If you've been following along with my posts of late, you're likely aware that I've decided to jump in and start a Patreon Page. After two weeks of setting everything up I finally launched the campaign a few days ago.
Now first thing's first - I am aware that my fan-base is still pretty limited and I will probably not gain a lot of support there right away - that's okay. Even a little bit is helpful, and I'm hoping as I put more work out in the coming months that my reach will grow.
BUT - the main issue I'm facing is the fact that a lot of people don't know what Patreon is or how it works, so I felt it would be prudent to make a post to help explain.
What is Patreon?
Patreon is a crowd-funding site where people can pledge a certain amount of money to an artist / author / project either on a monthly or on a "per creation" basis. My Patreon is currently set to monthly, so anyone pledging to my page would be charged on the first of each month. It is similar to Kickstarter, if you need a popular reference, but unlike Kickstarter which is a one-time pledge for a single project, Patreon is meant to be a patronage system where supporters back an artist continuously so they can continue doing what they do and making the awesome things that they make. It's like paying an artist a salary so they can keep working - or better yet, a Tip Jar that refills every month.
Why do I need a Patreon?
My need for support is pretty basic - I can't afford to keep producing my work the way I've been doing it. It takes me months to write, edit and publish a new book and I'm doing it 100% on my own right now. My personal finances are already tight and I don't have the extra funds to hire out my editing, purchase professional artwork for covers, or advertise my work to find more readers. On average (on a good month) I make about $25 - $30 on book sales. That's two hours pay at my day job after taxes. Producing a new book costs not just for the things mentioned above, but then you have to take into account the hours upon hours I spend working on it, for MONTHS - basically unpaid. I LOVE writing these books, but I have to consider my family's needs first. Those countless hours could be spent making money the old fashioned way, and if things don't pick up they likely will.
For my birthday a few years ago, family members chipped in to help me pay for my website and blog. It didn't take long before it got too expensive, so I closed it down and moved my website to a free Blogger page. You see where this is going, right?
This year for my birthday, my family gave me money for stock photos for the book I was publishing that month and a little extra so I could advertise my free book and maybe find some new readers.
I spent $40 on stock photos and $60 on a handful of inexpensive ads. Considering the ads were for a book that I'm already giving away for free, I made $80 that month...
At this point, producing my work is costing me more money than it's making me. Money I don't have. Money my family needs. The Patreon is a way to offset some of those costs. Readers who want me to continue writing the books they love to read can help keep me funded month to month so I can continue without bleeding my family dry in the process.
What do Patrons get in return?
There are, of course, benefits to supporting an artist or author on Patreon. Most people there offer special incentives to people who support them - behind the scenes access, deleted scenes, advanced copies of their work before publication etc etc. Each Patreon is slightly different and the rewards you get for supporting them vary depending on what they're offering and the level of patronage you subscribe to.
For example:
My first tier reward for $1 per month patronage is: Access to my patron-only emails and feed - with sneak peeks into my current projects and bi-weekly chapters of one of my unreleased books prior to publication. All Patrons will be given access to my "I Support the Artist!" button and will be thanked by me for their support on social media at the end of each month."
It's pretty simple but still offers a little something extra to those who commit to supporting me each month at this level.
How much do you actually get from the money Patrons provide?
One thing that people aren't always aware of is the fact that the amount shown on Patreon that an artist recieves is not wholly accurate. Patreon takes a 5% cut, there are Paypal / bank fees for transfering the funds, and a smart artist / author also has to set aside about 30% for taxes. There is also the issue of declined payments and people who sign up and then bail before the end of the month when payments are processed. For every $100 an artist on Patreon "receives", they only actually get about 50% on average. HOWEVER, that's still 50% they wouldn't have had otherwise.
It's not all that different from how I get paid from online retailers for books sold. Books over $2.99 I make about 70% from Amazon, so I average about $2 per book. The same goes for paperbacks (roughly $2 per book) and that's BEFORE the 30% for taxes gets removed.
Producing art and writing books is not free for the person making it. So many people take for granted how much time, effort and money people put into the things that they create. They deserve to eat too, and pay their bills, just like everyone else. Artists and authors don't get paid a salary to handle these things. The Patronage system allows the people who love what's being created to help the artist / author keep making those things without, you know, starving...
If you're interested in checking out my new Patreon and seeing what it's all about, you can find it at http://www.patreon.com/EverynKildare
If you'd like to help out but can't afford the monthly donation, please help spread the word about what I'm doing. The more eyes I get on the page, the better it will do.
Still have questions about Patreon? Shoot me a message or comment down below and I'll do my best to answer any concerns you may have.
Thanks for reading!
All my love and gratitude,
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