So, the Bridgetown Patreon has been going for a couple of weeks now and I've released four items of content and I have a small Aladdin's Cave of gifts for the first 100 subscribers. So far, as you can tell from the page, things haven't been going so well.
Copy has been retooled, videos have been re-shot, re-edited, re-rendered and re-uploaded. Subscriber bonuses have been generated. General subscription content has been released and the free stuff has been pointed to and given a little bit of a spit and polish.
In addition I have conscripted friends (not close ones but, yes, still friends) to have a look at the Patreon page and see if it looks okay. So far the two major criticisms have been 1. I am not charging enough, I should set my prices higher and 2. I am taking my subscriptions in dollars and not pounds.
Well, I have done a little towards 1, knocking out the largely redundant $2 subscription level. I would now say that the $5 is the "reasonable" sub level with $1 being firmly the "token" subscription level. As to the second, well, there's not much I can do about that at present. Maybe one day Patreon will do currency conversions for the international market. Honestly I think that was a bit of a bizarre critique. Worrying though if others are put off by the presence of the $ sign.
So, hopefully, one day I will have tweaked the page enough to make the attractiveness of the proposition clear. Until then I just have to keep working at it.
There is a problem though.
Working at my current level is not sustainable in the long term. Market forces would dictate that if no-one wants to participate in puzzles, games and interactive stories set in a comic fantasy universe the Patreon will have to go. Okay, so I am the author but already I feel that would be kind of a shame.
I have played Levercastle on and off for over five years now. The players absolutely love it because of its playfulness and humour. I have had unlooked for compliments come my way regarding the stories too. Those first three books I did to please myself, so knowing that they pleased others too was a good thing.
I know that with a few subscribers we, that is I as the author and the audience as participators in the ongoing creation of the Faerie world I have created, could have a real good time. To a certain extent it's not about living off Patreon money as it is that it's about people buying in to Levercastle/Bridgetown and the idea that an author can produce some great content independently for a low price.
In all honesty I think that just sponsoring anyone who's producing something you like on Patreon is an important act beyond the money that you pledge. It says 'I believe in this artist, sure, but I also believe in independent art. I believe in artists being paid directly for their work without having to also buy the work of a bunch of administrators and middle men too."
It's the same kind of philosophy as all the other crowdfunding platforms out there, in a way it's slightly better because you are paying for work done via the medium of "paid posts" it's not some elaborate investment opportunity you're paying for things that have actually been produced.
I didn't go with Patreon arbitrarily. I think it's a superb platform and I am keen to subscribe to projects that I believe in myself.
Maybe I am fooling myself with Bridgetown and it's actually not that good. Fair enough. But just because you don't think my stuff is good enough to subscribe to doesn't mean that there's not something else that is. Why not have a look about on Patreon? You're not just chipping in a dollar, you're validating artists who are doing work you can support and you're helping in a small way to realise someone else's dreams.
It's bonkers to think it I suppose but I have always believed that helping other people get what they dream of (world domination notwithstanding) will one day lead to me getting mine. My recent setbacks have done nothing to discourage me from this way of thinking.
Please feel free to let me know what you think.
29 June 2015
15 June 2015
New Bridgetown - A Small Amendment
Nothing too major, but the first new Bridgetown episode will actually be released to my Patreon page for subscribers only on the 21st. Then the episode will be released to the blog for everyone else a week later on the 28th.
There are loads of other perks to all the subscription levels and the coveted "First Subscriber" treat is still up for grabs (obviously not very coveted then). All the treats in the world cannot hope to compete, however, with the warm and fuzzy glow that you will receive from knowing that you are doing your little bit to help someone achieve their dreams.
See you in Bridgetown!
There are loads of other perks to all the subscription levels and the coveted "First Subscriber" treat is still up for grabs (obviously not very coveted then). All the treats in the world cannot hope to compete, however, with the warm and fuzzy glow that you will receive from knowing that you are doing your little bit to help someone achieve their dreams.
See you in Bridgetown!
10 June 2015
New Bridgetown - The Details
So, here's a kerfuffle and no mistake. As I previously made known I'm planning to bring back Bridgetown in as big a way as is humanly possible. The first new tale will be released on the 21st of June to the Bridgetown Blog.
What that actually means is somewhat down to yourselves, dear readers. I'll be honest, back in 2013 making sure that a new Tale was up every Sunday and commit to a full time job nearly killed me. So, although the tales will continue, it will be at the rate of two a month at present. If the situation changes there will be a further announcement.
The way for you to make that further announcement happen is to Subscribe to the Bridgetown Tales through Patreon. By becoming a subscriber you will unlock extra perks detailed on my Patreon page.
The original Bridgetown blog isn't going anywhere. In fact I'll be updating old stories with redrafts as they become available. Your financial support is appreciated but my continued efforts to produce new tales, and new ways for you to enjoy the tales, will continue regardless. The money just makes the plans bigger and brighter. Of course, it also brings the production of new content closer in the calendar.
If you are new to the Bridgetown Tales then you can read the first three books now. They're posted in blog format, so start with the oldest and work your way forward.
The Patreon subscription money that I make will not only support the ongoing life of the serial but also allow me to create even more new content. I have loads of plans for more cool stuff coming in the future and I will keep you in the loop here and on my facebook page.
Bridgetown's Coming Back
Let's keep it simple.
Back in 2013 I spent a year writing the Fairy Tale blog "Tales From Bridgetown". When it was done I was exhausted but enriched by my journey. Over the last few weeks I've been planning the next phase of the journey.
A further announcement will follow shortly giving more details. That's all for now.
4 June 2015
Looking Back At Bridgetown
For those of you that remember 2013 you may recall that these were the days of the Tales From Bridgetown blog. This was a project occasioned by my acquisition of a set of fairy tale dice.
When I first looked at the dice the very first thing I thought was: "You know, it would be a shame if I never used these for anything." This was why I decided to take the dice out every Sunday, roll them, and write a story that included all the images I rolled.
I don't know what my intention was beyond that. I did think that one of the "rules" would be to only spend two hours on each story. That went out the window pretty quickly. I also imagined that there would be no continuity in the stories. This took a while to go out of the window. I wrote five stories before circling round in the sixth to deal with one of the characters a second time.
The process of producing the serial taught me a lot. Notably the difference between expectation and reality when it comes to "fun, creative projects". You expect that you will sit down at 1PM every Sunday, write for 2(ish) hours. Then you will read your work aloud once before publishing it. This is a happy fantasy (like a fairy tale, haha!).
Not every Sunday is free for such activity. What if you want to do Nano? Or do some kind of non-writing related activity? Heaven forfend that you should let down your audience. My audience, by the way, was me and Sue. I don't think I have ever met or talked to anyone who has followed the serial from beginning to end.
From talking to my father I have learned that this is how serials used to work back in the old days (by which I mean circa the 19th Century). It appears strange in the age of the word processor to think of a writer just banging something out for a daily newspaper. It's hard to imagine these days seeing work in print that you had barely enough time to think about, let alone craft.
The serial writer of a century ago would have to hand off his work to an editor. The editor would maybe have time to omit a few of those unnecessary words and then it would be off to the presses, out to the world.
Writers these days are encouraged to hone, hone, hone until their work is a polished jewel of magnificence. We are quick to forget that such a process is the most decadent of luxuries.
I produced Bridgetown to a personal deadline. I am proud to say that I never missed it. Tea time every Sunday it was Bridgetown time again. This was a serial intended, at some level, for children. I did not want to disappoint a child and I didn't, to my knowledge.
I accomplished this by very early on writing up a "buffer" of eight stories. I would put the stories into the blog and schedule their release. Then if I happened not to be able to write one week a part of the buffer would be chewed away.
The other reason for doing this was that for a short while my good friend Justin Wyatt allowed himself to be pulled into this madness. He provided several truly beautiful illustrations for the blog.
If anything Justin is worse at the 2-hour limit thing than I am. Although I found myself surprised and delighted by the work he sent me I had to agree that it was never the result of two hour's work. Justin is a man who believes that if a thing's worth doing it's worth doing really, really well. In the end we both agreed that it was better to leave the pictures until he could be paid for the amazing work he was doing.
I kept plugging away, because it was my stupid idea and I wanted to see it through. I would tell people the stories were there but I don't have any idea who read them outside of my own household. The blog has about 4000 lifetime views at the moment and I'm happy with that. Like so much other stuff I didn't undertake the project, in the first instance, to become famous. I had the mountaineer's philosophy, I wanted to see if I could.
2013 was a somewhat tiring year but it was one I'll never forget.
 |
| The guilty parties... Guilty of helping make something AWESOME, that is. |
I don't know what my intention was beyond that. I did think that one of the "rules" would be to only spend two hours on each story. That went out the window pretty quickly. I also imagined that there would be no continuity in the stories. This took a while to go out of the window. I wrote five stories before circling round in the sixth to deal with one of the characters a second time.
The process of producing the serial taught me a lot. Notably the difference between expectation and reality when it comes to "fun, creative projects". You expect that you will sit down at 1PM every Sunday, write for 2(ish) hours. Then you will read your work aloud once before publishing it. This is a happy fantasy (like a fairy tale, haha!).
Not every Sunday is free for such activity. What if you want to do Nano? Or do some kind of non-writing related activity? Heaven forfend that you should let down your audience. My audience, by the way, was me and Sue. I don't think I have ever met or talked to anyone who has followed the serial from beginning to end.
From talking to my father I have learned that this is how serials used to work back in the old days (by which I mean circa the 19th Century). It appears strange in the age of the word processor to think of a writer just banging something out for a daily newspaper. It's hard to imagine these days seeing work in print that you had barely enough time to think about, let alone craft.
The serial writer of a century ago would have to hand off his work to an editor. The editor would maybe have time to omit a few of those unnecessary words and then it would be off to the presses, out to the world.
Writers these days are encouraged to hone, hone, hone until their work is a polished jewel of magnificence. We are quick to forget that such a process is the most decadent of luxuries.
I produced Bridgetown to a personal deadline. I am proud to say that I never missed it. Tea time every Sunday it was Bridgetown time again. This was a serial intended, at some level, for children. I did not want to disappoint a child and I didn't, to my knowledge.
I accomplished this by very early on writing up a "buffer" of eight stories. I would put the stories into the blog and schedule their release. Then if I happened not to be able to write one week a part of the buffer would be chewed away.
The other reason for doing this was that for a short while my good friend Justin Wyatt allowed himself to be pulled into this madness. He provided several truly beautiful illustrations for the blog.
 |
| One of Justin's Bridgetown illustrations. |
I kept plugging away, because it was my stupid idea and I wanted to see it through. I would tell people the stories were there but I don't have any idea who read them outside of my own household. The blog has about 4000 lifetime views at the moment and I'm happy with that. Like so much other stuff I didn't undertake the project, in the first instance, to become famous. I had the mountaineer's philosophy, I wanted to see if I could.
2013 was a somewhat tiring year but it was one I'll never forget.
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