A bit of advice on how Patreon works, about my meeting with Graphic Audio and how fantasy words like “Cosmere” become part of the industry lingo, and some <
First Cup of Coffee – May 8, 2023
//Tag: Patreon
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First Cup of Coffee – May 1, 2023
//My roundup of Apollycon and attendant fabulousness, along with thoughts on how industry events have shifted, particularly within the romance circles, and a bit on manifestation and gratitude.
One Piece of Advice for Aspiring Authors
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Figure out what your process is and own it.
See, the point is that every single creator has the0ir own creative process. It’s as individual as retinal patterns. While it can be helpful to take classes on writing processes and techniques, to learn from other authors, in the end we all find that our process is unique to us. I’ve seen SO MANY writers struggle to change their process and try to “make it be” something or other, to no avail. The whole point of learning various techniques is to triangulate on what works for you. It can be a long and iterative process, but that’s the “magic formula.” Figure out what your process is and own it. Don’t try to make your process be something other than what it is, even if you are occasionally frustrated by it. (I often am by mine!)
Like learning to love yourself, learn to embrace your process. Own it. It’s yours.
First Cup of Coffee – April 7, 2023
//My Patreon and Discord community are live! I’m also talking about one of the best pieces of writing advice I ever got and how, if you want to be a writer for the right reasons, there’s no fire to put out content.
Announcing My Mentoring Patreon! Also Health Insurance
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Exciting news! I’ve officially opened my Patreon: Jeffe’s Closet, A Mentoring Community for Newbie, Intermediate, & Expert Authors. The Patreon leads directly to a Discord community where all kinds of conversations will occur. I’m super excited to make this into a vibrant community. Right now the Discord is open, but pretty quiet – which means you’ll get a lot of personal attention from me. Come and join in!
As far as our topic this week, what we do for health insurance, I self-insure. As a full-time author, I have no employer to provide me with health insurance (or other benefits). My husband took early retirement from his career and was insured through them for quite some time, though each year the premium was sucking up more and more of his retirement stipend. Soon we were going to have to pay in – ugh! Then the concierge health insurance service became available through SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association). SFWA collaborated with other writers’ organizations to make this service available to our members. I was able to transfer my husband onto insurance via the Affordable Care Marketplace – and both of us together ended up paying over $1K LESS EVERY MONTH. I’m a fan! Thank you, Obama – seriously.
First Cup of Coffee – March 27, 2023
//Can you miss something you never had? Also thoughts on creative crisis, how I always hit a point where I think the book I’m writing is TERRIBLE, and upcoming plans for my mentoring/coaching Patreon and Discord community!
Patreon Treats Are Up!
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I got a surprise box in the mail the other day of ROGUE’S PAWN in print! Harlequin decided to resurrect this, my first fantasy romance and my first novel, and send print copies via their Direct-to-Consumer subscription program. I don’t think it will be up for general sale in print (ebooks are available, though), but I do have all of these lovely copies! If you’d like one, just drop me a note with your physical mailing address.
The Covenant of Thorns trilogy, not incidentally, is super fun because of the chapter titles, like the one above. They’re all some kind of joke, even if they amuse only myself.
In other news, I put up my first Patreon posts! I’ve got a public post up on overtraining syndrome for writers on my Patreon for Writers. I also have a special treat only for patrons on my Patreon for Readers. It’s a from Rayfe’s point of view, where he first learns about the betrothal, years before the beginning of The Mark of the Tala. Aside from being read aloud at the Coastal Magic Convention, no one else has seen it. A little exclusive content for my wonderful patrons! A special exclusive Thing is coming up next week just for writers on their Patreon page.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Good news for you audiophiles out there! Birdwoman is now available on audio. Narrated by yours truly. Eep. Let me know what you think, if you pick it up!
Also, I’m over at Here Be Magic today, contributing to our Romantic Moments Week with a sneak peek of a scene from THE PAGES OF THE MIND.
Finally, thanks to you wonderful people who’ve already sponsored me on Patreon! Every time I see a new patron, I get a warm fuzzy feeling. You all are awesome! If you haven’t checked them out yet and would like to, I have two: one for writers and one for readers. I’m going to do my first post for writers soon. Really excited to see how this goes!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Asking for Help
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Did I show you all one of my very favorite Christmas presents? Yes, I’m easy to please. And I love, love, love my ceramic red 2015 Starbucks mug. It makes me happy every time I use it. David even suggested my coffee ritual for my discussion Sunday on Word Whores on a vice that helps my writing.
Coffee, however, is a vital nutrient, not a vice.
The other day as I was running, a song I’ve long loved came up in the rotation. Are You Out There? by Dar Williams from her End of the Summer album. Here it is, if you care to listen.
At any rate, the lyrics struck me hard when she says:
Are you out there, can you hear this?
Jimmy Olson, Johnny Memphis,
I was out here listening all the time
And though the static walls surround me
You were out there and you found me
I was out here listening all the time
She’s referring to DJs on radio stations she listened to as a teenager. She talks about them some here, though I think the live version isn’t as strong as the studio one. I found myself wanting to reach out and talk to her about this song. I’ve often felt this way about singer/songwriters like her, that I’ve been out here listening all the time. I wonder if she ever got to meet or talk to those guys in person, to tell them that, like I’d love to talk to her.
Maybe what we mostly do is write these things down and send them out into the world, and hope that someone’s listening.
Speaking of hope and making contact, I’m taking a bold new step. (Well, it feels bold to me!) I’ve started a Patreon. Two of them, actually.
What is it? It’s a website interface that allows people to support creators of all types. You can look at the overall here. Basically the way it works is that we can pledge a certain amount of money – $1, $2, $3, etc – that we pay every time an artist produces a “Thing,” whatever their thing may be. In my case, I’m offering two kinds of Things – stories for readers and focused mentoring for writers.
This will be a terrific venue for us all, I hope. For me to reach out to you for help, and for me to give you, my most passionate and loyal advocates what you want most from me.
Ever since I left the Day Job – or, as a friend puts it, since the day job left me – I’ve been piecing together ways to try to make it writing full time. One of the greatest challenges is the lack of steady income. I get pulses of income, but nothing like the steady salary I once had. Also, I have new expenses like paying for my own health insurance. We’re adapting, but the more sources of reliable income, the less scary things are.
This is where the Patreon comes in. Every time I produce a story via Patreon, I can be assured of a certain amount of income in return. Every time I produce a writing lesson or provide assistance via Patreon, I’ll know I’ll get money to pay the utility bills. In return, you all get access to exclusive stories and conversations with me that it would be difficult to get to you any other way.
Also, I really appreciate all the offers of help and support – this is a way for me to accept that. Asking for help can be a scary thing and not something I’ve ever been particularly good at. I’m working on it.
Are you out there, can you hear this?
Indeed.
Thanks everyone – it’s so wonderful to know that you ARE out there!