November Newsletter (2018)

October was indeed a month, as predicted. I've had a lot of highs and a few lows. One of the current lows is that I'm sick while writing this and I'm hoping this head-cold clears up in a few days because the constant headache isn't great for writing. Oh, and NaNoWriMo is coming up! If you celebrate that blessed season, take all my good wishes with you. I'm going to try to set a daily word goal for myself which is less ambitious than the usual NaNo amount but hopefully more reachable for me.

First, some free links for free fun!

My Twitter account @DivorceKittens with stories and pictures is here.

My Magician's Nephew Deconstruction: Index to older posts here.

My Wrinkle in Time Deconstruction: Index to older posts here.

My YouTube series on Quest for Glory is here.

Second, some Patreon links stuff for subscribers:

$2+ The Lost Last Princess of Ravelin. Part 4 is going up today!

$5+ Transcending Flesh, another essay for discussion and questions!

$5+ eBook Download Links are here.

$15+ eBook and Audiobook Download Links are here.

$25+ Paper Book Reminder is here.

That's old business. Let's talk new business!

I've crunched some numbers since my husband left and finances are going to be tight. I'm grateful to each and every one of you here, thank you, and I want to be sure that you're happy and getting what you need in order to stay on as a patron. I know I haven't been posting as much since my spouse left and I've lost a few patrons which is understandable! Obviously a lot of folks can't afford to pay something for nothing. I'd like to turn that around and make sure people are getting good value here, and I have some thoughts but I also need your input.

$5 Subscriber December Gift

I have ordered some beautiful custom bookmarks with the No Man of Woman Born cover art on them and would like to send these out to everyone who is signed up for $5 or more as of December. That gives you a month to sign up if you're interested and it gives me a month to pull together mailing materials. If I'm being honest, it'll probably cost a little more than $5 per person to mail these out but I'm being sneaky because some of the new subscribers may decide they like the $5 content and stay on for good. Marketing! ;) So be thinking about if you want to subscribe for December, and what address you'd like me to send to!

$5 WIP Selection

The $5 tier is supposed to grant access to my works-in-progress, such that you're seeing my books as I write them (and before the extensive editing process at the end, lolsob). I was originally posting my Fire Mage WIP because at the time I was able to juggle three projects: my public Fire Mage project, my secretive Earthside project, and my monthly drabbles for the $2 tier. Unfortunately, now that I'm having to pick up more hours at work (for money) and around the house (doing chores), I only have room for two projects at a time. Something has to be set aside for the moment.

I would like to set my Fire Mage project aside (temporarily!) and work my Earthside draft to completion. I have an outline and I know where I'm going and where I want to end up: I can see the clear end of the tunnel and it feels amazing. The Fire Mage project, in contrast, is a muddle to me right now; I'd like to retool it as a clear YA (Young Adult) because several readers have commented that it feels more YA than NA (New Adult) and I agree, but I'm also unsure how to tackle that just yet. I would prefer to set it aside and focus on completing Earthside #3.

The problem I have is that I do not know if the shift from Fire Mage posts to Earthside posts will cause me to lose my $5 patrons. The Fire Mage project was "new" and didn't require any prior reading; the Earthside project is technically a sequel (though the series can be read in any order) and some folks may not be interested if they haven't read Poison Kiss and Survival Rout yet. I don't want to lose patrons, so I'm throwing this open to a poll: If I stop posting Fire Mage updates for a while and post Earthside instead, will that affect your pledge?

Please be honest in your answer! I'm not going to have hurt feelings if you came for Story A and aren't interested in Story B. I just need to gauge level of interest and why people are here so I can post accordingly. Thank you!

In Closing

This month has been emotionally very hard. I'm finding that I'm still in love with my spouse and that his leaving didn't magically make those feelings go away. I don't want him back, but I miss what I thought we had together--if that makes any sense. But I have you here as my friends and I am so terribly grateful. I love you all and I appreciate you so much. ♥

0 comments:

Post a Comment