So my Patreon is coming back
And I may also crowdfund a record label. And a bookstore. And a hardback novel. And an audiobook. And...
Before we begin, did you know that I re-launched my podcast last week? Well I did, and I’ll be talking about that later, but you can hear it by clicking this little introductory bit.
Hi, nice to see you here. If you’re reading this newsletter, could you comment a joke down below? I’ve had a serious day and I want something funny thrown into it.
Or alternatively you might want to check out the last few lines and tell me what you think about my weird new project.
MY PATREON IS COMING BACK!
I first got Patreon in 2017, and since then have had two subscribers consistently supporting me. To Joseph and Kyle, thank you.
And thanks to Jo and others on instagram for convincing me to finally resurrect it.
SO WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
It is going to be writing tips and advice on building your writer’s philosophy. That’s what it was all those years ago, that’s what it will be now. Oh, and bonus stories and unpublished material, and some insider info on self-publishing books that I never see anyone else talking about.
You might not even know what a ‘writer’s philosophy’ is, and that’s okay, I have put over five years into making this as accessible as possible. I have wanted to teach since before 2013, when I enrolled on a Creative Writing course with a little bit of English thrown in for spice (I would later not enjoy the spice, and in my second year transferred to pure CW). And I never quite gave up on that dream. I could never teach kids because I find it a tremendous responsibility. I am terrified of saying the wrong thing. I only wish some other teachers had that same fear.
Anyway. I am going to be teaching you how to write. Not just how to write a certain genre in a certain way, because that’s boring (I am sure we all HATE those courses that preach the ‘right way to write horror poetry’). No, I’ll be teaching you how to write and how to ENJOY WRITING FOR ONCE and how to chill out and stop judging yourself for not writing as fast as that person on instagram who is definitely lying about it.
HERE’S SOME FREE ADVICE, FOR A TEASER
All the blogs online about chapter length are wrong. Chapter length should be determined by the rules the story world creates. They should be natural breaks and shifts, not arbitrarily drawn lines in the sand. I have read books with chapter breaks in the middle of heated battles, and it pissed me off so much I felt the need to write an entire seminar on it, which you will find on the Patreon soon.
TO CONCLUDE
Basically, I want to teach writing. I have a Master’s degree in it, have set up my own publishing company with a budget of £0, made a small profit thus far, and I think there are only a few things that separate me from everyone else.
Basically, I didn’t give up.
And I hope with my advice in your head, you can learn to not give up too.
THE FUTURE
In the future I’d like to reward higher tier patrons with video chats. That will happen as soon as I get enough people on board, one would be enough. It’s basically private tutoring and developmental editing. My last client for this was @authorinmyhead on instagram, and I’m now publishing her book!
Beyond that I am also looking to finance a weird and accessible bookstore. The basic pitch for that is finished, but I realised crowdfunding for a UK bookstore won’t work because 92% of my fans are in America… So… I am putting that to one side. I will fund it myself with bits from all my other projects.
Before then I want to create HALFPLANET RECORDS, a record label that will specialise in the production of high quality audiobooks featuring new and upcoming acting talents, including myself in the case of Who Built The Humans?
Lots of people have asked me for an audiobook of WBTH, about fifty people now (I save all the messages to keep myself motivated). It is something that people tell me they read in my voice, which is nice as I did write it with my voice in mind, and was told at uni I had a distinct writer’s voice.
So crowdfunding for HALFPLANET RECORDS will be on Gofundme soon, because it’s more flexible than Kickstarter. The goal is not just to rent a space to record, but to buy one, to own one. I will be needing it. We will branch out into electronic music as soon as possible.
And on top of that, for those still reading, I’d like to announce that before this year ends, I will be launching a Kickstarter for THE STEPHANIE GLITCH.
Pre-orders are already live for the eBook, but she deserves a glorious hardback. This hardback will have bonus content, illustrations by myself, and a cover by a professional artist. Rewards will include a signed copy of TSG, exclusive stickers, bookmarks, posters, and other weird things I haven’t thought of yet.
I may also make one for WBTH, but only once it hits 10,000 sales.
Okay, so that’s it. I’ve split all the creative things I do into different places so they are cheaper for people only interested in one or two. This makes Patreon less of a migraine, and crowdfunding more promising.
Simplicity is key.
The pre-orders for WBTH on Etsy made me around £700 before the book was even half finished, and I believe we can smash that with Stephanie or Halfplanet Records, whichever you fancy.
“But there’s no links? I can’t support you if there are no links?”
That’s because I am merely excitedly telling you about my ideas. I haven’t finalised the tiers and rewards yet, and I will of course add more post-launch anyway, like I did with the WBTH posters. Maybe my next post will announce one or two of these things? Who knows? But right now I am just introducing you to the ideas, in the hopes I can get some feedback.
SUMMARY
Patreon is coming back. I will teach you how to write and how to develop a philosophy in each story that will contribute to a distinct style in each piece. Basically, I will help you fix your lopsided stories.
Kickstarter for The Stephanie Glitch, my Young Adult Sci-Fi novel that suddenly turns into dark philosophical Science Fiction that made at least one beta reader believe we live in a simulation.
Gofundme for Halfplanet Records, a record label that will collect writers, actors and musicians together and merge them into something weird. This is more than a label, this is going to be a new industry.
Bookstore somewhere in Manchester/Liverpool for weird and unusual books, staffed by me. I will fund this myself from whatever is spare from the Patreon and Gofundme, and will keep you updated here. It’s going to be weird, accessible, and involve a new and original book organizing system I have invented. Oh, and props, lots of props. Imagine a fantasy section that sells swords, a sci-fi section that sells toy spaceships. It’s gonna get weird. It will even have a secret bookshelf door and some other secrets.
Basically, if you want to help fund the bookstore or any other weird projects, you can choose to help in whichever way you please.
Thank you for reading! Please do subscribe, I think it’s worth it.