Tansy Rayner Roberts's Blog, page 24

Patreon Party Day 1: Milestones and Rewards!

Last year, I changed up my Patreon. This was a weird/confronting exercise, as the campaign and my onling writing life had revolved so much around the serialised writing of Musketeer Space and its associated bloggery – would anyone still want to support me now that project was complete?

As it turned out, many of them did – a lot of my supporters fell away once the book was finished, and fair enough too. But what came next? I was too exhausted to think about a new Big Thing straight away, so I settled for a more low-key reboot, for my online writing/blogging in general, promoting new blog series like the SF Women of the 21st Century profiles. The rewards became more about general Tansyness, rather than Musketeers.

The New Big Thing finally found its way into my Patreon campaign & writer brain early this year — Sheep Might Fly allowed me to combine the things I loved (serialised fiction and podcasting), and to offer a regular, sustainable piece of something to my Patreon supporters. The main benefit for me was being paid to write short stories at the length I loved (8-20,000 words), as well as writing sequels and ongoing series made up of those stories. Alternating originals with reprints gives me a bit of breathing space, and also allows me to find a new audience for stories I am especially fond of. Sheep Might Fly has hit a real creative sweet spot for me, and I’m very happy with where it’s been going.

So what’s different with this week’s reboot?

The focus of the campaign is now almost entirely on the serialised fiction of the Sheep Might Fly podcast, and the ebooks of the original stories written for the podcast. I’m expecting to put out around 3 novelettes or novellas a year, producing the ebook after the story has been broadcast, and releasing them to my Patreon supporters FIRST, before they go up for general sale. The first of these was Glass Slipper Scandal.

All supporters of my Patreon campaign, even those at the $1, receive the ebooks of the stories in advance of them going up for sale. And of course, anyone can listen to the podcast for free.

Then there are extras, based on which level you choose!

UPDATED REWARDS

Pledge $1 or more per month

Ebook Classic

Several ebooks per year, plus my grateful thanks and the happy glow of supporting your local writer in her creative endeavours.

Pledge $2 or more per month

Ebook Plus

Several ebooks per year, all that eternal gratitude business, PLUS your name listed as a patron in the back of the books you have sponsored.

Pledge $3 or more per month

Backstage Pass!

Sneak peeks of fiction in progress, previews of some work before it hits publication and/or other mysterious texts, emailed to you 4 times a year. (PLUS all the ebooks, PLUS your name listed as a patron in the back of the books you have sponsored)

Pledge $5 or more per month

Random Act of Postcard!

Annual postcard featuring original Tansy art & a personalised thank-you via snail mail – make sure your profile lists a postal address to receive this reward! (PLUS all the ebooks, PLUS your name listed as a patron in the back of the books you have sponsored, PLUS the Backstage Pass)

Pledge $10 or more per month

Naming Rights: the Drunk Faerie Edition!

It’s back! At this level, you get to name things in Tansy’s stories, at least twice a year. If you support at this level by 30 September 2016 you may design/name a cocktail served in a skeevy faerie nightclub in the upcoming serial, “Dance, Princes, Dance.” (PLUS all the ebooks, PLUS your name listed as a patron in the back of the books you have sponsored, PLUS the Backstage Pass)

Pledge $12 or more per month

Random Act of Monster!

A personalised micro-story featuring your name and the fabulous mythical monster of your choice.

(PLUS all the ebooks, PLUS your name listed as a patron in the back of the books you have sponsored, PLUS the Backstage Pass)

Pledge $15 or more per month

Random Act of Glitter!

Receive eternal gratitude and a personalised thank-you via a piece of glittery craft constructed by myself and my daughters.(PLUS all the ebooks, PLUS your name listed as a patron in the back of the books you have sponsored, PLUS the Backstage Pass)

Pledge $20 or more per month

Deluxe Super Special Queen-Emperor of Glorious Patronage

All the rewards including the Random Act of Glitter, the Random Act of Monster, Naming Rights, Random Act of Postcard, Backstage Pass, Ebook Plus, my eternal gratitude and a veritable rainbow’s worth of happy, radiant glow because you are the best of everything. Also Random Acts of Author will be bestowed upon you at least once a year – creative surprises of some kind, appearing in your inbox or letterbox when you least expect them.

NEW MILESTONES

This might feature previously-published essays, or be something entirely new. Previous examples of my non-fiction titles include Pratchett’s Women, 50 Roman Mistresses, and It’s Raining Musketeers. Themes I am most likely to be drawn to include media criticism, women’s history, and feminist SF.

I’m super excited about this one! Read like a Valkyrie! Slaughter books and leave them in your wake! Picking books for other people to read is one of my favourite things, and I love the idea of putting out the virtual comfy beanbags and cups of tea every month to talk about a title that excites me with anyone who wants to join in. (I may have already designed the membership cards, they’re pretty great)

Yes, I’m super into making books right now, can you tell? In Australia our midwinter is in June, and I love the idea of making something special to release around that time, to be enjoyed while huddling under your own reading blanket. And it will be exclusive to Patreon supporters for at least 3 months!

Patreon Party Day 1: What is Patreon?

Welcome to the Patreon Party!

My Patreon account is one of my most regular sources of income as a writer, and after two and a half years of running it, I’m really pleased with its system of rewards, milestones and ongoing feedback. I also really like the sense of accountability — the last couple of years have been some of the most productive of my life, at least partly because I know someone (a whole group of someones!) are already invested in the words I am about to write.

Promoting a Patreon (as opposed to other crowd-funding projects) can be a bit of a grind — you don’t want to do it every day or all the time, because everyone (mostly me) will get exhausted by it. So I decided to hold a blog party this week, to celebrate my now-annual tradition of Changing Up The Campaign with new blog content, giveaways, sneak peeks and prizes.

Coming up this week: free books! A peek at my next original story for the Sheep Might Fly Podcast! Art! Postcards! A bonus short story exclusive to my Patreon supporters! Valkyries! Justice League! All this, and more. Drop back to the blog every day to find out what’s happening.

If you have any questions about Patreon, how/why I use it, or anything about my current work, this is the best place to do it! I will update the post with any extra questions that come my way.

WHAT IS PATREON?

Patreon is a crowdfunding site that allows you to support your favourite creators by committing to a regular pledge, either Per Thing, or Per Month. (I use Per Month) You can pick whatever level works for you, starting from $1, and your credit card will be charged at the end of the month.

Most of what I produce for my Patreon supporters is available to anyone – the weekly Sheep Might Fly podcast, for instance, and anything I write on my blog. Other rewards like the ebooks, are made available for non-supporters to purchase (though Patreon supporters always get them first!!) My rewards and milestones also include exclusive and personalised content, depending on which reward level you pick.

WHAT ARE REWARDS AND MILESTONES?



The amount you pledge monthly defines your reward level – and what extra goodies you are entitled to. Rewards are all about YOU.

Milestones are even more exciting – they are based on the total amount that the campaign brings in, and when unlocked, they mean extra goodies for EVERYONE. If you wish you could pledge at a higher amount but can’t afford it, or if you wish you could pledge AT ALL but can’t afford it, the best thing you can do to support me and the campaign is to help signal-boost the Patreon, so we hit those milestones and unlock the extra content.

Make more work for me, please!

WHAT ARE YOUR REWARDS AND MILESTONES?



You can read the updated rewards and milestones on my Patreon page right now – I just changed them this morning! But I’ll be posting later in the day, going into them in more depth.

PARTY GIVEAWAY!

Comment on this post to go into the running for an ARC of my new short story collection, Bounty, from Fablecroft (in pre-order on Amazon this week).

Galactic Suburbia Episode 151

New episode available here!

In which we consume culture and take names!

WHAT’S NEW ON THE INTERNET?

Tansy’s novel Musketeer Space is half price this week on Kindle (and in other ebook stores)! Price goes back to normal on Wednesday.

CULTURE CONSUMED

Alisa: Vaginal Fantasy; Crosstalk, Connie Willis

Alex: Revenger, Alastair Reynolds; Crossroads of Canopy, Thoraiya Dyer; Stealing Snow, Danielle Paige – abandoned!; The Silk Roads, a New History of the World, Peter Frankopan

Tansy: Superior, Jessica Lack; Fangirl Happy Hour on Ghostbusters: Eps 49, 50 & 52

Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

Sheep Might Fly – Unmagical Boy Story Part 9

New episode update!

“Unmagical Boy Story” is a 13-part sequel to “Fake Geek Girl,” and is original to this podcast.

One magical university, divided between the Colleges of the Real and Unreal. One pub. One indie band. A lot of drunk witches on a Friday night. One shattered friendship, due to be repaired. One Practical Mythology paper which really has to be finished by Monday… Oh, and trolls. Let’s see who survives Friday night drinks!

Part 9 – 3AM – Clearing the Air

Catch up on previous episodes here!

Part 1 – 7PM, Little Black Dress Alert

Part 2 – 8PM, Friday Night Cover Charge: Two Drinks

Part 3 – 9PM I Hate That Song So Much Right Now

Part 4 – 10PM The Band Takes a Break

Part 5 – 11PM Second Set Contains New Material (Don’t Feed the Trolls)

Part 6 – 12 Midnight – After Party

Part 7 – 1AM: Regrettable Things You Shouldn’t Have Said

Part 8 – 2AM – Ill-advised Hook Up

Sheep Might Fly has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Sheep Might Fly: Unmagical Boy Story Part 8

New episode update!

“Unmagical Boy Story” is a 13-part sequel to “Fake Geek Girl,” and is original to this podcast.

One magical university, divided between the Colleges of the Real and Unreal. One pub. One indie band. A lot of drunk witches on a Friday night. One shattered friendship, due to be repaired. One Practical Mythology paper which really has to be finished by Monday… Oh, and trolls. Let’s see who survives Friday night drinks!

Part 8 – 2AM – Ill-Advised Hook Up

Catch up on previous episodes here!

Part 1 – 7PM, Little Black Dress Alert

Part 2 – 8PM, Friday Night Cover Charge: Two Drinks

Part 3 – 9PM I Hate That Song So Much Right Now

Part 4 – 10PM The Band Takes a Break

Part 5 – 11PM Second Set Contains New Material (Don’t Feed the Trolls)

Part 6 – 12 Midnight – After Party

Part 7 – 1AM: Regrettable Things You Shouldn’t Have Said

Sheep Might Fly has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Musketeer Space: officially a real book!

Okay, it was always a real book, but now you can buy it!

I have a huge favour to ask those who have already read the book – especially those who have reviewed it on GoodReads like the stars you are (some of you reviewed it before the serial was even finished!) If you have the time to cut and paste your review to one of the ebook stores – Amazon, iBooks, Kobo etc, whichever one you usually use, that would be a huge help to me. I read through my GoodReads reviews for this book again recently, and they just made me want to hug ALL OF YOU Musketeer Space early adopters.

As of right this second the book is only on Kindle but it should be rolled out across the other ebook sites over the next 24 hours or so. I could have waited to tell everyone about it, but WHO CAN WAIT?

UPDATE: Now on Kobo!

(Oh and those of you who are still supporting my monthly Patreon, the new version of the book has been uploaded for you to access – you guys don’t have to buy it! Because you already rock)

Sheep Might Fly: Unmagical Boy Story Part 7

New episode update!

“Unmagical Boy Story” is a 13-part sequel to “Fake Geek Girl,” and is original to this podcast.

One magical university, divided between the Colleges of the Real and Unreal. One pub. One indie band. A lot of drunk witches on a Friday night. One shattered friendship, due to be repaired. One Practical Mythology paper which really has to be finished by Monday… Oh, and trolls. Let’s see who survives Friday night drinks!

Part 7 – 1AM, Regrettable Things You Shouldn’t Have Said

In Sage’s bedroom, Viola’s research collides with her personal life, and everything gets messy.

Catch up on previous episodes here!

Part 1 – 7PM, Little Black Dress Alert

Part 2 – 8PM, Friday Night Cover Charge: Two Drinks

Part 3 – 9PM I Hate That Song So Much Right Now

Part 4 – 10PM The Band Takes a Break

Part 5 – 11PM Second Set Contains New Material (Don’t Feed the Trolls)

Part 6 – 12 Midnight – After Party

Sheep Might Fly has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Sheep Might Fly: Unmagical Boy Story Part 6

New episode update!

“Unmagical Boy Story” is a 13-part sequel to “Fake Geek Girl,” and is original to this podcast.

One magical university, divided between the Colleges of the Real and Unreal. One pub. One indie band. A lot of drunk witches on a Friday night. One shattered friendship, due to be repaired. One Practical Mythology paper which really has to be finished by Monday… Oh, and trolls. Let’s see who survives Friday night drinks!

Part 6 – 12 Midnight – After Party

Viola sets foot in enemy territory, comes face to face with a gorgon, and finds the book of her dreams.

Catch up on previous episodes here!

Part 1 – 7PM, Little Black Dress Alert

Part 2 – 8PM, Friday Night Cover Charge: Two Drinks

Part 3 – 9PM I Hate That Song So Much Right Now

Part 4 – 10PM The Band Takes a Break

Part 5 – 11PM Second Set Contains New Material (Don’t Feed the Trolls)

Sheep Might Fly has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Galactic Suburbia 149 Show Notes

In which we compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in chatting.

DOWNLOAD OR STREAM NEW EPISODE HERE.

WHAT’S NEW ON THE INTERNET?

WSFA Small Press Award shortlist released.

Aussie SF Snapshot 2016 – 150+ short interviews with active members of our community. What’s everyone up to? Find out in a snap!

CULTURE CONSUMED

Alisa: Star Trek Beyond, Olympics

Alex: Deadpool and Batman v Superman; Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, Seanan McGuire (out next January from Tor.com; Strange Matings, ed Rebecca J Holden and Nisi Shawl; The Godless, Ben Peek

Tansy: Shadowhunters (Netflix), Masks & Shadows by Stephanie Burgis; Damaged Goods by Russell T Davies adapted by Big Finish Audio

Independent Olympians at the Olympics

Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

Snapshot 2016: C.S. Pacat

C.S. Pacat is the author of the best-selling Captive Prince trilogy. Born in Australia and educated at the University of Melbourne, she has since lived in a number of cities, including Tokyo and Perugia. She currently resides and writes in Melbourne.

Her first series began its life as an original-fiction web serial, which attracted viral attention before being acquired by Penguin USA. The Captive Prince trilogy went on to become a USA Today bestseller after being published to commercial success and critical acclaim.



How has your life changed since the Captive Prince trilogy was published internationally with Penguin Random House last year?

The biggest change and the biggest privilege is that my books are now books, by which I mean they are now part of the wider conversation about books and literature.

Another change is perhaps purely psychological. Like many aspiring writers, I struggled with feelings of legitimacy, or with having the audacity to call myself a writer before publication. In fact we are all writers from the moment that we pick up a pen but the phase or writing before selling your first book requires this enormous effort of the self – of self confidence and self belief – in the face of uncertainty. Having relief from the uncertainty has been the lifting of a surprising weight. I think I didn’t know how heavy it was until it was gone.

There are other changes as well, and all of them are wonderful – I now have the privilege of being able to write full time, to travel, to meet other writers, to share knowledge and craft, all of that is invaluable to me. My experience has been that every opportunity taken leads to other opportunities, and I feel grateful for each one.



Captive Prince began life as a self-published serial which built a massive online audience before your publishing deal came along – is there anything you miss about publishing your stories yourself? Would you self-publish again in the future?

I’m a huge advocate for self-publishing, because I think it allows a platform for works that don’t fit the traditionally published mould. Those works may be fantastic in their own right, or they may be highly flawed but nevertheless allow communities to form around them, and new traditions of writing to spring up–from which something of immense value may emerge. Uninhibited writing spaces are the breeding ground of the new, and that is what self-publishing offers. It’s the utter freedom that I miss most about self-publishing.

Although I’m most likely to commercially publish books and series in the future, I will absolutely pursue self publishing in the future for occasional projects, particularly novellas and short stories – what’s known as the “hybrid model”. In fact I have a series of three Captive Prince short spinoffs that I will be self-publishing later this year.

What are you writing right now, and what can you tell us about it?



My next series is young adult fantasy with magic elements and some very intense relationships and connections between characters. That’s all I can say about it right now – it’s still in the planning stage, but I’m incredibly excited about it.

What Australian work have you loved recently?

I was really excited by Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It’s young adult sci-fi with a unique method of storytelling and presentation. Science fiction is thriving in YA, but often exploring Earth-based futures or planet-based storytelling. It’s fantastic to see an Australian book be one of those bringing space-based sci-fi to the forefront of the young adult genre. I can’t wait for a new wave of young adult space opera, and young adult that captures that spirit of space exploration that I loved as a teenager in series like Star Trek.

Which author (living or dead) would you most like to sit next to on a long plane trip and why?



My favourite author is Dorothy Dunnett, and I would give basically anything to sit next to her on a plane trip. She wrote historical fiction in the 1950s, at a time when the genre wasn’t considered particularly legitimate, but her writing is a plotting masterclass, and her set pieces and the way they hold tension are second to none. I would love to talk to her about craft – I feel that so often writers are alone in their learning, we are autodiadacts much of the time, desperately reverse engineering techniques from other people’s books. It would be such a privilege to learn from one of my heroes. Sadly, she passed away in 2001.

Check out the many interviews with Australian SF creators, community-builders and industry professionals over at the 2016 Snapshot page!