Question about Writing and Patreon

Steven Lake · 07-09-2017, 05:12 PM

Hey all, I have a question. An idea was tossed at me not long ago to consider signing up to Patreon as a means of selling books via subscription. The basic premise would be one of several.

1. Sell the books either at normal price, and use Patreon for special content that can't be had any other way.

2. Sell the books for free, but use Patreon for early release of new or exclusive content. IE, if a book is due out in June, subscribers would start getting it a chapter or two at a time prior to release, and when all the paid subscribers got their copies, THEN the general public got theirs.

3. Release audiobooks a chapter at a time on youtube and then have people support you through patreon as a content creator.

And there were other ideas, but those were the basic ones. What do you guys think of this idea?

Cinisajoy · 07-09-2017, 07:11 PM

Isn't Paetron a pay what you think this is worth site?
Can you put your books there and other places?

gmw · 07-09-2017, 09:51 PM

When I get a chance I will read more about it, I hadn't heard of it before. But my first impression is that it's not so much a site for gaining fans as for keeping/entertaining them. If that's the case, I think I need to finish the first step first.

Steven Lake · 07-10-2017, 05:23 PM

Cinisajoy - It's more or less a subscription site where you get both publicly released content as well as Patreon Patron only content. A lot of content creators use it. Especially artists and those on youtube.

GMW - Right, the idea is that your fans can give you a consistent amount of support every month in the form of a subscription. I myself don't have an account yet, but I'm considering one. The idea looks very interesting.

Cinisajoy · 07-10-2017, 07:39 PM

Go for it.

David Munch · 07-11-2017, 03:07 AM

Patreon works for some people, and not for others. You can put anything up for your Patreon supports, but ultimately it comes down one thing: Be absolutely sure that you can continually put up new stuff for your supporters.

gmw · 07-11-2017, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Munch

Patreon works for some people, and not for others. You can put anything up for your Patreon supports, but ultimately it comes down one thing: Be absolutely sure that you can continually put up new stuff for your supporters.

I thought it sounded something like that, which puts it in much the same category as blogs, facebook pages, twitter accounts and so on - of which I only have the first, and I can't even keep current on that. I have sometimes thought I should get a twitter account, because it will be really easy to provide daily updates on where I am and what I'm doing: Sitting at my computer again, working, writing, editing, tweeting.

Cinisajoy · 07-11-2017, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

I thought it sounded something like that, which puts it in much the same category as blogs, facebook pages, twitter accounts and so on - of which I only have the first, and I can't even keep current on that. I have sometimes thought I should get a twitter account, because it will be really easy to provide daily updates on where I am and what I'm doing: Sitting at my computer again, working, writing, editing, tweeting.

Don't forget Mobile reading.

gmw · 07-11-2017, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Don't forget Mobile reading.

Whoops. Very neglectful of me not to mention that.

07-09-2017, 05:12 PM	#1
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Question about Writing and Patreon Hey all, I have a question. An idea was tossed at me not long ago to consider signing up to Patreon as a means of selling books via subscription. The basic premise would be one of several. 1. Sell the books either at normal price, and use Patreon for special content that can't be had any other way. 2. Sell the books for free, but use Patreon for early release of new or exclusive content. IE, if a book is due out in June, subscribers would start getting it a chapter or two at a time prior to release, and when all the paid subscribers got their copies, THEN the general public got theirs. 3. Release audiobooks a chapter at a time on youtube and then have people support you through patreon as a content creator. And there were other ideas, but those were the basic ones. What do you guys think of this idea?

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07-09-2017, 07:11 PM	#2
Cinisajoy Just a Yellow Smiley. Posts: 19,161 Karma: 83862859 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Texas Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy	Isn't Paetron a pay what you think this is worth site? Can you put your books there and other places?

07-09-2017, 09:51 PM	#3
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,809 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	When I get a chance I will read more about it, I hadn't heard of it before. But my first impression is that it's not so much a site for gaining fans as for keeping/entertaining them. If that's the case, I think I need to finish the first step first.

07-10-2017, 05:23 PM	#4
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Cinisajoy - It's more or less a subscription site where you get both publicly released content as well as Patreon Patron only content. A lot of content creators use it. Especially artists and those on youtube. GMW - Right, the idea is that your fans can give you a consistent amount of support every month in the form of a subscription. I myself don't have an account yet, but I'm considering one. The idea looks very interesting.

07-10-2017, 07:39 PM	#5
Cinisajoy Just a Yellow Smiley. Posts: 19,161 Karma: 83862859 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Texas Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy	Go for it.

07-11-2017, 03:07 AM	#6
David Munch Scholar Posts: 1,008 Karma: 3999312 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kobo Libra H2O + iPad Air 4	Patreon works for some people, and not for others. You can put anything up for your Patreon supports, but ultimately it comes down one thing: Be absolutely sure that you can continually put up new stuff for your supporters.