attractive as a candidate for other writing positions. What level of education do you have? What was its focus?
You could try working for content mills that perform miscellaneous writing jobs paid by the word or per job. This article talks about them. https://prowritingaid.com/art/693/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Writing-for-a-Content-Mill.aspx
The style would be different and you would have to do some research for job content and phrasing, but it can be good for getting by if not building experience for your resume.
No, making a living writing mlp fanfics probably isn't possible. That doesn't mean the experience was a waste.
Promote your Patreon in your Profile description and in your story descriptions?
It works like how linking in posts does usually.
[url=Thing]Thing
Link your Patreon in this post!
Ask for signal boosts from FOME et al.
5077695
Actually, 95% of my time is writing fanfiction (though admittedly, not solely pony fanfiction). For a large audience, if I'm honest.
Look, I've tried looking for jobs and applying before. Many times. I have never gotten anything out of it. Not acceptance letters or even rejections, it doesn't matter how many times and how many people I send applications to, nobody has ever hired me. This is literally the only way I have ever gotten money--not because I have never tried anything else, but because I have never been given a chance to do anything else. And that, frankly, is out of my control.
5077718
5077693
There is a link to my patreon and my Ko-fi on my profile page.
Boosting now!
5077683 dude, I wish it's that easy. To simply pack up and move to where the work is. But fact of the matter is that for a lot of us, Masterweaver likely included, we simply don't have that luxury. For one reason or another, be it family or financial reasons, we're rooted to where we are.
Prysm, I've known people who've had everything going for them. Who've had an education, diploma, the whole works. Everything that would've theoretically landed them the 401K dream job. And they couldn't find a job cause there's no demand in that industry anymore.
I won't assume to know what Masterweaver is doing in the background. I do agree that he should post a link to PayPal or ko-fi or whatever so anyone who CAN help can send money and that he should keep an eye out for any job listings in his area. But I know from experience that when money is as tight as it is, simply "going to where the work" is isn't feasible.
5077730
Yes, but you've gotta go to your Profile page to see it, and who does?
Having it in the Story and Profile descriptions makes it much more visible?
But, I shrug. You do you.
5077691
That rut is comfortable, but eventually you get hungry.
5077691
You sure there’s nothing else that you could build on? Any hobbies or random occurrences that could possibly give you some more options? Anything your friends and family taught you? Or maybe something else that you could do as well with your writing skills?
Regardless of what others may think, I truly feel your pain - I'm currently going through a very long term illness that means I'm unable to work and, yeah, it's all very well saying "get a job", but that's rarely truly in your control and, given that you are getting some money from your writing (well deserved, in my opinion), I don't think it's unreasonable to prioritize that certain source of money over a small chance you might get more.
Fortunately for me, I'm in a country with a half-decent benefits system (even if they are trying desparately to dismantle it and keep it from those who need it) and I have a decent support network, so I'm able to give something. It's only $5 on the pateon and I truly wish I could do more, but I hope it helps a little.
5077745
I could argue but I won't I've said my peace and I don't want to bog down this thread with arguments
Oof, I can relate an uncomfortable amount. I wish I had money to spare and help you out, but the most I can do is send well wishes. Try and keep your head up.
5077673
You got moving-to-a-new-place money?
*Slurps coffee loudly*
5077730
It doesn't matter if you've tried and failed to find a job previously. You have to keep trying because you're not going to make rent every month by begging on Fimfiction.
At the very least you could apply to a temp center that will pimp you out to employers. You can type, so you can do data entry. You can do manual labor at some level. There are agencies in any mid-size or larger population center.
I know finding work is hard, but you don't have a choice anymore. You have to spend all of your free time finding a job, starting now, until you do. Applejack will be there in spirit to keep you focused on what you need to do. I believe you can get over the mental hurdle and stop accepting failure as an option.
I used to do online audio transcription as a second job when I needed help making ends meet; maybe something like that would work for you. It's contract work, so you gotta set aside your own taxes and there aren't benefits, but you can kinda work as much as you want, and a lot of times there are "rush assignments" that pay extra.
Adding to online work suggestions, when I was hard-up a couple years ago the best easy-entry job I found was with Wonder, putting together short research writeups on random topics for random people. There was a short test to get in, and various trial/probation periods, but at the time the pay was quite reasonable, and it had a nice community of workers, and also some opportunity for advancement into other aspects of the research/vetting process. It's also something to put on a resume for other work.
I'd also suggest stuff like Fiverr and Upwork. It can be tough at first and you'll probably only get short-term/one-shot stuff, but it can be as simple as proofreading or data entry, and given time you can build a reputation and start to find better/longer-term jobs. I got into my current (now two years long) job via Upwork.
Also, to reinforce what RBD mentioned: if you start making significant money via freelancing make sure you set aside money to pay taxes, and look into requirements for paying them quarterly, or there can be fines.
Good luck.
Boosted.
5077730
In my experience, places like Wal-Mart will hire any idiot who can pass a drug and background test and manage to show up to work on time. You can hit a time clock with less than five minutes of error? There's your qualification. I know it's not good work, but they pay real money.
Look into donating plasma? It's not a lot of money, but it's simple, quick, and easy. An extra 300-400 a month gives a lot of breathing room.
Good luck, dude. I'm not a follower, but I knew of your problem through a friend of mine. Hope you get the money.
Yeah, I hear you. After I got my Bachelor’s I spent over a year washing dishes part-time... and it took six months to even get that.
I still don’t have much, but I can boost.