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Big Ol' Blog Post
Jun. 10th, 2009 03:48 pmHey, all... updates coming starting in a bit. I've actually got a few things that are ready to go but I want to do an all-at-once thing later instead. :P I'm trying... with limited success... to avoid being drawn back into a heated discussion on the last TOMU story that doesn't even directly relate to the story.
Anyway, few things.
First of all: it's my birthday. I'm 29. I don't have words to express how happy I am with where I am at this point in my life, with what I do... knowing that I make a difference in people's lives, whether it's simple entertainment and distraction, or providing inspiration, or widening a viewpoint, or letting somebody know that they're not alone in the world... it's a privilege. It really is.
Second of all: here's a special deal for you all - if I get 100 PayPal receipts for Catherynne M. Valente ebooks emailed to me at feedback(at)alexandraerin(dot)com with the subject "EBOOK" (please use that subject, for easy sorting), I'll give you all a story with Two back in her Hearts of Clay days this weekend. If I get 200 such PayPal receipts, I'll write that and I'll give you all a Two diary the following week, with an open thread for suggestions on when/what to cover.
In case that isn't clear: if one or two hundred MU readers buy ebooks from Cat, I'll write more Two for you. They don't have to be receipts from today. If you got in on the ground floor, forward it to me. Edited to add: Except the newer books which are clearly labeled "Kindle", these are DRM-free PDFs.
I'll make the deadline midnight of Friday night. Cat's got books ranging in prices from $5 to $10. I would be seriously happy as fuck (and fuck is pretty happy, I hear) to see this take off for her and I'd like to give it a shot in the arm. If you've got $5 and you like poetry or you've got $10 and you like inventive fantasy in poetic language, check her out.
I think a lot of you will enjoy her stuff and I think she'll be utterly blown away when she sees how well the self-publication model can work financially for her... and you know, it is my birthday and if you want to get me an inexpensive present, helping to prove me right about this would be a good start.
And third: I've been asked... and I'm sorry I didn't get to this earlier... but I've been asked on a past post by a couple readers to give you all an update on where I stand, financially, with the sponsorships and everything. Let me tell you, I'm actually right about where I was the last time I mentioned this: taking in about $1,000 a month, minus Paypal's fees. I get non-sponsor contributions from a few people, too. It has been a huge help to have some predictability to my cash flow. A huge help.
I do ultimately need to get more sponsors. That's the big thing, if I'm going to have money for computer stuff, for travel, for following up on the leads I got in April for merchandise and promotional material, and just for living in an uncertain world... I need to increase my income. My goal is to get my base target income of $1,500 coming in from sponsorships so that everything else... advertising, merchandise, diplomas, etc. becomes excess on top of that. That means, in essence, ~100 more $5 sponsors, or more larger sponsors. If you're already sponsoring at one level and you want to contribute more, you can either sponsor a second story or create a new sponsorship... the old one is not deleted in either case, you have to cancel it inside your PayPal account.
The diploma sales are offline for now. I want to wait until I start hearing back from people who received theirs, and I want to add some more options but I want to do that in an organized fashion. Probably this weekend they'll go back up. So if you've got twenty bucks and you want a certificate to hang on the wall saying you're qualified in Alchemy or Necromancy, that'll be an option again soon. I'm thinking 4B registration (superhero stuff for Star Harbor Nights) will be the next similar thing I offer.
In terms of building up some money I can use for travel (there's a -chance- I can make it to ThinkGalacticon in Chicago at the end of the month, if that's an inducement for anybody in the Illinois area), one-time contributions through my PayPal would be helpful right now. In the past I've offered "naming rights"... having yourself or a friend honored in the story by putting a name on a building or room. Because I want to build up a reservoir here, I'm going to throw this out as a very open-ended thing: if you're willing to pay $250, I'll work with you to come up with a way to get your name (or your RPG character's name or your clan name) into the story. Any of the ongoing stories. If you want a ship in Void Dogs or 3 Seas, we can talk about that, too. Just comment on this post, send me an LJ message, or email me (again, feedback(at)alexandraerin(dot)com if you're interested.
And if that's just a touch too rich for your blood, I'll knock the price down to $200 for anybody who also buys an ebook from Cat Valente. Seriously. I hate to once again point out her ongoing awesomeness in the middle of my attempt to get your money into my pocket, but seriously... she's awesome. I'd love for you all to discover her awesomeness and for her to discover the power of the web as a tool for authors. Help me help you help her help us.
If there's not a huge response to this right now, I'll bring it all up again next week when the diplomas are back online.
Oh, and as always... the best way to help if you don't have the money at the moment is to spread the word. That goes for Cat's stuff as well as mine. Even if you're not ordering any of her books, if they look interesting to you or if you just want to support independent authors, spread that link around: http://www.catherynnemvalente.com/ebooks/ If she does well enough, maybe she'll knock the prices down, you know?
Anyway, few things.
First of all: it's my birthday. I'm 29. I don't have words to express how happy I am with where I am at this point in my life, with what I do... knowing that I make a difference in people's lives, whether it's simple entertainment and distraction, or providing inspiration, or widening a viewpoint, or letting somebody know that they're not alone in the world... it's a privilege. It really is.
Second of all: here's a special deal for you all - if I get 100 PayPal receipts for Catherynne M. Valente ebooks emailed to me at feedback(at)alexandraerin(dot)com with the subject "EBOOK" (please use that subject, for easy sorting), I'll give you all a story with Two back in her Hearts of Clay days this weekend. If I get 200 such PayPal receipts, I'll write that and I'll give you all a Two diary the following week, with an open thread for suggestions on when/what to cover.
In case that isn't clear: if one or two hundred MU readers buy ebooks from Cat, I'll write more Two for you. They don't have to be receipts from today. If you got in on the ground floor, forward it to me. Edited to add: Except the newer books which are clearly labeled "Kindle", these are DRM-free PDFs.
I'll make the deadline midnight of Friday night. Cat's got books ranging in prices from $5 to $10. I would be seriously happy as fuck (and fuck is pretty happy, I hear) to see this take off for her and I'd like to give it a shot in the arm. If you've got $5 and you like poetry or you've got $10 and you like inventive fantasy in poetic language, check her out.
I think a lot of you will enjoy her stuff and I think she'll be utterly blown away when she sees how well the self-publication model can work financially for her... and you know, it is my birthday and if you want to get me an inexpensive present, helping to prove me right about this would be a good start.
And third: I've been asked... and I'm sorry I didn't get to this earlier... but I've been asked on a past post by a couple readers to give you all an update on where I stand, financially, with the sponsorships and everything. Let me tell you, I'm actually right about where I was the last time I mentioned this: taking in about $1,000 a month, minus Paypal's fees. I get non-sponsor contributions from a few people, too. It has been a huge help to have some predictability to my cash flow. A huge help.
I do ultimately need to get more sponsors. That's the big thing, if I'm going to have money for computer stuff, for travel, for following up on the leads I got in April for merchandise and promotional material, and just for living in an uncertain world... I need to increase my income. My goal is to get my base target income of $1,500 coming in from sponsorships so that everything else... advertising, merchandise, diplomas, etc. becomes excess on top of that. That means, in essence, ~100 more $5 sponsors, or more larger sponsors. If you're already sponsoring at one level and you want to contribute more, you can either sponsor a second story or create a new sponsorship... the old one is not deleted in either case, you have to cancel it inside your PayPal account.
The diploma sales are offline for now. I want to wait until I start hearing back from people who received theirs, and I want to add some more options but I want to do that in an organized fashion. Probably this weekend they'll go back up. So if you've got twenty bucks and you want a certificate to hang on the wall saying you're qualified in Alchemy or Necromancy, that'll be an option again soon. I'm thinking 4B registration (superhero stuff for Star Harbor Nights) will be the next similar thing I offer.
In terms of building up some money I can use for travel (there's a -chance- I can make it to ThinkGalacticon in Chicago at the end of the month, if that's an inducement for anybody in the Illinois area), one-time contributions through my PayPal would be helpful right now. In the past I've offered "naming rights"... having yourself or a friend honored in the story by putting a name on a building or room. Because I want to build up a reservoir here, I'm going to throw this out as a very open-ended thing: if you're willing to pay $250, I'll work with you to come up with a way to get your name (or your RPG character's name or your clan name) into the story. Any of the ongoing stories. If you want a ship in Void Dogs or 3 Seas, we can talk about that, too. Just comment on this post, send me an LJ message, or email me (again, feedback(at)alexandraerin(dot)com if you're interested.
And if that's just a touch too rich for your blood, I'll knock the price down to $200 for anybody who also buys an ebook from Cat Valente. Seriously. I hate to once again point out her ongoing awesomeness in the middle of my attempt to get your money into my pocket, but seriously... she's awesome. I'd love for you all to discover her awesomeness and for her to discover the power of the web as a tool for authors. Help me help you help her help us.
If there's not a huge response to this right now, I'll bring it all up again next week when the diplomas are back online.
Oh, and as always... the best way to help if you don't have the money at the moment is to spread the word. That goes for Cat's stuff as well as mine. Even if you're not ordering any of her books, if they look interesting to you or if you just want to support independent authors, spread that link around: http://www.catherynnemvalente.com/ebooks/ If she does well enough, maybe she'll knock the prices down, you know?
