I enjoy writing. If you enjoy my works or find them relevant, I humbly ask you to help make my writing lucrative enough for it to be my primary focus. Last month I asked my friends for their aid and now I am asking you, My Readers.
I promise to you that, going forward, I am going to post at least one article a month. The more financial support I get, the more I will feel free to focus on my written works and their extensions.
When I began using Patreon years ago I set and held to posting two articles a month. Even then, some aspects of my life suffered due to the focus on my work. My life is a little different now and I cannot accept losing out due to my negligence of the world around me. Amidst personal interactions, various social events, the present necessity of maintaining employment once found, and needing to allow time for healthy rest I do not feel as though pushing myself on two articles is sustainable. But this effort, though lacking compared to my past, will let me rebuild my writing “muscles”. I want to be able to focus entirely on my works with no reservations. I want to know that my efforts writing will bring growth and prosperity rather than cause me to languish to the point of atrophy.
This said I do look to the horizon of what I want to expand to. I want to write in the veins laid out at the top of my page. Larger scale online events, videos, and even streaming seem promising avenues to me. I have an idea to host videos for all interested in which I delve into more detail on my social commentary posts. Bring in other people for their perspectives and even those that find my insights contrary to stress test my views. I could use this for making videos that are more easily digested and can be utilized more broadly. And then, when I need a change of pace, I can let people in on my gaming.
At present, I make enough to grant my own small scale pledges to other artists, prop up my gaming hobby, and a storage unit. These may seem disjointed, but they are all things that bring me satisfaction and stability. With your help, my reach will increase, and so to will be what I can accomplish. If you have ever visited my Support page everything below should be familiar to you, so I will keep this brief. To quickly compare my presently preferred options:
Any monthly pledges above five dollars can be facilitated. These will recur monthly, beginning on the month after you initially subscribe. Pledge today, pay tomorrow, in a sense. This is my option of choice because as my monetary intake increases I will be able to ensure a revenue split that is more favorable to me. It is slight, but every little bit helps.
When I realized how these subscriptions worked, I had a solid giggle at the thought of having thirty-one subscribers that were spread out so that I had at least a little money coming in every day. Recently had a sobering realization. I lament resorting to the pitiable, but very realistically, if Project Vanity is successful it will ensure that I can eat every day. And that is something that has not always been guaranteed even while working forty-hour weeks.
My entire adult life I have subsisted on the burritos pictured above. At the time of writing, I’ve never seen their price including tax crest $5.00. Coming in packs of eight, four can make a semblance of a filling meal. If even the base donation of $5.00 came in per day it would ensure that my writing alone would feed me. To be honest, this article is something of an attempt at fishing. Thus baring some digital cataclysm or rampant job loss amongst my readers my writing could very well feed me for a lifetime if successful.
At present, I believe the only recurring monthly payments coming to me occur on the 5th, 7th, and 22nd. If you are interested specifically in this goal of mine, feel free to comment or e-mail me. Why there are no public comments is an article for another time.
Money is tight even for me, so I wholly understand if five dollars is too much to commit to. Patreon will enable you to pledge within greater constraints, the entry point being merely a dollar, and payments are run at the beginning of each month. One of the reasons why I still tout Patreon as a solid crowdfunding medium and making use of it myself is because of the options it grants to givers.
If you are concerned with subscribing to me without my posting at least a monthly work Patreon can staunch your uncertainty. I have structured my campaign such that I am required to actively validate works. I could post one hundred written pieces, but if I do not stamp my approval on any, you will not be charged. In my history of impromptu hiatuses, this has ensured that my patrons have supported me when I have written and had kept their funds when I didn’t.
If you are keen to give me your support but agree with my assessment that I should be sharing more of what I create, Patreon also allows you to incentivize my pursuits. You have the freedom to pay into multiple validated monthly works. For instance, you’d be willing to pledge twenty dollars, but only if I write two articles, you could split your pledge down the middle to provide me with ten dollars per article. You could set up to have a couple of dollars come to with no limit. And if you’re afraid that ceaseless inspiration would have me validating hundreds of articles monthly (perhaps running pledges into the thousands), you can put a cap on how much is donated to ensure you never go over your budget. The only stipulation I have seen is that the donation amounts have to be the same up to your appointed threshold. I use the service myself in donating to other artists and creators. Eventually, I want to pledge my support to all the people and entities that I use to educate myself and go beyond to learn and support new people.
Simpler still is my tip jar. Maybe you are paid irregularly. Perhaps you are only interested in some of my content. If so, I’d encourage you to donate what you’d like on the articles you find to your taste. And if you return to reread, reference, or share my writings more broadly even a dollar in the jar will let me know that it was useful to you. Unlike the above, these donations come to me in real-time.
Above, I said you will be able to find the Tip Jar banner at the end of most articles. If writing is what I do, then why not put it up at the end of every article? The answer to that is Personal Ethics.
In the past three months, I have only put the banner at the end of a single post. One of four. Distrust, the most recent, brings to bear much of my personal history. I did not feel any hesitation in seeking any donations that would have come from that. Prior to, however, was an excerpt from one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches (as well as a link to a video of the speech itself) and a couple of responses spurned on by the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests. In the former, Dr. King’s words are not mine. As I aim for my trade to be in words I take a dim view of plagiarism. Imagine that. As for the latter, and understand I say this admonishing no one, I would have felt… icky. If I had left the Tip Jar up after those articles I would have felt like I was trying to profit off of George Floyd’s death, and that does not sit well with me. I may or may not post a reaction to the killing of Cannon Hinnat, and similarly, I would not pin my banner at the end of that.
I try to be mindful of my actions. I make sure I can sleep soundly to write another day. And since this site contains only my works with the present aim of supporting myself I can make such choices. If there is a future in which I am supporting a team of people I may have to compromise up to and including regular advertisements and sponsorships which I would rather not. Again… an article for another time.
I do think, practically, that is everything. I thought I had said all of this fairly recently, but couldn’t find any posts like it from this past year. While I do not want to specifically advertise or copy-and-paste this anew every few months, “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed”. I want to write. And you can help make that drive and decision a reality sooner than later. For all you do, you have my thanks.
Commitment
I promise to you that, going forward, I am going to post at least one article a month. The more financial support I get, the more I will feel free to focus on my written works and their extensions.
When I began using Patreon years ago I set and held to posting two articles a month. Even then, some aspects of my life suffered due to the focus on my work. My life is a little different now and I cannot accept losing out due to my negligence of the world around me. Amidst personal interactions, various social events, the present necessity of maintaining employment once found, and needing to allow time for healthy rest I do not feel as though pushing myself on two articles is sustainable. But this effort, though lacking compared to my past, will let me rebuild my writing “muscles”. I want to be able to focus entirely on my works with no reservations. I want to know that my efforts writing will bring growth and prosperity rather than cause me to languish to the point of atrophy.
This said I do look to the horizon of what I want to expand to. I want to write in the veins laid out at the top of my page. Larger scale online events, videos, and even streaming seem promising avenues to me. I have an idea to host videos for all interested in which I delve into more detail on my social commentary posts. Bring in other people for their perspectives and even those that find my insights contrary to stress test my views. I could use this for making videos that are more easily digested and can be utilized more broadly. And then, when I need a change of pace, I can let people in on my gaming.
The Pitch
At present, I make enough to grant my own small scale pledges to other artists, prop up my gaming hobby, and a storage unit. These may seem disjointed, but they are all things that bring me satisfaction and stability. With your help, my reach will increase, and so to will be what I can accomplish. If you have ever visited my Support page everything below should be familiar to you, so I will keep this brief. To quickly compare my presently preferred options:
Website Donations (Monthly): $5+. Best if you trust me to maintain monthly posting, and assist with Project Vanity.
Patreon (Monthly): $1+. If $5 is too rich for you, you want to ensure you get what you pay for, or for if you want greater payment variety.
Website Donations (Individual): $1+. Pay wherever you see the Tip Jar banner, at the end of most articles. This mixes what I find are the best traits of the above options.
Online Standards: Like, Comment, Subscribe, Share, and otherwise Engage with what I post. This requires merely your time and attention.
Monthly Subscription via this website
Any monthly pledges above five dollars can be facilitated. These will recur monthly, beginning on the month after you initially subscribe. Pledge today, pay tomorrow, in a sense. This is my option of choice because as my monetary intake increases I will be able to ensure a revenue split that is more favorable to me. It is slight, but every little bit helps.
When I realized how these subscriptions worked, I had a solid giggle at the thought of having thirty-one subscribers that were spread out so that I had at least a little money coming in every day. Recently had a sobering realization. I lament resorting to the pitiable, but very realistically, if Project Vanity is successful it will ensure that I can eat every day. And that is something that has not always been guaranteed even while working forty-hour weeks.
My entire adult life I have subsisted on the burritos pictured above. At the time of writing, I’ve never seen their price including tax crest $5.00. Coming in packs of eight, four can make a semblance of a filling meal. If even the base donation of $5.00 came in per day it would ensure that my writing alone would feed me. To be honest, this article is something of an attempt at fishing. Thus baring some digital cataclysm or rampant job loss amongst my readers my writing could very well feed me for a lifetime if successful.
At present, I believe the only recurring monthly payments coming to me occur on the 5th, 7th, and 22nd. If you are interested specifically in this goal of mine, feel free to comment or e-mail me. Why there are no public comments is an article for another time.
Monthly subscription via Patreon
Money is tight even for me, so I wholly understand if five dollars is too much to commit to. Patreon will enable you to pledge within greater constraints, the entry point being merely a dollar, and payments are run at the beginning of each month. One of the reasons why I still tout Patreon as a solid crowdfunding medium and making use of it myself is because of the options it grants to givers.
If you are concerned with subscribing to me without my posting at least a monthly work Patreon can staunch your uncertainty. I have structured my campaign such that I am required to actively validate works. I could post one hundred written pieces, but if I do not stamp my approval on any, you will not be charged. In my history of impromptu hiatuses, this has ensured that my patrons have supported me when I have written and had kept their funds when I didn’t.
If you are keen to give me your support but agree with my assessment that I should be sharing more of what I create, Patreon also allows you to incentivize my pursuits. You have the freedom to pay into multiple validated monthly works. For instance, you’d be willing to pledge twenty dollars, but only if I write two articles, you could split your pledge down the middle to provide me with ten dollars per article. You could set up to have a couple of dollars come to with no limit. And if you’re afraid that ceaseless inspiration would have me validating hundreds of articles monthly (perhaps running pledges into the thousands), you can put a cap on how much is donated to ensure you never go over your budget. The only stipulation I have seen is that the donation amounts have to be the same up to your appointed threshold. I use the service myself in donating to other artists and creators. Eventually, I want to pledge my support to all the people and entities that I use to educate myself and go beyond to learn and support new people.
A la carte donations
Simpler still is my tip jar. Maybe you are paid irregularly. Perhaps you are only interested in some of my content. If so, I’d encourage you to donate what you’d like on the articles you find to your taste. And if you return to reread, reference, or share my writings more broadly even a dollar in the jar will let me know that it was useful to you. Unlike the above, these donations come to me in real-time.
Above, I said you will be able to find the Tip Jar banner at the end of most articles. If writing is what I do, then why not put it up at the end of every article? The answer to that is Personal Ethics.
In the past three months, I have only put the banner at the end of a single post. One of four. Distrust, the most recent, brings to bear much of my personal history. I did not feel any hesitation in seeking any donations that would have come from that. Prior to, however, was an excerpt from one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches (as well as a link to a video of the speech itself) and a couple of responses spurned on by the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests. In the former, Dr. King’s words are not mine. As I aim for my trade to be in words I take a dim view of plagiarism. Imagine that. As for the latter, and understand I say this admonishing no one, I would have felt… icky. If I had left the Tip Jar up after those articles I would have felt like I was trying to profit off of George Floyd’s death, and that does not sit well with me. I may or may not post a reaction to the killing of Cannon Hinnat, and similarly, I would not pin my banner at the end of that.
I try to be mindful of my actions. I make sure I can sleep soundly to write another day. And since this site contains only my works with the present aim of supporting myself I can make such choices. If there is a future in which I am supporting a team of people I may have to compromise up to and including regular advertisements and sponsorships which I would rather not. Again… an article for another time.
Read and Repost
Above all, your continued readership makes sharing my insights valid. In this stage of rebirth, I take my small victories. Each and every one of you is among them. If nothing else, keep doing what you’re doing. You’ll have my ongoing thanks and my posts to read without limit.I do think, practically, that is everything. I thought I had said all of this fairly recently, but couldn’t find any posts like it from this past year. While I do not want to specifically advertise or copy-and-paste this anew every few months, “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed”. I want to write. And you can help make that drive and decision a reality sooner than later. For all you do, you have my thanks.
Unorthodox 