Being Patronized, Again

Dear Constant Reader,

I just spent a few relaxing (and unplugged) days in Florida and returned to Boston to discover snow and that Patreon has changed their fee structure.

For those of you who haven’t noticed the little note I put at the end of every missive, people who like my writings can support me for a few dollars a month through Patreon. It’s not a life-changing amount of money, but it lets me know that people care. I recycle some of that money back into being a patron myself for a couple of other artists.

Until now Patreon took a bite out of the pledges, as you might expect — they are a business, after all — so creators, like me, got a little less than the total pledged. I knew that when I signed on and I’m okay with that. The new system is still going to take a bite out of creators’ funding, but they’ve shifted part of the fees onto the patrons. So if you pledge me $1 a month, you’ll actually get charged $1.38.

I’m not okay with this and as far as I can tell no creator is.

BREAKING NEWS:
While I was writing this I learned that Patreon apologized and won’t be changing anything right now, presumably due to overwhelmingly negative response from just about everyone. There will be changes coming, but they plan to work with Creators to solve the issues.

More news as I get it.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.

Published in: on 13 December 2017 at 2:53 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Being Patronized

Dear Constant Reader,

Today I did something very hard for me. I created a Patreon page. I had to set myself a specific deadline or I never would have hit that “Launch” button.

I don’t like asking for things. It’s very hard for me to ask for help and it’s even harder to ask for money. This involves doing both. I know plenty of burlesque performers are using Patreon, but it was my friend Marrus‘s example that finally gave me the courage to do this.

I’m asking you, my Constant Readers and Loyal Fans, to part with your hard-earned dollars, so that I may keep doing what I do and do it even better. That’s extremely difficult for me to ask. For a long time I’ve been involved with groups and events that do things on a volunteer basis — you share your skills, your time, your knowledge because you love doing it. I still feel that way. However, I think what I create has value and I hope some of you do to.

I’m not going to put up some sort of pay wall here and only allow patrons to see my writing. That goes against some personal beliefs. Instead, I hope that with support I can bring you more missives that are more in-depth and maybe even have more pictures. Think of being my patron like supporting NPR or PBS — everyone still gets access, but my patrons get some special extras that no one else does.

I’ve also realized that I can’t do what I want to all by myself. I need to get other people involved to bring you the best content I can. And asking for help is a challenge for me. But I shall rise to the occasion and find some collaborators so I can bring you photos and videos and other wonderful stuff.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

M2

Published in: on 1 May 2017 at 3:38 pm  Comments (4)  
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