So... I set up a SubscribeStar. It probably could have been all ready to go a week ago, but I've been really dragging my feet in getting it set up.
Even though I'm perfectly aware that it is absolutely acceptable to ask money for my content, given that I'm not getting greedy or making outrageous demands, it just feels wrong. It feels like begging, despite being demonstrably and objectively not, as I'm offering a product and service in exchange.
While the tier information is also available on the SubscribeStar page, I'm going to post it here as well, as well as more information on my rationale behind them.
Tier 1. $1 Supporter
This is just bare minimum tier. You get some special behind the scenes stuff, maybe some little quotes taken from what I'm working on before it is publicly available.
Tier 2. $5 Book Subscription Tier
I will send you a book every two months. Interesting fact, this is a better deal than what you can buy most of my paperbacks for on Amazon. I figured this would be a really neat deal for people actively supporting me. At the moment, this wouldn't last a full year before I run out of different books to send, but I hope to eventually remedy that by publishing more. I suppose I could send out duplicates to supporters in this tier if they wish.
Tier 3. $10 Book Subscription Tier
I will send a signed book every two months. Signature details can vary, within reason... I'm not going to attach my name to racial slurs or anything like that. I wish I could offer this for less, but I'm paying both for shipping to my residence, then shipping out to the subscriber. I really don't want to cut it too close, especially since I'm also signing all of these copies. While I would love the extra thousand dollars a month, signing an average of fifty books a month as well as mailing them out could get difficult while keeping up with all my other activities.
But What If I Don't Want to Pay Money?
That's fine. I plan on always having at least some free content available. In fact, I will provide a variant of the Pros-Cons list, and give you reasons why should or should not support me with money.
Donate if you want to:
get my books at a reduced price
encourage me to keep writing
have more insight into my process
make suggestions for new projects
support independent creators
Do NOT donate if you want to:
support someone based on political affiliation
rub it in the face of someone you don't like(such as someone I've made fun of in the past)
try to control what I say or think
some other miscellaneous nefarious purpose
The rule of thumb at play here; I believe you should get your money's worth. I'm not someone looking to use fiction to blindly push a political agenda, I'm a writer who may occasionally use political themes in my work as a form of self expression. I'm still on the fence about pursuing this full time, and this is mostly to get an idea of how much I can actually make doing this kind of work.
Feel free to comment whatever you think about this. I believe SubscribeStar doesn't let you do much without paying, but I can still be contacted here or on my other platforms.
Original post on Minds