Thea Harrison

What is Patreon? Patreon is a very cool initiative. To paraphrase creator Issa Rae, it’s a means by which I can create a membership program to fund the creation of new content and provide exclusive perks for supporters. Developing a Patreon page will allow me to remain creatively independent and develop a closer relationship with enthusiastic readers.

Patreon won’t be for everybody, and that’s okay! I’m still going to be writing my books and publishing them as usual. And I’m still going to be producing them in every format I possibly can to provide readers with the widest buying choices possible. But for some people, this is going to be a great fit– and you are going to love the opportunity that Patreon will give us to explore new things.

So, why am I setting up a Patreon page, you might ask?

There are multiple reasons. There’s a need, there’s creative desire, and then there’s community.

First, as a writer, I am a microbusiness of one, and in the state I currently reside in, I’m barred from getting reputable health insurance. I must pay out of pocket for all of my healthcare needs, and since I have an autoimmune condition, this is not a situation I can take lightly. Also, writing and self-publishing is an expensive business. For one example, the translation costs for one book in one language cost thousands of dollars, so there is a hefty overhead to my job.

Secondly, if enough readers jump on the crowd sourcing bandwagon, there are some fun things we would like to try to develop, including – perhaps – short videos (NOT live action, at least definitely not at first!). How grand could this get? Where could this go? Well, we don’t know. My assistant and I have never had a Patreon account page before. But as someone who works in a creative profession, I can tell you I have a very fertile imagination.

And third, we intend to develop a community of enthusiastic readers. If you like the idea of supporting one of your favorite artists, worldbuilding extras, exclusive early access to short stories, and the other rewards we’ve created, you’ll really enjoy what we’ve got planned for you.

So, there are many reasons for creating this Patreon page. This is an excellent way for me to create a “second job” for myself to cover those expensive overhead and healthcare costs, and a way for all of us to enjoy ourselves while we do it.

Like I said, we’ve never done this before, so we’re excited and we have big dreams but no real-life experience. We’re bound to make mistakes, and we expect to have to fiddle with the reward tiers until we get things right. I also don’t have any end date in sight for the Patreon page. Like anything else, if we get enough support it will fuel us to keep going.

Starting Patreon is a little like deciding to take a road trip without an end destination in mind. We want to go for the sake of going and see where the journey takes us. I invite you to come along for the ride, and pack your sense of humor and adventure, because we’re going to have a lot of fun.

We’re launching my Patreon page at the beginning of April. This is no joke. 🙂 PS You can’t find my page yet, because it’s not yet launched. But you CAN check out the Patreon website here.