IWSG is posted the first Wednesday of every month, but I'm posting early this month. Explanation is below with my writing goals. It is the brain child of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. Get your fears and insecurities out or give words of encouragement. We're writers, let's support each other!
This month's co-hosts are Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heather Gardner!
December rolls around and everyone scrambles to finish up goals they set at the beginning of the year. For me, it's go look at my goals because I have forgotten what I set and be somewhat surprised at how I did. Then I get nervous about next year.
My author journey has been a roller coaster. There's been huge gaps between books, I'm not sure if I have any fans, and blog subscribers haven't really changed. It's not from the lack of trying. I am, trust me. It makes me wonder if my lot in life is to never really truly succeed the way I've seen others. I'll always be obscure and never really gain any traction. A handful of book sales every month, but nothing that would amount to paying even one bill. Depressing to think about, but I can at least say hubby and I are able to survive comfortably, so it's not like our lives hinge on my success. Still, it'd be nice to have this work and say my writing pays the phone bill every month. And I know success doesn't have to be measured by money. It's just a goal I'd like to check off. Maybe next year. That's something people always say. Maybe next time you'll hit it. Well, next year is almost here. A chat at #writestuff reminded me about Patreon recently. I got my name saved, but the reason I held off was because I wasn't able to be consistent. Because of the day job. I don't have that anymore though. I realized now was my chance to figure it out and build a buffer of writing to offer as rewards. Maybe THIS is my maybe next year moment that leads to something big. With all that said, I might as well take advantage of extra traffic from IWSG. Do any of you have a Patreon? What advice would you give a newbie? What sort of rewards do you give? If you support an author on Patreon. What about them made you support them? What rewards do you like to see from authors? Let me know in the comments. 
25 Comments
12/6/2017 06:58:46 am
I don't know anything about Patreon so I'm no help there. But I wish you good luck for the new year! :)
Danielle Williams
12/6/2017 07:18:39 am
Aww you made me have a sad face :( I'm your fan!!! Things will get better! 12/6/2017 07:59:44 am
I know nothing about Patreon, either. I hope you let us know how it goes. 12/6/2017 08:17:41 am
She's an artist, but Heather Holden has a Patreon. 12/6/2017 08:32:13 am
My earnings would not cover the phone bill and we have flip phones. I haven't heard of Patreon. 12/6/2017 10:26:21 am
It's hard to have a day job and be consistent with your writing. The fact that you write and publish is a huge mark in your favor. 12/6/2017 10:31:31 am
I'd be interested to hear the answers you get to your Patreon questions. My earnings wouldn't cover any bills either, and I'm tired of being anxious over it. Next year I'm going to do my best to worry less and write more. 12/6/2017 10:35:43 am
I hope Patreon goes well for you, but I can't offer any advice sadly. I do know that it's better to focus on writing and not fixate on sales overly. Just glad I've got a day job to pay bills! 12/6/2017 10:37:08 am
Success should definitely be more about money, but it would still be nice to pay off some bills too. As Alex mentioned, Heather Holden uses Patreon. Misha Gericke has one too. Here's to a great 2018! 12/6/2017 11:25:38 am
We can't really measure success by the money we make. If writing makes you happy, and you want to do it, then you should. For yourself, first and foremost! I think we all go through this, but no one else knows it. I haven't sold much this year at all. When I thought about it and looked to see if I made sales, I'd get so upset to find out I didn't. And my blog subscribers/commenters are the same. But for me, that's okay. I blog for those people. People like you. :)
Ah, that's right. You have more time. (Although, that time seems to evaporate, doesn't it?) 12/6/2017 12:16:10 pm
Your lot in life is to succeed. Don't ever convince yourself that you are not supposed to be successful. Sure things may not be going like you want them at the moment but keep at it. Keep going. One day things will turn for you. 12/6/2017 12:20:05 pm
Several vloggers I follow have Patreons, though I don't have one myself. Some people offer exclusive sneak peeks of vlogs before they're released to the general public. For a writer, that could translate into a sneak peek at part of an unpublished story.
Anna
12/6/2017 03:21:03 pm
I never did expect to make money writing. It's many things but money maker isn't one of them unless you Patterson or King.
Ahh, money. That would be nice. Okay, for some reason I write that and I feel like Smaug, or a wannabe Smaug - where did that pile of warm gold go? :) 12/6/2017 06:09:17 pm
Having a day job makes everything difficult. I'm leaving mine next year to write full time. You are far ahead of me in terms of writing and publishing, so best wishes in your future endeavors. 12/6/2017 07:14:13 pm
I don't have a Patreon for myself, though I support a few other writers that do. I don't think I can balance that against all the rest of it. At least not right now. I'm considering it for the future though, stealing ideas from other writers left and right :-)
Diane Burton
12/6/2017 08:24:37 pm
I've often had those same doubts--do I have fans, who reads my blog (besides Hubs), does anyone care if I write, does anyone read my books? It's the wonderfully supportive people here with IWSG that makes me answer yes to all my questions. I hope you & your family enjoy the holidays. 12/7/2017 02:19:56 am
I'm in the "What's Patreon" camp as well. 12/7/2017 09:06:12 am
I always find it weird with Patreon - for people who put out stuff for free (podcasters, visual artists, filmmakers) I totally get using a system that will allow them to get some donations and recoup some costs. There are a couple of podcasts that I really enjoy and support and I do pay them through Patreon. But with writers, they're selling an actual product - their book - that they receive money from. I buy books that I like, and from friends I want to support. That's my contribution. It's up to everyone how they want to support of course, but that's how I've always felt about it for writing.
Susan Gourley
12/7/2017 04:11:39 pm
I don't know anything about Patreon. My sales have been down over the last year. This business is really tough. 12/9/2017 10:14:00 am
I feel this frustration so much. :( That video I sent you might be very helpful when it comes to steady sales. I'm gonna be testing everything I learned out in 2018. You can do this! 2018 is full of possibility and potential. :) I feel what you're feeling. It doesn't seem to matter how much I do, I can't get over that small number of sales each month. I keep hoping having more books available will up the number of sales, but really, all it does is mean more time doing publicity and less time to actually write. 12/12/2017 03:51:13 am
Argh, I know and sympathize with the feeling of, "Is this as good as it gets?" I have lofty dreams and goals and sometimes despair of ever achieving them. While I've made enough to pay the phone bill, I'm far from having a sustainable fiction career...yet. I'm hoping next year is my year as well. Leave a Reply. |
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