For all my talk about this being a new era in which I’m going to really believe in myself and promote my work better, I was a little worried after my previous blog post that I was maybe asking too much or coming across as arrogant asking for people to support me at all.

There’s a delicate balance to be made between blowing your own horn to let people know you’re doing a cool thing and taking that horn and bashing people over the head with it, making a big noise in their ears at the same time.

Out of fear of being counterproductive and turning people away from the things I want to tell them about, and with a big dose of impostor syndrome, I try to err on the side of caution.

I’d rather be too quiet than not loud enough. Even so, I’ve gotten some feedback and, apparently, I’ve done little more than whisper to myself so far. That’s maybe a bit too much towards the other extreme, not being productive at all.

So, here’s the plan. Today, right now, I am going to explicitly break down what it is I’m asking for, how people can help, what people will get in return, and what I’ll do with the funding. Then, at the end of this week, I will be putting up a further blog post about my novel so people can get an even better idea of what they’ll be helping me to create if indeed they choose to help.

Here we go… 

What I’m Asking

I want support – moral and financial – as I complete the rewrite of my debut novel. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money. In fact, the amount doesn’t matter so much as knowing that some people (no matter how few) are choosing to invest in me. Even if I only get three people donating $1 to me each month, I consider that a positive thing. It gives me something to build on, see.

How You Can Help

Donate! By clicking through to my Patreon page (linked at the bottom of this post), selecting a support tier that’s right for you (in the sidebar on the right of the page or below the ‘about’ section if you’re viewing the site on mobile), and filling in the relevant details, you will be agreeing to support me for the set fee you have chosen, which will be taken automatically each month via PayPal and give you access to perks, as listed below. What happens if you sign up but then can’t afford to continue? You cancel your subscription. Simple.

What Funders Will Get

If you donate $1 per month, you will unlock access to posts that only subscribers can see containing breaking news about my writing. If I get a literary agent, or land a publishing deal? The people on my Patreon feed will hear first.

Donate $5 per month and you’ll get the exclusive posts PLUS a previously unpublished poem by myself.

Donate $10 and you’ll get the exclusive posts, poem, and a previously unpublished piece of fiction (most likely a short story of around 1,000 words).

People who donate $25 or more will get everything already detailed AND be listed in the acknowledgements of my novel when it finally reaches the light of day/bookstore shelves.

Two lucky people who donate $50 will get a side-character in my novel named after them, so they can live forever between the pages of a book. (And yes, that’s in addition to all the lower-tier perks.)

In addition to that, if/when I hit 50 patrons, all of them will be able to read the first chapter of my novel exclusively, before anyone else.

What I’ll Do With the Funding

I intend to use any money I receive towards costs associated with my writing. For example, right now, I need to renew a domain name for this very website. That’s the first thing I would sort if I got funds.

Secondly, I need to get a final set of proof copies of the new editions of my back catalogue. All year I have been saying I would release them and, now there’s little over a month left, I’d really like to push on and get my 2017 editions out into the world.

Beyond that, I want to join the Society of Authors, which incurs a subscription fee of its own.

Donate

If, after reading all that, you would like to donate, please click through to my Patreon page here.

Any questions? Let me know in the comments section below.