A few weeks ago, I came back from IBPA’s Publishing University in Portland, with several innovative ideas about improving and enhancing my “professionalism” as a fiction author. Apparently, this in turn opened up my psyche to the Cosmos, to receive new ideas about how to find and build a wider community of engaged, supportive readers. So then, about a week home from that trip, almost out of the blue, the existence of the patreon.com web-based, arts-supporting community sprang, full-grown, from the “internet multiverse” into my consciousness.
It’s probably not going to be every creative person’s cup of tea. But for me, connecting with the people who read my stories has always been a bit more significant than simply selling a book and making a buck. So, the moment I discovered Patreon, I knew it was something I yearned to be a part of. (Even before I knew it existed!) Strange as it seems, a promotional posting on Facebook (by an author “friend of a friend”) was the first I ever heard of Patreon. But it took just over a week after that, for me to become a Patreon “creator.” My page is already live, with my first posted “content” up on April 27!
(If anyone has at some time mentioned Patreon at a BAIPA meeting Q&A, apologies. I have a vivid visual memory, weak auditory memory. So things that I see stay with me for ages, but things I only hear — unless I make notes — often go out the other ear pretty fast.)
So, for anyone else at BAIPA – whether a “creator” or “patron of the arts” (or like many of us, both) – who, like myself, did not know about Patreon till now, here’s a quick explanation. It’s rather like crowdfunding, but with ongoing, modest goals, rather than a one-time, massive goal. It’s for people wanting to develop a permanent, interactive community, and deeper-than-usual relationships around the arts … with people who create what you like, who like what you create … who share both your aesthetic tastes, and your commitment to a richer, more creative world … people who value innovative, individualistic expression, and feel called to keep the arts (and artists!) alive and healthy.
“Creator” categories are wide-ranging: besides “traditional” ideas of The Arts (dance & theatre, music, drawing & painting, photography, writing), other categories on Patreon include video & film, animation, comics, games, comedy, science, crafts/DIY, education … even podcasts & blogging on a wide range of topics. I’ve even discovered an animal sanctuary that is getting some meaningful funding here. So, I suspect that every BAIPA member – whether or not currently authoring – probably has at least one area of creative expression that would fit well in this venue!
Arts patronage is far from a new concept in human society. There have always been artistic, creative personalities, and there have always been people who had the resources to invest in supporting the creative segment of society and keep the arts flowing, for both their own great enjoyment, and that of their community. Patreon is now bringing that synergy into the digital age. Creators establish a personal page and presence on the Patreon site. They’re asked to state “goals” (how much $$ they would like to be earning, and what they’ll be doing with it) and to create “reward tiers” for different levels of financial commitment. Every Creator at Patreon must also be naturally disposed to steady creation, and able to set and keep their own commitment: to producing and posting content of some kind.
Patreon provides lots of fine real-life examples on-site, so I won’t be redundant here. Instead, I’ll just briefly detail my own starting content. (Yes, as you probably already suspect, I am hoping that a few fellow BAIPA members will decide to soon become my Patrons — as well as considering taking the Creator plunge.)
My new fiction series is a tongue-in-cheek take on “gothic romance,” with elements of what I call “Victorian-era science fiction.” (Think “Charlotte Brontë and Jules Verne team up as co-authors!”) To date I’ve written two novellas (totaling somewhere above 80,000 words) and am developing a third. So, I’ve set up a serialised version on my Patreon page, with new short “episodes” posting every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Patron subscriptions start at just $1 per month! (Way cheaper than a visit to Starbuck’s, and lots more laughs!) That provides access to all the episodes, plus supplementary “sidebar” content that I’ll be writing; there’s also a patron “chat” feature. Higher levels of support will get additional rewards, such as autographed copies of the print edition when I publish that in 2018. This is just to let readers know what kind of individualized presence is possible on Patreon, even for a novelist.
So, to conclude, I am inviting my creative community at BAIPA, to join Patreon as patrons of my Page, at that amazingly affordable rate of $1 per month! Once you’re a part of Patreon, you can browse the whole site, see who’s there and what they’re up to … perhaps find a few more artists you’ll be inspired to support, and most important, get a clear sense of whether being a Patreon “Creator” might also be a good fit for your own “social media portfolio,” if you, like myself, have been looking for a new way to connect with fans, followers, and – yes, committed financial supporters! Here’s my page — patreon.com/PatriciaLeslie.
Thanks Patricia for the information. I’ll check out the site. Your information interests me because I’m a published fiction author.
Hi Ed, There are a fair number of fiction authors using Patreon. I’ve been exploring the site quite a bit. One thing I’ve discovered, is that there are a few “clusters” of people who mutually support each other back and forth, for very small amounts. I think the Patreon site might use some kind of algorithm that ‘notices’ how many total patron/followers a Page has, and maybe moves it up in some kind of ranking, for the Search function. Certainly, it enables cross-fertilization between each other’s fan bases.
The other thing I’ve noticed, is that there are a lot of people who seem to start out with good intentions or high expectations, but seem to not follow through for very long. I think it’s good to have a plan ahead of time, about what one’s content is going to be. There has to be something new, on a regular basis. If a person decides to be a patron and provide regular monthly support – even a dollar – psychologically, they are going to want to see or receive something in return. I knew I had enough content to set up ‘episodes’ in advance, that will last most of the rest of the year, just with the first series. The new Patreon ‘creators’ who seem to fade quickly, don’t seem to have a plan to deliver interesting content. It doesn’t have to be polished fiction. Some people are blogging about their “process”, and others are willing to post sections of “works in progress”, or ask for feedback, or even suggestions. It’s also important, it seems, to have realistic “goal” amounts, and specific purposes for those goals, that supporters can visualize, too.
And from my own extensive searches on the site (since I’m looking for a few like-minded people to support with minimal amounts, just to grow a “community”) … I’d say that it’s important to be clear and simple about what the rewards at each tier are. A lot of the ones I’ve seen have left me mystified about what I would be “receiving” (or why I would want it – like one writer promising a new photo of one of her cats every month!). Frankly, the ones that have confusing rewards, I’m skipping too. I’d say you can’t go wrong spending a few hours Searching and then researching, about others who are in a similar genre, or people who have some other activity that focusses on your type of writing (such as a podcast). You can learn a lot about how to maximize your own success, by looking at other wins & fails. Be sure to look on the upper left corner to see how much $$/how many supporters they are drawing. Then scroll down through their postings, to find the date they joined, or started being active. It’s very telling to compare frequency & regularity of posted “patron-only content” with overall earnings and fan base. I’ve been active for about 11 days, now have 6 followers and “income” around $25. (Patreon keeps about 10% off the top of what is actually paid to you – that’s the only way you “pay” for your Page site.)
Good luck! Let me know if you decide to join, and how it seems to be working for you.