Friday, September 1, 2017

Things are happening!

Happy September! Again. I know I said that this morning, but I'm REALLY happy about it. So I figured September 1st was the perfect time to make some changes. As soon as the weather turns, I start waking up with energy and ideas and ambition. I love the back to school feeling, even though I'm not going back to school. So I figured I'd try to capture that feeling and that energy and channel them into making this blog and my Patreon into what I'd love them to be. (Plus, it gave me an excuse to use dorky school-themed names for the reward levels.)

I'm telling you about this here partially because the Patreon changes will mean a few changes you'll see on the blog as well, and partially to encourage blog readers to consider joining me on Patreon. I've never wanted readers to feel pressured about this, because I want these link posts, especially, to be available to everyone regardless of ability to pay, and because I really do enjoy putting them together - but it is a not insignificant time and energy commitment for me, and getting compensated for that time means I can continue prioritizing those posts and will be in less danger of burning out. The great thing about the Patreon model is that for most people, a $1 or $3 per month contribution wouldn't even be noticeable in their own finances, but they build together to make a small but steady stream of income I can depend on. And it's (I hope!) not all one-sided - patrons get all sorts of extra exclusive content at the various levels. So please head over and check it out!

Now, what's changing on the blog, you ask?

First of all, the links aren't going anywhere. Don't worry.

But! In addition to the links, you'll now get at least two non-link posts a week. One of these will be a recommendation of something I'm liking (book, movie, show, music, food, app, whatever!), and the other will be whatever grabbed my interest and made me want to write about it that week - something related to current events or pop culture or whatever else I'm thinking about.

Ads are gone. They went away today. Frankly, the TINY bit of money I got from them wasn't worth making you guys look at them every day.

New colors and layout! I like the blue but I'm still considering whether I like the new left sidebar. If you have strong opinions either way, let me know in the comments!

My next Patreon goal will mean a big change for the blog as well: When I get to $100 a month, I'll start publishing a guest post or interview each month. I really love the idea of getting some voices other than mine on here, and I have all sorts of ideas for who to get to talk to you. Look for a whole post about this next week, but for now let me say that I have an AWESOME holiday-related interview lined up... so let's try to get to $100 in time, okay??

I changed up the Patreon rewards today too. One big change is that ALL levels $3 and up will now have a monthly Skype hangout! I'm looking forward to that - sign up soon to get in on the poll for September's scheduling. The monthly recipe reward is now just $10, and there are some new higher levels: everything from exclusive playlists to peeks at my novel in progress to ASSIGNING ME HOMEWORK (blog posts) to getting my help editing YOUR writing. You can see them all in the right column here!

I'm going to be plugging all this a bit this month to get it off the ground; I'm apologizing in advance because I HATE marketing myself and I'm sure it's annoying to read. But you can absolutely help (and make me quiet down about it sooner) by sharing - sharing the Patreon and blog in general, sharing the link posts with your friends who might find them useful, sharing other posts that catch your eye.

As always, thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or suggestions, let me know!

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