Making a Major Change with Exciting News!

A version of this post went up here on my Patreon, but unlike there, this post allows public comments. So please let me know your thoughts!

As you know, this year my focus is on giving my Patreon the best possible chance of success I can manage, so that I don't have to give up writing. To that end, I've been learning from other authors in several different spaces, and naturally, I'm working on implementing their advice. It's been (and continues to be) a huge mindset shift from indie publishing, and I'm going to be making some big changes going forward. 

Some things I have already implemented, like updating tier descriptions and benefits, and even adding images: 

 

This is a cropped screen grab, but you can check out all the updated tiers here. 

As you can see, the $1 tier is now support only. That's really nerve-wracking, saying: "Support my writing for nothing extra in return."  But so many other writers have told me this is the right way to go, so I'm going to try. This tier will also get early access occasionally when all Patrons will see posts before they become public, but I haven't found a good way to say that concisely. (Suggestions welcome!) I figure people won't be complaining about getting more than they expect, right?

 

Eagle-eyed readers may also have caught something else:

💫 🐉 🌟 The Biggest Change: 🌟 🐉 💫

I will be releasing the entirely rough current draft of Unleashed (aka "The Dragon Story") on Patreon (at the Benefactor tier and higher). 

And, on a serial fiction platform (or maybe several). I haven't yet decided which other platform(s) the story will go on, which depends in part on hearing back from one to which I had to apply, where authors can get paid for their stories. Depending on if/when I hear, I may be putting it up for free elsewhere, which is frightening and very counterintuitive for me (artists deserve to be paid for their work!!!).

However, it's apparently the best possible way to get more eyes on my writing. (Sort of like putting up free content on Youtube but having a Patreon.)

The basic way this will work is that "chapters" will absolutely always go up on Patreon first, and the Patreon will always be multiple chapters ahead of what's available elsewhere (until we reach the end of the story, that is). 

I say "chapters" because these will not be like book chapters. Rather, they will likely be one or two scenes at a time, so this story in this form might end up with a hundred chapters, though the final book someday will have a more traditional chapter breakdown. 

This text will be ROUGH.  As in, rougher than even what I would normally have sent my writing group in days gone by. It is the story as it currently sits on my computer, which normally I wouldn't let anyone read (and so far haven't). The magic system isn't entirely figured out, not every character has names, and there may be massive plot holes or other embarrassing things. It will be rougher than any writing I have ever shared.

 

Apparently, this is the kind of thing readers love seeing, but it is terrifying for me. 

On the plus side, since I do have the entire draft finished, I should be able to have a reliable release schedule. I will also continue working on polishing the story when I can, so there's a chance the later chapters will be in much better shape than the early ones (hopefully). 

This also means I will be doing a cover reveal next week! I hope to release the first couple chapters on Patreon before the end of this month, and I'm currently planning to have them go public in early July—at which point they will also be available here on my blog, to allow for public commenting.

Ultimately, I hope you all see that I am working hard to try to keep doing this writing thing. And I would love to hear what you think of this plan! 💕

I want to be more

I want to be more than reality allows me to be, than my body and my health (which I for some reason still separate because the cognitive symptoms feel like they're not my "body" even if they're a physical illness impacting my mind) leave space for me to be.

I want my books to be read by thousands, and my stories to impact lives. But I also want to leave my bedroom more than I do. To bake, or paint, or pick up the violin again. To have the energy to devour a book a day rather than one book painstakingly in the last 14 weeks (yes, really).

Sometimes my life feels like this, but not at all in a fun way:

Whether with publishing or with life, I keep trying to be more, but I'm trapped by my reality that keeps me chained and swinging ever farther from my goals the harder I try to reach them. 

Part of it is a twisted desire to live up to the "potential" people used to see in me. To be the person I was "meant" to be before ME/CFS stole that self from me. 

Part of it is simply wanting to have the freedom of choice, for the smallest things not to take so much fight. For my contribution to life to be significant (and hopefully positive), and my silence/absence noticed, to be felt. In some sense, I suppose it's profoundly human to want to have an impact. 

But the funny thing is, before my illness, I never wanted to have some massive impact on the world at large. That was never my goal or priority for myself. 

I wanted to have a good impact on the people in my life, on the community I belonged to or would build for myself. To focus on the kind of small positive influence that actually affects our individual daily lives, rather than anything paradigm-shifting that would change the world. 

It's somewhat inevitable that I lost sight of that with my writing, or more specifically with publishing. The "success" of a story is measured by the number of people who read it, or the number who buy it (and yes, those numbers are always vastly different). And I think I will always want my books to find their audience, the people who will enjoy and appreciate and even possibly be transformed by my stories. After all, the stories are meaningful to me and take an extraordinary amount of time and work and energy. 

But I've also realized I need to accept being less. To focus on the individuals rather than the more abstract "audience." 

All I have to offer is what I am, and what my stories—if I manage to keep writing them—have to say. I don't know how to be more, especially in the context of our social media–centric world. And because reality is what it is, and my ill health dominates all, I am going to stop trying to be more. 

Instead I'm going to try to focus on being enough, on connecting with the individuals to whom my writing matters. 

Practically speaking, within the context of my writing, it means that the writing comes first. The Patreon comes second. And everything else, not at all (though public posts will continue to be shared on this blog to allow public commenting!). Even keeping up with those things sounds daunting enough. 

I have set a new goal in the Patreon, focused on the number of Patrons rather than a certain dollar amount. My aim is to get there by the end of 2022. I'll reevaluate then, but I don't want to be misleading. Right now, I think if I don't hit that number by the end of this year, I'll be calling it a day (or really, a decade) with my writing. 

As always, thank you to those of you who already support my writing and have become Patrons. No matter what happens over the rest of this year, I really appreciate your steadfast faith and encouragement. 💕

"Be Interesting"

Public post from my Patreon

In a little folder in my email, I have ~200 messages focused on teaching authors how to communicate effectively with their audience, primarily through newsletters, but basically they're all about how to create content that reaches through the messy mass we're all trying to avoid and actually has an impact. Because reaching an audience is part of the business of being an author, and I do try to learn and improve. 

The most recent of these expert emails included the groundbreaking tip in this post's title: Be interesting. 

Who knew the trick to writing good, engaging content (whether for blogs, patreons, or newsletters), boiled down to such a simple thing? All I have to do is be interesting! 

Too bad this has very little meaning. What's interesting? To whom? When? How often? (This is where nailing your target audience comes in.) But even if you know your audience pretty well, "interesting" is still a relative, fluctuating concept. Influencers, perhaps, have this figured out. A little while ago I read that if you weren't an influencer 3 years ago, it's too late to try. Frankly, if that's true, it's almost a relief. I'm an author, not an influencer, and being "interesting" isn't my main goal. 

Freshman year of college, one of my professors pointed out that calling a story "interesting" is entirely meaningless, partially because while it should mean that you found the story engaging, it most often means, "I have no idea what to say or have formed a slightly negative opinion but don't want to be offensive/confrontational, so I'll call it interesting." 

So, goodness forbid folks find my real work "interesting." I'd almost rather people hated it—at least that would mean it had some kind of impact. (Though I assume if you hated my work, you wouldn't be here...) But wanting my work to have an impact does mean reaching an audience. 

And that means, apparently, I have to learn to be interesting. So, wish me luck... 

Patreon has done something annoying

This post simultaneously went up on Patreon.

Authors, and likely creatives of all sorts, constantly hear that we should ensure our ability to reach our audience doesn't rely on someone else. Most often these admonishments unsubtly refer to Facebook, which of course now also owns Instagram. And it's a fair point: platforms can change the rules on us at any time, booting us entirely, cutting us off from our audience, or forcing us to "pay to play."

Patreon, as it turns out, is not immune to this problem. Recently, they've decided to close comments—even on public posts—to anyone who isn't a patron. So while followers can continue to receive public posts in their emails, they can no longer interact with creators. That contact is now behind a paywall.

Patreon has their reasons, of course. This decision was made ostensibly to prevent creators from being spammed, threatened, etc., by anyone who might come along. Perhaps this is indeed a serious problem for more popular creators, and it makes sense that Patreon would prioritize them, since Patreon's income is a portion of a creator's income.

Still, for the rest of us, it's annoying at best. The whole point of allowing followers and having public posts was to give people full access to certain posts without a paywall. Now, that's gone.

So, unless/until this is fixed (whether it's changed back or creators are given a choice about this setting), I will be simultaneously cross-posting public posts to my blog. This will be harder with posts that are released early for patrons, but I'm determined to ensure anyone can share their thoughts on public posts. Starting with this one!

I do hope Patreon will come to their senses and fix this problem, but I'm glad to at least have my own site where you can comment without any problems. As with changes implemented by other platforms, the best I can do is try and adapt. I apologize for the associated inconvenience to all of you. But really, follow my blog instead, and I'll try to ensure you don't miss out on anything. 💕

Summer Seduction Blurb & Cover Reveal!

If there's one thing that's constant in writing, it's that every story is different. Summer Seduction has more than proven that.

Not only did it start with a fairly detailed outline, but it also has a cover and a blurb ready before the draft is even finished. I know many other authors do it this way. Some start with a cover and write a full story based on that. Others start with a blurb and go from there. For me, this is a first—but as I said, in some way, every story seems to be.

Another first with Summer Seduction? Sharing the completely unedited, raw first draft as it's being written (start reading here!).

And now, the point of this post... What do you think of the cover and description??

About Summer Seduction :

When Jeremy meets romance author Taralynn Harwood in a hotel bar, he’s glad just for the opportunity to buy her a drink. When she takes him back to her place and has him sign a non-disclosure agreement, his imagination—and libido—run wild. But after she kicks him out of bed, the blow to his ego forces him back to her, ready to just about beg for an opportunity to perform better. He’s willing and eager to learn the art of pleasure from one of the hottest romance authors in the business.

Tracy doesn’t hide from her achievements as Taralynn Harwood, touted by readers and reviewers alike for the off-the-charts heat of her books. What she does hide is a secret that could destroy her entire career. But when her failed one-night stand shows up at her door—NDA already signed and enforceable—it seems like the perfect opportunity to indulge in a little research. All for the sake of her books, of course.

Something Special to Kick Off 2019!

At the end of last year, I kicked off my brand new Patreon page. It's been an interesting experiment thus far, and I'm excited to share a something special:

To thank my Patrons, each one will receive a limited-edition card in an exclusive design with a personal handwritten note!

Not a Patron yet? This applies to everyone who's a Patron as of midnight February 1st, at any level of support, so you can join now!

Check out the details here.  Become a Patron here. Or follow me on Patreon (no commitment!) so you don't miss out on future cool announcements! 💕

Not sure what this Patreon thing is all about? One cool thing I'm doing is sharing my new story, "Summer Seduction," exclusively there. Read the first part now!