Page Turn/A Lifelong Dream Realized/And Away We Go (Personal Update)

The Yrarbil is a great place to get work done.
Image description: Writer who didn't
flip the image in front of a Library.

Raw unfettered shit- 82,098 

Slightly polished turd-80,042 

Superpolishedfragileshitstick- 44,754    

These numbers have not changed from my last update, or if they have it is not by enough that I need to "count" it. I know I got a couple of sessions in there between being sick and starting summer school, and  However, it's going to start being part of a regular Monday personal update posts again. Accountability and all.


I'm sitting in the Lafayette library typing this. Around me a dozen people are working on laptops and an old guy is reading the paper. Outside on a "reading deck" a guy with a cup of coffee looks like he's taking a break from whatever he's doing on his laptop every few minutes to breathe deep and look at the sky as if he's in a Grape Nuts commercial.

I woke up early, got ready, got all of my non serious Facebooking out of the way, dressed like I was going to work (for I was), bagged up my laptop and was standing at the door to the library when they open (10am). And I will work at least six hours, although now that my Monday evening plans have been cancelled, I might just work until the library closes.

Someday I may get to take advantage of the fact that I have a job where one can clock a full day without ever putting on pants, but not until I've established some good habits first.

I am a full time writer now.

*pauses*

*looks at that sentence*

*writes it again, in disbelief*

I am a full time writer now.

Holy shit.

The Badish News

For those wondering the results of the last six weeks of Patreon "fundraiser," we did not hit our goal. It is a tragical story of tragic tragedy. Do not even attempt to contain your tears.

I'm sorry you didn't hit your goals. I'm so sorry.

We gained a number of smaller donors, which was absolutely top among the goals of running the "pledge drive" in the first place, but it was like that "Good news/Bad news" kid's story and we actually lost a bigger donor.  Illustrating (with a bit of cutting irony) precisely why sometimes a lot of little donors makes for a less vulnerable support structure for a content creator.

If I thought it would help. I would die this episode.
Heck, why don't I do it anyway.

In the end we only got 73% the way to the goal. And given that we started at 65% six weeks ago, that is a touch on the disappointing side. Lots of wonderful people and lots of smaller donations that I cherish, but we fell pretty short.

I will cry until I can't breathe!

So when it was all over, and even during that last week when it was very clear that there wasn't going to be a trope effect like a slow clap (except with one dollar donations culminating in a stadium roar of money being thrown at me), I had myself a bit of an emotional moment.

Know those feels, Chris. Like this one time.....

But at least I didn't star in Batman vs. Superman or something.

I hate everyone. But you most of all Chris.

HOWEVER......


The Unequivocated Good News

There was a second number. A "back up" goal if you will. Not my dream or target goals, but the "safety" goal. A number I was keeping close track of as a sort of fallback position if (as became increasingly obvious we wouldn't) we didn't make our primary goal.

And we reached that one.

By four dollars.

All the best smiling Gifs are evil.

That number is unsustainable in the long-term. More nanny hours will dry up next year, and I can only put off contributing to a retirement fund for so long. But for now–for the next few months– it can provide juuuuuuuust enough that with the pet sitting I do, and the limited nanny hours I get each week, I can keep from needing to dip into the Kickstarter funds and watch myself slowly, inexorably run out of time that I don't need to go get a job waiting tables or something. There's not much wiggle room, and I'm fucked if the side gigs go pear shaped for some reason, but still, I can't underscore how unbelievable that is: Surviving off of writing.

I couldn't believe it when I looked at the calculator. I had to add it up three times and triple check my expenses.

I guess I'm a full-time working writer now.

So what does that mean for the blog?

It means we can postpone the question of ads on Writing About Writing for probably about another year, and we'll see where we are then. I am torn between not wanting to having ads and the income they would bring in, but a lot can happen in a year–and hopefully not like the lemur thing that happened this last year.

Lastly....thank you all so much.

I couldn't do this without you. In a very real, non-hyperbolic sense, everything set up here is because of your small (and sometimes not-at-all-small) donations. I will continue to work hard to get you the content you crave.