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duskpetersonAs I've mentioned in the past, I earn my living through writing. Up till now, virtually all of my living expenses have been paid for by a donor. However, that source of money is gradually going to be phased out. This year, the donor - and the small amount of money that Noakes can afford to pay me for rent - will pay for my necessities: food, shelter, and medical care. However, my writing income will have to pay for everything else: my transportation, my professional expenses (books, convention attendance, library subscriptions, computer expenses, etc.), my cat's vet expenses, and so forth.
I'm currently earning $50 a month from my writing. This is a problem.
I've known for a year that this change was coming, and I've been spending all year considering solutions to the problem. I've also paid attention to what you guys said would improve my financial situation.
Last January, Tizzzzez told me:
"I think that you give away too much for free. This is very generous but doesn't necessarily encourage people to buy. I used to read your books via the free route until very recently when I decided that I was too impatient to wait to read them in this way. I would have started buying them much sooner if they hadn't been available in full for free."
This is advice I've heard from quite a few readers, and I've always resisted that advice because (1) I love being an online fiction writer, and (2) I love my online fiction readers, and (3) I was convinced that, in the long term, this particular business plan (giving away past stories for free in order to entice readers into buying new e-books) would work.
However, I no longer have the long term. I have the short term, and I have a financial crisis during that short term. So, with exceedingly great regret, I'm going to have to take down most of my online fiction.
At my AO3 account I'll post - now and in the future - a selection of my fiction, including, of course, all my holiday gift stories. I'm currently in the process of posting past stories there. If you're a member of AO3, you can subscribe to my account to receive notices of my new stories in your e-mail. (I'll also continue to post notices at my blog and lists and website, of course.) If you're not a member, you can still read the stories and comment there - or here - on what you've read. The navigation and HTML at AO3 is a lot better than it has ever been at my website. And hurrah! AO3 will allow you to download my stories there as e-books (Mobi/Kindle, ePub, PDF, and HTML).
So, while the removal of most of online fiction is likely to be a kick in the stomach for you folks, the remaining fiction is going to be in a new-and-improved environment. I hope you'll take that as a sign from me that, despite this awful necessity to trim my online fic presence, I still love my online fiction readers.
I'm currently earning $50 a month from my writing. This is a problem.
I've known for a year that this change was coming, and I've been spending all year considering solutions to the problem. I've also paid attention to what you guys said would improve my financial situation.
Last January, Tizzzzez told me:
"I think that you give away too much for free. This is very generous but doesn't necessarily encourage people to buy. I used to read your books via the free route until very recently when I decided that I was too impatient to wait to read them in this way. I would have started buying them much sooner if they hadn't been available in full for free."
This is advice I've heard from quite a few readers, and I've always resisted that advice because (1) I love being an online fiction writer, and (2) I love my online fiction readers, and (3) I was convinced that, in the long term, this particular business plan (giving away past stories for free in order to entice readers into buying new e-books) would work.
However, I no longer have the long term. I have the short term, and I have a financial crisis during that short term. So, with exceedingly great regret, I'm going to have to take down most of my online fiction.
At my AO3 account I'll post - now and in the future - a selection of my fiction, including, of course, all my holiday gift stories. I'm currently in the process of posting past stories there. If you're a member of AO3, you can subscribe to my account to receive notices of my new stories in your e-mail. (I'll also continue to post notices at my blog and lists and website, of course.) If you're not a member, you can still read the stories and comment there - or here - on what you've read. The navigation and HTML at AO3 is a lot better than it has ever been at my website. And hurrah! AO3 will allow you to download my stories there as e-books (Mobi/Kindle, ePub, PDF, and HTML).
So, while the removal of most of online fiction is likely to be a kick in the stomach for you folks, the remaining fiction is going to be in a new-and-improved environment. I hope you'll take that as a sign from me that, despite this awful necessity to trim my online fic presence, I still love my online fiction readers.
