I can’t say enough good things about what Patreon is and what it has allowed me to do. I’ve found so many great new artists and writers to support. The idea itself is reasonably well executed, and it’s getting better every month. I’ve been able to pay for cover art without hurting my bottom line an awful lot. Still, I have a way to go before it will actually be putting any money in my pocket. Why’s that?
Here’s what you need to know. The people that are supporting me are actually going a long way towards helping me support the people who add the icing and liners to the literary cupcakes I produce. The money I get from each paid post goes to pay people like Scott Pond for the covers, John McCarthy for his layout skills, and models like Tony Ballard-Smoot for pictures. I’ve incredibly grateful for all of the. To that end, my goal is to hit $100 per paid post by the end of the month so I can continue to support these folks.
How does it work? The way I have my Patreon page set up, you get charged for every paid post I put up. For right now that’s two a month, every month. I’m serializing two long form fiction pieces; So Shall You Reap and Gary Johnson: Super Soldier. You will get access to five chapters of the first and one “episode” of the latter. Only patrons will get to see Super Soldier until I publish it later this year. Anyone can read Reap as it goes up, but Patrons will get portable formats emailed to them.
You can pledge any amount, and if you need to watch your budget you can put a monthly cap on your generous gift. I do that myself, and I understand if that’s what you need/want to do. There’s no risk. If you get one of my paid posts and decide you don’t want to pay for it, you can request a refund and Patreon will get you your money back. You can quit at any time. I hope you’ll give my stories over there a read and continue to help me make these things happen.