The Future of Writing About Writing

Hi everyone.

Today marks the first of six Wednesdays where I'm going to try to do something a little like a pledge drive. (You know like those two weeks where NPR spends a few minutes between each show trying to convince you to become a monthly donor in exchange for an earthquake survival bucket and some water bottles? Yep, just like that....except six weeks.........and only on Wednesdays.) Since I'm unable to maintain my current posting schedule because of teaching summer school, I thought that this would be a good time to do a sustained reminder that my ability to keep on writing about writing (and occasionally some writing) largely depends on all of you.

Here are a couple of screen shots from MY PATREON.

83% of the way to medical benefits. That's.......very.....2018.

It's been a shitty summer.

I'm currently 83% to my fourth goal, which will hopefully help to pay for the private health insurance I have to buy as a freelancer as well as a bump in my taxes from not being able to write off things like my office space or computer.

So good news: we're already 83% to the new goal.

But I'm also down $56.50 in pledges from May. That's a little less rejoicerific.

What I can tell you is that most of that happened when one big donor had to cut back. And it is the reason that I assure you that even a dollar or two a month can make a big difference. While of course I love big donors, a thriving "ecosystem" of smaller donors will help me absorb more easily the loss of those big donors when they can't do as much heavy lifting. And that lets me predict my income with a lot more stability.

Since this blog's inception, BECAUSE OF DONORS, I have been able to quit teaching during the regular year, write more, bring you more content, and up the number of high quality posts each week. (And not to put too fine a point on it, but we've been able to keep bringing you content through what would otherwise have been some completely devastating life transitions that would have put most bloggers on hiatus.) Writing About Writing has been able to go from five posts a week to six. (There was a brief flirtation with seven, but we're going to need to phase out more of these side gigs.) And we've been able to take far fewer random days off.

Here are some things I'd like to add if we continue to get more support as I phase out pet sitting and dependence on side gig hours:

• Even more posts, and more high-quality posts (less jazz hands)
• A seventh post each week
• A greater number of carefully (perhaps even professionally) edited and revised posts
• More fiction
• Always free longer fiction (books)
• An always, forever, ad free experience on Writing About Writing

This goal is pretty arbitrary. My side gigs WILL get me the money I'm looking to make, but I am trying to phase them out and focus on writing. I may have to return to hosting ads on Writing About Writing and I may have to consider other ways to monetize my work. It's not something I want to do, and it will actually limit the range of certain kinds of content I can post, but I have an amount I need to make and eventually I will have to shore up that amount somewhere.

Remember just twelve dollars a year–just ONE DOLLAR a month–gets you in on backchannel conversations with other patrons, polls, what's going on with my life, and conversations about future projects including sometimes even me trying to get your input. But perhaps, most importantly, you'll be supporting an artist who works completely off of donations to continue making art that will always be free for everyone to enjoy.

So if you like what I do and want to see me do more of it, not do less of it, and continue to do it without ads and for free, please consider a small pledge.

Again here is that link:  https://www.patreon.com/chrisbrecheen

And of course if committing to a monthly amount isn't feasible, you can always make a one-time donation through my Paypal (at the top left of the screen).

[Note: I'll add to the bells and the whistles and the jazz hands to this appeal post each week as this six weeks of summer school goes on.]

Thank you all so much for your support.