Popcorn Kittens
Dec. 11th, 2014 02:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
crowdfundingHere's a post about how indie publishing can make a writer's brain kind of explode.
You know how I solve this? Most of the time, I let my fans steer. Once in a while, I get really determined to write a particular thing. But things the fans choose collectively have a higher chance of selling better. They're not picking stuff at random. My audience makes a mindful and effective gatekeeper.
I treasure this. You see, my brain has always been full of popcorn kittens. Having a few lackadaisical editors out in the blue yonder occasionally buying things didn't help a whole lot, so mostly I relied on my own taste. Or whim, because I'm better at starting things than finishing them. But I've gotten better results from a dedicated audience. Even with a whole bunch ofongoing series open at the same time, the total mass per storyline is way way higher, and some of those have developed a robust plotline. When people ask for more of characters they love, or particular events they want to see, or more of a favorite setting, that means the expansion is consistently driven by interest. It's great targeting information; it teaches me how to write better. It definitely shapes what I choose to extend or leave fallow.
You settle popcorn kittens by putting down a bowl of cat food. I'm cool with that.
So if you're having a hard time deciding what to work on next, you honestly have a bunch of promising projects you'd love to do, and you have an established audience -- try asking them. I've used polls myself. I've also seen webcomics actually do it with donations where every dollar equals a vote for your favorite character, and the one with the most votes wins.
You know how I solve this? Most of the time, I let my fans steer. Once in a while, I get really determined to write a particular thing. But things the fans choose collectively have a higher chance of selling better. They're not picking stuff at random. My audience makes a mindful and effective gatekeeper.
I treasure this. You see, my brain has always been full of popcorn kittens. Having a few lackadaisical editors out in the blue yonder occasionally buying things didn't help a whole lot, so mostly I relied on my own taste. Or whim, because I'm better at starting things than finishing them. But I've gotten better results from a dedicated audience. Even with a whole bunch ofongoing series open at the same time, the total mass per storyline is way way higher, and some of those have developed a robust plotline. When people ask for more of characters they love, or particular events they want to see, or more of a favorite setting, that means the expansion is consistently driven by interest. It's great targeting information; it teaches me how to write better. It definitely shapes what I choose to extend or leave fallow.
You settle popcorn kittens by putting down a bowl of cat food. I'm cool with that.
So if you're having a hard time deciding what to work on next, you honestly have a bunch of promising projects you'd love to do, and you have an established audience -- try asking them. I've used polls myself. I've also seen webcomics actually do it with donations where every dollar equals a vote for your favorite character, and the one with the most votes wins.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-12-11 01:45 pm (UTC)Yes...
Date: 2014-12-11 09:36 pm (UTC)* Popcorn kittens where the ideas are hopping around so fast it's hard to catch any. MEER! MEE! REW!
* Liquid kittens where they are all melted in funny shapes over the furniture or passed out in sunbeams, and nothing will budge them. You pick them up and they ooze out of your hand with a pathetic "... meer."
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-12-12 02:38 am (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-12-12 02:51 am (UTC)Which may be kittens in either popcorn or liquid state depending on my energy level.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-12-12 03:07 am (UTC)For the record, I love both mental images, especially the elaboration on them. XD
Apt torbie icon is apt. :)
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-12-12 03:11 am (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-12-12 05:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-12-13 01:27 am (UTC)Well...
Date: 2014-12-13 02:58 am (UTC)Re: Well...
Date: 2014-12-13 06:20 am (UTC)Re: Well...
Date: 2014-12-13 06:29 am (UTC)