This week, I’m taking a bit of a blog break. I’ll be in New Hampshire teaching students at two schools about writing and I’ll also be reviewing packets for the Writing Barn, where I teach a six-month Write! Submit! Support! class and I need to focus on those things and recharge.
There will still be a podcast tomorrow and I’ll be putting out another chapter on THE LAST GODS on Patreon.
Being Brave
Every week on Facebook, I post a painting that I’ve made. That’s really hard for me because I feel super vulnerable posting any art. This is probably because of my mom declaring that nobody in our family had an artistic bone in our body.
But I have to be brave because to not be brave means hiding parts of me, right? Every book I try to write is an act of bravery, too, of vulnerability.
For Be Brave Friday on Facebook, I posted this little painting that I sent to one of my patrons.
On my Patreon (link below), certain levels of support get random things in the mail. Sometimes that’s books. Sometimes that’s art.
Asking for Support
And that brings me to the other part of being brave. It’s really hard for me to ask for things and that includes support. Although a lot of writers and artists and podcasters use Patreon, it’s still a bit unknown. And while I totally want everyone to sign up for mine, I don’t know how to ask for that.
It comes down to two essential question:
How Do I Ask People For Support When It Feels Horrifying to Ask? Why am I afraid to ask?
Patreon lets people support (become patrons) for their favorite creators. On mine you can pay anywhere between $1 to $100 a month. All patrons get to either hear or read a story that will never be available anywhere else. I release a chapter a week. It’s a bit like a Kickstarter if you make Kickstarter feel like a community. And it allows you to directly support the writer or artist or whoever. It’s really cool.
Other levels get commercial-free podcast, writing coaching, book raffles and art in the mail and books in the mail.
So, if my content (dog posts on Facebook & Twitter, books, podcasts, blog posts) are worth a $1 of your time, I hope you’ll think of supporting me there (if you have an extra $1 a month or more).
And I’m going to make the first chapter of the book available on Patreon so you can see what it’s about.
Thank you so much. I hope you’re all feeling brave in a million ways today. I’m rooting for you.
HEAR MY BOOK BABY (AND MORE) ON PATREON
On February first, I launched my Patreon site where I’m reading chapters (in order) of a never-published teen fantasy novel, releasing deleted scenes and art from some of my more popular books. And so much more. Come hang out with me! Get cool things!
WHAT IS PATREON?
A lot of you might be new to Patreon and not get how it works. That’s totally cool. New things can be scary, but there’s a cool primer HERE that explains how it works. The short of it is this: You give Patreon your paypal or credit card # and they charge you whatever you level you choose at the end of each month. That money supports me sharing my writing and art and podcasts and weirdness with you.
IN THE WOODS – READ AN EXCERPT, PREORDER NOW!
My next book, IN THE WOODS, appears in July with Steve Wedel. It’s scary and one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Buzz Books for Summer 2019. There’s an excerpt of it there and everything! But even cooler (for me) they’ve deemed it buzz worthy! Buzz worthy seems like an awesome thing to be deemed!
You can preorder this bad boy, which might make it have a sequel. The sequel would be amazing. Believe me, I know. It features caves and monsters and love. Because doesn’t every story?
