On the possible tier increase
Added 2022-07-24 22:04:36 +0000 UTCHello my esteemed supporters, and thank you as always for making everything possible for me.
This is the matter I referred to in my previous big update. If you didn't want to read that whole thing (and I don't blame you), I am considering increasing the pledge amount for the Nemetite tier (that's yours, if you're getting this message) from $3 a month to $5 a month. More detail is in the aforementioned post, but here's the tl;dr:
Arguments for the change:
- $5 a month seems to be the typical baseline for web serialists and online content creators in general, as the starting tier with the basic perks
- I'm in a situation where increasing my income is necessary and increasingly urgent
Arguments against:
- I like having my Patrons pay less than the average, that's why I set it down to $3 in the first place. It makes me feel good to do a little something extra for the people who support me.
- It doesn't sit right with me, changing the rules on folks after they've gotten used to it one way
- If this is a sufficiently unpopular move, it could end up driving away backers and ultimately cost me more than it gained.
So that's the situation as I see it. I'm making this poll visible only to the Nemitite tier, so I can hear specifically from the people who will be directly affected. I'd like to emphasize that I'm particularly keen to hear input from those who are opposed to the change; the response to the idea has been overwhelmingly positive, but it's long been my experience that people who feel positively about things I do are the ones to voice their opinions, while those who don't just silently cancel their pledges.
So please do not feel pressured to vote favorably if you don't feel favorably about it. Every one of the options I've listed below is a position I consider entirely reasonable; I will not be offended or even disappointed if you pick any of them. By the same token, I greatly appreciate gestures of support but I'll ask everyone to please refrain from speaking unkindly about those who may choose to vote against this change. My specific need here is to get a sense of how many there are.
And most importantly, as I said in the big update, if this does happen it will not be soon. Any changes will be held off until after I finish OVDT's Book 3 and take my post-book writing break, so this will be months off. If there are going to be any changes I will make certain everybody gets ample notice.
Please let me know how you feel!
Comments
A bit late to party, but I don't care that much if Patreon has any advance chapters at all (it didn't when I originally pledged). Well, I guess it is nice to receive chapters via email :)
bensku
2022-08-07 20:17:25 +0000 UTCI mean, of course you can optimize your income this way. You can even release only one public chapter for every two patreon chapters, that way you will have hundreds of patreon chapters. Than you can release different tiers for access to different amounts of these chapters. Economically it makes sense, but at some point you are just selling a product (and there is nothing wrong with that). I understand why authors would go with either option and support them regardless (assuming I like their writing).
Stefan Rabenstein
2022-07-30 06:40:13 +0000 UTCHappy is probably saying slightly too much (otherwise I could have custom pledged 5$ to begin with), but resent is clearly wrong. I'm able to afford the higher pledge without any problem, and your writing is easily worth that money to me (already considering all breaks). Other people having free access to the chapter a few days later only makes me more willing to support your writing. If it seems like it will improve your income over all, I hope you do increase the pledge.
Stefan Rabenstein
2022-07-30 06:31:49 +0000 UTCI decided to join the patreon mostly because I like the story and want to support you, not because I wanted 1 chapter in advance. I'm a devourer kind of reader. When I first started OVDT I read more than 50 chapters in a single day, and almost every time I start reading something new, the same things happens.
Guilherme Paschoaletto
2022-07-28 20:41:27 +0000 UTCgreetings. i am new to OVDT, and i decided to support the author with patreon. currently i subscribe to outsider, probably the longest webcomic alive. arioch's model is : i pay for early access to each new page on the comic. sometimes it surprises me with 3 pages in a row and sometiomes its months without an update. i am happy with the agreement. 3 or 5 ollars/month its about the same for me, but i really would like to have the alternative to pay for chapter released.
George Martins
2022-07-27 13:44:17 +0000 UTCI'm part of the small minority which voted for option 3. Here is my reasoning for it: - The pacing of the OVDT is a bit slow. I love OVDT but at this pace, having 1 chapter in advance for 5$ is not worth it. I have no problem with paying the same for let's say, Wandering Inn because the amount of content in a single chapter there is astronomical. - Due to the slow progress, I can skip a patreon chapter and even then be assured that the plot has not moved a lot. As such, the inclination to read is somewhat low/ based on whims. - As a simple cost/benefit analysis, the benefits for Patrons who are subscribed to read rather than purely support you is not worth it. (A somewhat extreme example, but if I subscribe to Mechanimus, I get 40 chapters/ 6 months in advance) I do think you should try to introduce new tiers with additional benefits but raising the existing pledge without tangible increase in rewards do not seem worth it to me.
Amit Gupta
2022-07-26 07:15:57 +0000 UTCI'll be doing the same. Hey, everyone who voted "I'd be happy with this change"...let's put our money where our fingers are, and up our pledges to $5/month.
Mickey Phoenix
2022-07-25 17:29:28 +0000 UTCIf you need more money to keep writing, you should get more money. If that means raising your tier price from $3 to $5, go for it! I'm sorry that some of your patrons would be offended by this. Perhaps consider adding a $3 tier that people can switch to, that doesn't have the perks, but does allow them to continue to show support?
Mickey Phoenix
2022-07-25 17:26:48 +0000 UTCI would keep my support at $3 and give up the perks. I don't take advantage of them anyway.
David Kramer
2022-07-25 14:01:54 +0000 UTC"happy" and "resent" are a bit extreme, I would be "mhe" about it
Federico
2022-07-25 10:26:03 +0000 UTCYou should charge more David. It’ll be better for you and backers probably won’t mind https://www.kalzumeus.com/2006/08/14/you-can-probably-stand-to-charge-more/
Adrià Garriga-Alonso
2022-07-25 05:41:03 +0000 UTCOption E: None of the above. I would drop a tier but customize the pledge to still be $3.
Deidre
2022-07-25 04:21:50 +0000 UTCI was already paying you $5 a month because that's the usual standard, so...
Einander
2022-07-25 03:14:03 +0000 UTCI'd be happy to keep supporting you regardless, but if you're worried about 'taking something away', you could always add a second early chapter to a higher tier instead.
Hokagine
2022-07-25 02:41:55 +0000 UTCSee, there's a reason most writers charge a higher rate...it works. And we subscribe nontheless.
Jericho Rising
2022-07-25 01:53:56 +0000 UTCI'll continue supporting you at 3$ or even go down to 2$ again. Don't care too much about losing early access. 2-3$ is just the right amount for me.
waldvolllauterbaeume
2022-07-25 01:53:55 +0000 UTCAdding onto this it makes it a more tough decision to stop supporting if they need to wait like 3 weeks to receive new content then 3 days
Finn Ryan
2022-07-25 00:48:23 +0000 UTCWas already at $5, because that's what I had other serial authors at and it didn't feel right to pay you less just because the tier was cheaper.
APatreonUsernamePun IsTheLowestFormOfWit
2022-07-25 00:38:04 +0000 UTCI'd be okay with it, so long as one of your existing fictions continues or restarts. If you're switching to a new fic, less so. Basically it takes time to get to know and care about characters. Seiji, Triss etc weren't especially interesting at first sight.
Alex Rahr
2022-07-25 00:07:08 +0000 UTCYou might want to consider slightly increasing the amount of advance chapters in turn with this move. While it is true that most other authors go with 4.50 or 5$ for their basic tier, most of them also offer between 5 and 20 advance chapters in return as an incentive. Offering more than one chapter in advance might help you make up for those readers who don't want to make the switch to 5$.
Narf
2022-07-25 00:01:31 +0000 UTCSame, I think $5 is a good reasonable amount. IMO just having a $5 tier might help. $3 -> $10 is a big jump and not everyone is aware you can set a custom amount.
Adam
2022-07-24 22:42:38 +0000 UTChuh looks like I've already been sending $5/mo lol - maybe because I also support another author at $5/mo and just made the amounts the same? Anyway, this is totally reasonable to me!
Steph C
2022-07-24 22:37:15 +0000 UTCDitto
b0urne78
2022-07-24 22:30:29 +0000 UTCThe amount you’re increasing the tier by isn’t unreasonable (in my opinion). You’ve given your reasoning and I believe the majority of patrons will stick with you. Thank you for the communication and opportunity to give our feedback.
S33K3R
2022-07-24 22:27:00 +0000 UTCI've been rereading through TGAB recently and something you said in the last post really resonated with me. I like how your writing style displays someone who has a very different ideology than mine, but at their core understands that everyone is a person with beliefs that make sense from their perspective. It's a refreshingly grounded take that makes me feel optimistic about stuff and I'm happy to support it.
Joe ?
2022-07-24 22:25:21 +0000 UTCYeah doesn't bother me at all although YMMV
Isaac Boyles
2022-07-24 22:24:36 +0000 UTCJokes on you; I'm already pledging $5 per month.
N
2022-07-24 22:22:11 +0000 UTCThanks for posting I wasn't aware it was possible. Upped to $5 as well!
Dominic Corbin
2022-07-24 22:16:14 +0000 UTCI'm sure this is nothing you haven't heard before, but even though I and many others will indicate that we'd be happy with a rate increase and mean it, you're inevitably going to lose SOME subscribers on a rate increase; Hopefully you've steeled yourself for that short term dip in subscriber count, which would likely be smoothed out over the long term. Frankly, I think you could go a bit more than $5, but this is a more reasonable rate than the $3 you were doing before. Would go even smoother if the option exists for you to follow a piece of advice I saw on your mental health post, which was to take a week to ensure that the chapter differential between patreon and public is at least two chapters, but that's beyond the scope of this decision, and frankly I'm sure you've thought of that already. I didn't comment on your mental health post, because you've clearly had a chance to think a lot about things, and I didn't really have anything to say, but as a fan I wish you the best, however you end up handling the specifics of your mental health.
Ragav Kumar
2022-07-24 22:13:03 +0000 UTCSame
Kevin
2022-07-24 22:10:48 +0000 UTCIncreasing my monthly amount above $5 as you're probably my favourite writer putting out free fiction at the moment.
Daniel McRae
2022-07-24 22:10:42 +0000 UTCSame
Motanium
2022-07-24 22:08:16 +0000 UTCI already preemptively upped my monthly amount to $5, you deserve it.
Frosty-nee
2022-07-24 22:06:11 +0000 UTCSeconded. In a heartbeat
Adam Barnes
2022-07-24 22:06:02 +0000 UTC1000% in favor of an increase to $5
Giles
2022-07-24 22:05:34 +0000 UTC
