Friday

8 June 2018

Overheard in Starbucks today:

Woman 1: I put it on Facebook.
Woman 2: I didn't see it.
W1: But I put it on Facebook!
W2: I still didn't see it.
W1: It was right there, on my profile.
W2: It didn't show up in my feed.
W1: But--
W2: I. Did. Not. See. It.

I really kinda felt for the second woman. She could not make her friend understand that just because you post it on Facebook, that doesn't mean it makes it to everyone's news feed. I've missed a metric chit on of things posted by my friends because FB's algorithms just doesn't allow for every single friend seeing every single thing you post. I've been added to groups formed to collect cards for common friends who have lost a pet, and didn't know for weeks. I've been invited to events, finding out after the fact.

The takeaway: if it's important, don't rely on Facebook to deliver the message for you.

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 If you follow Max's "official" author page on FB, you already know we're seriously considering starting a Patreon page. It's still very much in the consideration stage, but leaning ever so slightly toward giving it a try. I'd like to consolidate our blogging to one site and bring Buddah back into the mix, and using Patreon would be a way to do that.

But, it's more than that. It's also a platform where artists and creators can invite support from their patrons. As a writer, I would be able to offer a mix of free content and sponsored content, and have more control over it than I currently do. Face it, the 'Zon has such a choke hold on books sales--I know more than 98% of my sales comes from there--that writers are pretty much at their mercy. My print books are distributed to all the online book stores via Ingram, and I could (now) go that route with digital books, I dove head first into the Amazon pool when they opened up sales avenues to individual writers who wanted to offer their works in ebook format, and I've kind of stayed in one spot since.

It hasn't made sense to take another route with ebooks. But with them paying less and less for books downloaded via Kindle Unlimited, and watching my download numbers go up but royalties plummet, it feels like a good time to give something new a try. With Patreon, I can offer up my backlist and give patrons the first read on new material. Some of the content would be free for anyone, other content would be available to paying patrons (and there are different levels...it could be as little as $1 a month.)

I follow a few writers and musicians there and am a paying patron at various levels. And every now and then I get on the site and surf, looking for new creators, and have found some pretty cool stuff.

But, like I said, still thinking about it. If I do it...y'all are totally getting my first few books for free,

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No matter what, we're going to try to blog more. Quick blurbs on FB are fine, but I'm far too verbose and I have a lot to whine about.

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I still haven't gotten links up on Max's blog for pawtographed copies of The Blessings of Saint Wick nor for The Whens of Wick. But...the second book in the Return of the Wick Chronicles series is with the editor and a couple of beta readers. The takeaway from this one is probably, if you say you want to be a character in the Wickiverse, it just might happen.

4 comments:

Vicat said...

*dorky character dance*

NitroStitch said...

Would you still be publishing to ebooks and just not on the zon? I'd rather more fundage went to you (and Max), so that would be cool. I'm thinking of supporting several ventures on Patreon. It's nice to get a chance to support the artists I enjoy. ��

Gemini and Ichiro said...

If you decide to go wide, Ingram's wide program doesn't give you the best royalties. Kobo is SUPER easy to use direct (easier I think than Amazon once you learn the interface) and they are very customer friendly. Draft2Digital is also easy to use and they are also very customer friendly and you'll get on most of the other sites. I am thinking of moving my wide books onto Publishdrive as well for more international sales (although Kobo will help with that, too).

Thumper said...

I would still publish both print and digital books, but perhaps no longer exclusive to Amazon. Patreon would be a way to offer early reading and maybe a few exclusives. LOL I dunno, my brain is still in the "Hmmm...: phase.