Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: thoughtful
  • Music: Glee, "Express Yourself."

I am considering doing a thing.

So here's the thing:

I am writing a lot of stories set in the history of the Price-Healy family, slowly pushing my way toward the modern day. There are also stories set in the present day, such as the Antimony-centric novella, "Bad Dream Girl," which is going to appear in the anthology Glitter and Mayhem. A lot of these get given away for free on my website, in a variety of formats, with covers and everything. I like keeping the canon centralized.

That said, unless an anthology is commissioning something, it can be hard to carve out the time for what is essentially unpaid work. I need to prioritize my time according to what I'm getting paid for (which is why, for example, the rate of "Velveteen vs." stories went up so sharply when I got a print contract). So...

How would people feel if I opened a "tip jar," with the understanding that for every X amount of dollars, I would add a story in one of my universes to the master list of Paid For Things? Those stories would still have to fit around everything else, but it would make them easier to schedule, and would also make my lights easier to keep on. The stories themselves would remain free on my website, so if you didn't want to donate, you could just stand back and wait for nature to take its course.

Thoughts?
Tags: contemplation, requesting things
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bookblather

March 12 2013, 01:38:58 UTC 4 years ago

BWEEEEEEEEE

Ahem.

I mean.

Positively. I would feel positively. And give you money.

seanan_mcguire

March 13 2013, 18:49:25 UTC 4 years ago

Hee.

vincentursus

March 12 2013, 01:39:23 UTC 4 years ago

It has already been said by this point, but yes please.

seanan_mcguire

March 13 2013, 18:49:36 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you.

kentuckckykat

March 12 2013, 01:51:53 UTC 4 years ago

Count me in!

seanan_mcguire

March 13 2013, 18:49:45 UTC 4 years ago

Noted!

seasong1

March 12 2013, 01:54:52 UTC 4 years ago

One more in the chorus of yes, please.

seanan_mcguire

March 13 2013, 18:49:52 UTC 4 years ago

Okay!

wenhaver

March 12 2013, 01:55:43 UTC 4 years ago

I'd chip in for that.

seanan_mcguire

March 13 2013, 18:50:09 UTC 4 years ago

Neat.

harmfulguy

March 12 2013, 02:26:12 UTC 4 years ago

I'd be hard-pressed to contribute at the moment, but I do hope for better days down the road...

That being said, I can't oppose anything that brings an account of the Michigan Incident closer to reality.

Also, may I suggest naming the tip jar something along the lines of the "Aeslin Mice Preservation Fund"?

wendyzski

March 12 2013, 18:23:02 UTC 4 years ago

Tithe to the Mice for Cheese and Cake?

seanan_mcguire

4 years ago

  • New comment

cailleuch

March 12 2013, 02:32:55 UTC 4 years ago

I would be happy to contribute to a tip jar for wondrous goodies.

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:35:31 UTC 4 years ago

Excellent.

groblek

March 12 2013, 02:39:01 UTC 4 years ago

It'll mean that we add a line to our monthly budget. Which is to say that we wholeheartedly agree with the concept. :)

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:35:40 UTC 4 years ago

You are excellent humans.

talkstowolves

March 12 2013, 02:40:28 UTC 4 years ago

Do eeeet! (Please? I'm sure there's some filthy lucre around here with your name on it.)

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:35:45 UTC 4 years ago

Aww.

ageekgrrl

March 12 2013, 02:46:33 UTC 4 years ago

Cool, as long it doesn't add to your stress levels. I'm happy to throw something in the tip jar when I have it!

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:35:59 UTC 4 years ago

Yeah, it'd be very carefully managed so as not to do that.

digitaleopard

March 12 2013, 02:55:05 UTC 4 years ago Edited:  March 12 2013, 02:55:44 UTC

YES.

How much to pay for another book of Vel stories?

(I know, you just finished. But it can't hurt to ask, right?)

seanan_mcguire

March 12 2013, 03:09:11 UTC 4 years ago

This would only be to move the InCryptid stories up in the queue. Velveteen, when it happens, will happen after I've had time to properly absorb and prepare the new status quo. That's something I'll have to be really clear about: I'm not saying "give me money and tell me what to write," I'm saying "toss into a general pool and periodically level up to a finished work."

digitaleopard

4 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

4 years ago

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mneme

4 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

4 years ago

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mneme

4 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

4 years ago

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mneme

4 years ago

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amanda_nye

March 12 2013, 03:09:21 UTC 4 years ago

I like the idea!

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:36:20 UTC 4 years ago

Cool.

empyress

March 12 2013, 03:10:49 UTC 4 years ago

Chiming in with the chorus of 'yes please', with a side of 'as long as the tippers don't stress you' and you manage it!

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:36:30 UTC 4 years ago

Noted!

elialshadowpine

March 12 2013, 03:11:44 UTC 4 years ago

I'd love this! I've always thought the concept was awesome, and hells, even with my limited publishing experience (digital first), I totally get the difficulty behind juggling projects. All the stories, not enough time, and how to prioritize. This sounds like a brilliant way of handling this, and while I can't speak for anyone else, I love when I have the option to send money to the author directly vs. through publishing channels, which, even if it goes to royalty, is slow at best.

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:36:46 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you for this POV!

bzarcher

March 12 2013, 03:39:17 UTC 4 years ago

Thoughts?

YES YES YES YES YES!

That's a thought, right?

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:36:54 UTC 4 years ago

Yes. :)

mectech

March 12 2013, 03:49:54 UTC 4 years ago

Discovering a means to make money doing something you'd likely do anyway (eventually) seems an excellent idea to me. It's certainly more efficient than handing you a dollar at every reading I attend....

Is there any chance that Mira has some corners of Newsflesh (or elsewhere) that she feels a need to explore?

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:37:06 UTC 4 years ago

Nope. Not a chance.

jennygriffee

March 12 2013, 04:58:57 UTC 4 years ago

Sounds like a good deal to me! I'd happily pitch in.

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:37:25 UTC 4 years ago

Yay!

dulcimeoww

March 12 2013, 05:11:51 UTC 4 years ago

Works for me. Making the additional stories conditional will probably piss off a few people who don't want to donate and don't want to wait either, but otherwise it seems a very reasonable approach. Also, gifts to you personally expressly for the purpose of paying your living expenses... yeah, that's not taxable income, provided no single payment is in excess of $10,000.

As an alternative, if you wanted to do a series of stories, Kickstarter or IndieGoGo isn't a bad way to do the same thing without the tip jar connotations. It would probably be more measurable from a publisher's perspective, too, though I'm not sure if that's particularly relevant for you.

seanan_mcguire

March 12 2013, 05:30:51 UTC 4 years ago

They're already conditional. Right now, they're conditional on my having holes in my schedule that aren't filled by paying work, something that's currently not the case for the next six months or so. By turning them into paying work, sort of, I can actually move them forward.

Kickstarter has issues, including the need to commit to firm delivery dates, and the fact that people want "extras." This isn't my primary source of writing income; it's just to carve out more space in the schedule. If I have to say "you get one story every two months AND six Field Guide entries AND a phone call," or whatever, I can't afford to do it without increasing the cost per story well beyond what I think is fair.

dulcimeoww

4 years ago

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quettalinde

March 12 2013, 05:47:48 UTC 4 years ago

I'd pay into a tip jar. :)

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:37:35 UTC 4 years ago

Excellent.

georgiamagnolia

March 12 2013, 06:55:04 UTC 4 years ago

Allow me to add yet one more Hells Yeah to the crowd. I would contribute to more of anything you do, in any 'verse. I just read 'In Salt Sea Tears' and cried bunches. So yeah, count me in for ponying up for some Incryptid stories and if a tip jar appears for more in the October Daye world, I will tip there gladly.

georgiamagnolia

March 12 2013, 06:56:45 UTC 4 years ago

and P.S. I downloaded a Kindle free to my laptop from Amazon just to buy the last stand/browncoats story, dood, I will so SO give you money.

seanan_mcguire

4 years ago

  • New comment

sleightedge

March 12 2013, 07:56:32 UTC 4 years ago

Yes. Yes. YES.

I would contribute to this.

Assuming, that is, that the occasional serious influx of tips from us all doesn't become a source of pressure and stress by itself. I feel silly saying that, but then I look back at my response and the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response of all the commenters before me...

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:38:09 UTC 4 years ago

Yeah, it would be an open/close situation.

jen_qoe

March 12 2013, 08:17:02 UTC 4 years ago

Oh hell yes! And will happily pay for a collection of allllll the stories should you self-pub it at a later date. :-)

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:38:43 UTC 4 years ago

I never ever ever ever ever ever plan to self-pub anything as long as my day job remains in the picture. I have neither the time nor the sanity.

gwyd

March 12 2013, 08:19:44 UTC 4 years ago

That sounds sensible and fair.

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:38:55 UTC 4 years ago

Yay!

ex_naomi_ja

March 12 2013, 10:45:29 UTC 4 years ago

I would be more than happy to donate to such a jar!

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:39:24 UTC 4 years ago

Yay!

Deleted comment

seanan_mcguire

March 14 2013, 14:39:31 UTC 4 years ago

Cool.
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