I once wrote about the concerns I had about getting things like a Patreon. They're still extremely valid concerns but I decided to open a Ko-fi instead to see how that works out.
Click the picture to go to my Ko-Fi!
Why am I trying my hand with Ko-fi when I did all that work to make my Patreon:
- I can make a shop (Meaning you can buy all my priced works directly from me: print, ebook and audiobook, and knickknacks. I'm excited about the audiobooks because of all the work the narrators and I put into them.)
- I can open up commissions (Meaning you can commission things like handbound journals, page pressers and more. Slots are limited so I can focus on my primary reason why my Ko-Fi is around: my writing)
- A person can donate either one time or monthly, their choice. Scribbles will be locked behind a paywall for those who donate because I'm still ergh about showcasing my work
- I can raise money for a goal (which I have, going to South Korea for 3 months to write a book series titled Soaring)
Simply put, Ko-Fi is more versatile for me as a creator than Patreon is. I am not the type that can put out monthly rewards and things like that and Ko-Fi is better for those who are like that. I can post as often or as little as I like, which is great for me as someone with a disorder that can be disruptive and I am the type that rather focus on my writing than make an online art presence. As much as I would like to be one of those authors that seem to be 24/7 attached to social media, I simply am not ¯\(=_=)/¯ There are whole days I'm not even on social media - because I'm writing/researching/working/doing something. I am a Millennial, true blue, but I'm not a walking streamcast with my life forever On The Air. One of my music friends posts a Instagram story almost everyday. Not really because he loves to do so (he's Gen X so this is less his thing than it is mine), he's even said he'd throw his phone into the ocean if he could, but because he feels its necessary to in this modern day of the short reel and shorter attention span, so not to fade from memory. He's pretty good with his stories, they will have editing, effects, all sorts of things that I 100% don't do, almost everyday.
The selling point of using Ko-Fi for me is the store part. It's not just me standing in the middle of the digital world with my hand out, ppl can buy my works from me if they don't like the idea of donating. At least that's doable. I like that part a lot. I have been actively looking for a while for a digital store front and now I found one. For now, shipping will be free because I am trying things out. I don't want to gauge anyone. It's also great for one or two off things like a hand knitted blanket, things that are fairly one shot items that I would not make a bunch of times for a litany of reasons and might be expensive - such as a hand knitted blanket. Ko-Fi restricts the categories down to 5 so that's good for me because it means I won't stretch myself too thin and I can cycle what I want to do.
I also like the commissions section because I do like to make things with my hands so it's helpful for things others may want but I don't have available for one reason or another. I'm very well versed in the creative arts so I might as well give it a go and I can strict how many commissions I can take. From 3D printing to resin work to fiber crafts to technology making to whatever, doing commssions sounds pretty good. I may even expand it to book formatting and audiobook audio engineering but that's for the distant future when I have more time and a better head to manage things.
I have a goal listed on my Ko-Fi, to go to South Korea to write my sci-fi/fantasy alternative history series Soaring. I strongly recommend anyone donating to read the post "Caveat Emptor" about the whole shebang, especially due to some of the sensitive content that will most likely be in Soaring. This way, hopefully no one will feel a Gotcha moment should they donate and then years later read the book to find out it's something Ron DeSantis wouldn't simply ban but burn. (That is also the perfect description of one of my future combined works Galaxia & The Kill Crew Chronicles) In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to be as succinct and forthcoming as possible since there's a donation component involved. I know how thorough I can be about picking people to donate to and such, so I'm just trying to provide the same about of info I would probably prefer to see to make a proper decision. Yeah, this could be a bunch of empty yammering but given I actually do put out works that I actually do put in some sort of effort in, hopefully that can speak for itself.
I may have something for supporters, such as occasional movie nights via discord or something similar. But those are few and far in between. Remember, I'm not trying to become an online sensation or things like that but just perhaps show occasional stuff, especially since I have accrued so much media due to research for Soaring and my general interest.
Another thing I want to avoid for MultiMind Publishing is to have a slew of social media sites I have to post on. I try to keep those few and far in between. I have a bunch with my Black Witch blog but for MMP? I want keep things simple so that I can mainly focus on the art. I'm not the type of artist that can record what they're doing while they're doing it because 1) I'm not really picturesque when I write or make any art because I'm focused on the art 2) it's a skill in and of itself to record art while making art 3) I've tried it, I hated it, I understand completely why my music friend would want to wing his phone into the ocean if he could.
I also don't want to paywall every interaction between me and the world. The blog isn't going to Ko-Fi, and the Ko-Fi is meant to supplement the site and my work, not the other way around. The things I rather paywall are most likely Behind the Scene scribbles and things like that but not much other stuff. Maybe also things I do in VR. No point in paywalling my ink swatches for example because they're already available on my Instagram and I have no desire to do that anyways. I don't want to paywall people asking me to read their works or anything like that because that would make me feel not great. At least in commissions, I have the ability to turn down anything I don't want to work on. I don't think I would show early shows of my currently unpublished work because it breaks the tight streamline I process my work in, such as snapshots of my hand written journals. Any break in that streamline means the work falls off the tracks and that's not great for me. I like being reachable for free but some stuff will get paywalled, however. Just not everything, though. Especially since whatever is behind a paywall doesn't stay behind a paywall forever so I always think of a "Would I like this on the internet?" for whatever I plan to paywall.
Whatever I paywall, I plan to make it available for both monthly and one-time donors. For one time donors, the paywalled posts will only be available for 30 days and then back to paywall unless they donate again, it's how Ko-Fi functions. For monthly donors, all paywall stuff is available until after they stop donating. That way, people can join and leave as they would like. So far, as of posting, there isn't anything paywalled but that material will eventually arrive.
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