Hey, folks! Been a while since I’ve done a state of the site post here (or on Patreon) so I’ve got some news, mostly about there, but some applies to here, too…
First is that I changed my Patreon payment model to SUBSCRIPTION, so whatever day you sign up (from now on), that’s the day you’ll be rebilled on. Those who who are already subscribers, you’ll still get billed on the 1st of the month, as usual. Hopefully the change encourages people to sign up whenever they see my Patreon, rather than waiting until after the 1st. You can also subscribe on my Ko-Fi page to regularly throw me money.
Second is I’m gonna change all the Patreon levels to just straight up support levels, rather than having a lot of difference between them. (You’ll all just be buying me “coffee,” instead of getting a bunch of perks.) One reason is that folks haven’t seemed to want those “extra perks” — y’all just seem to want to support me and my work. And I love that and thank you for it. So, the new levels will just be how much you want to spend on support.
Though I think I’ll probably run a poll to make sure I’m not pissing everyone off after I do that — one friend suggested that I should at least keep the “free PDF of book when done” perk. What do you think?
Third, I’m planning to drop the serialized novels from my site and my Patreon posts. Why? Because I don’t think people are reading them with any regularity; that’s what the analytics seem to suggest. And I think it’s true, because a glitch in this site caused several posts NOT to happen recently… And nobody complained or even seemed to notice. Why is that? I think because people like to wait until the serialized book is finished and then read the whole thing either as an eBook or print book. Or they start, then fall behind, and then decide to wait. Either way, people aren’t reading the books when I send out chapters every couple of weeks.
I’ll probably have something about serials vs. full books in the Patreon poll mentioned above, too.
Why change? Here’s why: I’m trying to cut down on work that I do that isn’t bringing more eyes and/or money to my stories. This will reduce stress and give me more time to write and publish more stuff. I’ve had more than 4 books nearly ready to go, aside from typesetting, for over a year now, but have been so swamped with commitments that I haven’t been able to get to that work (or even organize/finish it enough to send those books to someone else for typesetting).
So really, though you might be losing some posts from me, the changes should result in seeing more books and stories.
That’s the plan.
Of course, you’ll still be getting regular stories released on my site, like Atomic Tales, the Frost Halloween stories, and the Cushing Christmas tales. And the 400+ mini-reviews per year, of course. And I hope freeing up time will allow me to publish extra content like the History of the Dungeons & Dragons Comics Ads, which I’ve had on the back burner for a year now. We’ll see, once the changes take effect.
Plus, of course, Monster Shark on a Nude Beach at Amazon via www.BuffBeach.com until that finishes up.
When? Changes come at the start of 2023; that’s the plan. Fewer posts for more output.
And for the existing serial — Frost Harrow 3 — the change starts once that ends. I wouldn’t drop ya in the middle of a story, would I? Well, kinda… Because FH#3 is continued into FH#4. But 3 will finish up on the site and Patreon, before I stop serializing books. Let me know how you’d like to see things go after that.
How to contact me. Comment on this post, or send messages on Patreon or Facebook, or email me. (I always try to answer fanmail.)
As always… Thanks for your support and feedback.
Have a really great end of 2022 and an even better 2023.
Happy New Year! — Steve Sullivan
