Hello to all my subscribers! I realized I hadn’t announced this here, so I figured this would be great for a quick and dirty blog post today since I’ve been buried on several other projects this week. Basically I procrastinated, and thus you get to hear about my Patreon ;)
So first of all, you might be wondering what is Patreon anyway? Back during the rise of our best known poets, authors, and artists, it was about as difficult to “make it” as a professional creative as it is now. However, artists back in the days of Michelangelo and da Vinci had the bonus of something modern creatives usually don’t: patrons. It was like having your own personal artistic sugar daddy, to be honest. Someone’s patron would arrange room and board for the artist, as well as gallery space occasionally, and the artist would give their patron first looks at their work and a boost to their reputation as someone “discerning” enough to support such a fabulous artist.
It also didn’t hurt that everyone knew said patron was wealthy enough to support the artist. Rich folk. I don’t even know. Though hey, I can think of far worse things to do with loads of money than supporting creative pursuits.
In any case, we don’t really have the benefit of that system anymore. “Patrons of the arts” now tend to donate directly to museums or performing troupes or to grant and scholarship programs. All of these are definitely important, and bless them for those donations, but none of them really help the individual the way long ago patronage did.
That’s the gap that the Patreon company is trying to bridge. Basically, creatives (like me) can create an account with rewards that are exclusively for the folks who pledge to support with either monthly payments or payments by the item.
If you want to see what I mean, here’s the link to my Patreon: www.patreon.com/clmccollum
As you can see, I offer several different rewards based on the amount a person decides to pledge. Everything from a patron only blog post every month for all patrons even at the $1 level, to monthly chapters of a shifter urban fantasy novella series that is only posted there (it may be self-pubbed at a later date, but for at least a year will be Patreon exclusive), to lifetime discounts on all editing services with me, to even getting to have a live online chat session every month just for patrons at the highest reward level.
It’s just a great way to help supplement a creative person’s income, especially with freelancing and royalties being feast or famine sorts of business practices.
So what do you think? Would you like to support me on Patreon & get a shout out on my About page? What other kinds of rewards would convince you to support someone? I’m debating on a couple additional rewards – namely signed copies of one of the books I’m in or possible Tarot and rune readings, but I’d like to know if there’s any interest in those items first.
Let me know your thoughts even if you aren’t interested in being a patron. The fact that you took the time to read this blog and/or subscribe to my website is already a great gesture of support!