Futurama
This is probably going to be a short post because I have no idea what I’m doing here. It’s been suggested that I set up a Patreon, but I can’t figure out how that would work since I only do books. Since it’s a monthly prize, I can’t do a t-shirt every month because I’d eventually run out of pictures . . . Do I have pictures because I don’t know if the covers would work? All so confusing.
Some ideas that were suggested:
- A monthly poem or character sneak peak.
- Preview chapter from an unreleased book. How would this not backfire?
- Stickers . . . Same issue as t-shirts?
- A monthly Ichabod Brooks story exclusive to Patreon. The challenge here would be finding time to write it every month when I’m struggling to get to War of Nytefall. By the way, click that link for the new book. (I guess I could offer the published stories at first, but that feels a little lazy.)
- Offer a cameo in a future story. That would be fun, but I don’t see how that could function as a monthly prize.
- Pictures that you can’t show at work. Pretty sure this was suggested as a joke. At least I hope it was.
This whole thing kind of falls into the same category as making a store with t-shirts, mugs, and other items. I don’t know how to pull it off without losing money. Really wish I could find a way to get Fizzle plushies, but that’s another money problem. That problem being that I can’t afford it.
Anyway, do any authors out there use Patreon? If so, what do you do for rewards and how do you keep that going along with your projects, job, and personal life?
Legends of Windemere 
I’ve wondered about this myself, Charles.
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It is a mystery. 😜
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I became a member when it was the old version and never got much out of it. Did not join up for the new one. A dollar a month didn’t seem worth it for me. Not to say others would find it useful. There are so many other free paths in Blogland to join and connect with fellow bloggers, book related topics & challenges. Have a lovely Sunday, Charles 📚 Christine
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I didn’t know they charged, but I guess they would. Thanks for the input.
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Need to look this up.
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Same here
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Ha haha.
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For the Store with T-shirts, mugs and such, there are a few print on demand places, I’m not sure how much they charge, but I think you just connect it with your Store (such as on Etsy) and when someone buys something they print and ship it.
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I’ve looked at those and they’re not cheap. At least for my budget.
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That’s a shame, but I guess it is a pricey thing to do.
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I think authors can make money with it, but extra time and money has to be put in first, and even then there’s no guarantee. This opinion is based on what I’ve seen from author friends trying, not on personal experience.
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I was thinking the same thing. How well did they do with it?
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Results varied. One did really well, but decided the extra time he had to devote to it was taking away from other things too much, so closed his account with appologies to subscribers after a while. One is lucky if she gets enough in the way of earnings each month to buy herself a cup of coffee. Another is somewhere in the middle. Basically, it’s like any marketing strategy: sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn’t.
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I saw that ‘extra time’ criticism a few times. Your real projects begin falling behind because you’re working hard to keep the Patreon rewards on schedule. Honestly, doesn’t sound like it’s worth doing unless you have a lot of time to work on it and promote without giving up the actual writing.
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I’m inclined to agree.
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Reblogged this on DSM Publications and commented:
Check out this helpful post from the Legends of Windemere blog on the topic of Can Authors Use Patreon Effectively?
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Thanks. 😁
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You’re welcome.
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Most of the folks I’ve seen were comics creators. Reach my goal so I can publish volume six, that kind of thing. Sean Harrington is doing a weekly Lana comic for his Patrons, but it’s black and white only. (Faster) It’s more like a comic strip instead of a book. I suppose I have a pile of old Lisa Burton posters I could use for one.
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I’ve seen the same thing. Comic artists, sculptors, drawing, and cosplayers all seem to have a Patreon, which makes sense. They can do exclusive content. At most, an author can have special stories for members, but those can be shared so easily.
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There’s so much stuff out there. I’m always amazed when I hear something new. At least new to me.
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I was confused when I heard of this too. It felt like something better suited for people with a more colorful art when compared to authors. So, I still can’t really figure out how an author could do this without making monthly merchandise like shirts and stickers.
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Decided to cancel my $1 a week, I’m getting nothing from it.
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Sounds like that’s common.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide and commented:
I’m a Patron member for some podcasts and business advice. So, maybe some podcasts? They don’t have to be long, although most run anywhere from half-an-hour to three hours.
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Thanks for the reblog.
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You’re welcome, Charles!
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This is kinda Cheesy, but if the potential Patreon would be focused on Windemere, you could repurpose some of your older promotional blogs on the Patreon. I’m thinking of those ones where the characters in a particular book all banter together.
With 11 books, you could go almost a year by doing a monthly focus on each book in sequence. Feature the main villain, or background of a location that’s unique to that volume, or even the opening chapter of each book. With purchase links, of course. Heck, even do a trivia thing where you throw out a line of dialogue and challenge people to guess which character said it.
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Maybe. I’ll have to think of that. Thanks
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I wondered about Pateron too, but so far haven’t done anything about it. I did however get a t shirt with the cover of Wisp printed, for myself, lol. I used Moonpig.com don’t know if you have that in the States but the pricing and quality of the material was good. Just a thought.
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I’ll have to check that site out. Thanks.
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Hi…found your blog while browsing WordPress. Hello. 🙂
I started up a Patreon just over a month ago at the suggestion of a friend who reasoned, “You might only make a few dollars, but every little helps, right?” Now, the question is, is it worth it, given the time it takes? Well, my tiers are relatively cheap compared to some I’ve seen, although I don’t want to price myself out of the market.
My ‘rewards’ are cover art reveals, an advance peek at extracts and the like. This gives my patrons something other readers will have to wait for and, because I’ve said “On X date each month I’ll post this, this and this,” I have a deadline. I MUST produce a fresh thousand words of that story, or couple thousand words of that one, or I’ll miss the date I’ve promised my patrons.
So while I AM producing new material for Patreon, it actually ends up in future manuscripts so hopefully ends up paying me back, if that makes sense?
I also offer behind the scenes looks at the writing process and suchlike. Polls for patrons to vote on future projects. I only have 4 subscribers at the moment (and I, er, write “adult” romance) so my field of reference is limited.
Upshot is, I’d recommend Patreon if you use it in the right way – a built-in, paid, monthly deadline for producing new material that will eventually be published and earn you still more money. Hopefully.
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Thanks for the info. Looks like it takes a lot of work.
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