The Problem with 1000 True Fans

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

John Scalzi is discussing potential flaws to the "1000 True Fan" model of cyber-success. He raises some valid points.

But at a $100 threshold, his question "Would you spend that much money on a single creator in a year?" made me pause ... I can think of at least one person for whom I probably hit that target in the past. If I were not starving-broke, I'd probably be hitting that target for one person consistently, and maybe more than one. In fact if I had plentiful money, I'd be doing that deliberately because I like patronizing the arts. Last night at the harp concert I dropped $25 on CDs and coaxed my partner into buying the third one.

Comments

Re: Thoughts

[e-cunningham.livejournal.com]

Good post. It raises several questions and observations about the 1000 True Fan model:

1) How feasible is to to assume a creator can product $100 worth of new material a year?
2) How many fans can afford to drop $100 on a single creator?
3) It is not reasonable to assume that True Fans are singular in their focus. Avid readers tend to read the work or several/many authors. Few people listen to a single band, or purchase the wares of a single craftsperson or artist. Most likely, creators will share their True Fans with more than other other creator. This forces True Fans to pick and choose--unless, of course, they have hundreds or even thousands of dollars in discretionary income to spend each year on books, art, graphic novels, music, and concerts.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Good questions! Let's see...

"1) How feasible is to to assume a creator can product $100 worth of new material a year?"

Depends on your product and creation speed. For an artist, one painting can easily be worth $100; or even a print if they're large and/or archival. That's anywhere from one day to several months worth of work. Adding up the "Buy It Now" prices from my last Poetry Fishbowl would have been well over $100 if one person bought them all.

"2) How many fans can afford to drop $100 on a single creator?"

That's a good question. I think, not a lot, but maybe more than people expect. My budget has gone from shoestring to dentalfloss due to household job loss, but I still eked out a tiny contribution to a new projet that I dearly admired. And a few bucks here and there adds up through a year.

"3) It is not reasonable to assume that True Fans are singular in their focus. Avid readers tend to read the work or several/many authors."

True. I will throw a dollar or two into the hat of any musician who impresses me. But Wednesday's suprise harp concert had me buying two CDs and wheedling my partner into buying the third. For long-term support, I'm inclined to pick one to three people whose work I believe in so deeply that I want to have as much of it in the world as possible. Those are conscious choices. When I can't give them cash, I give them other things.

*ponder* If I counted donating my editorial expertise, I'd be a True Fan for several people, and far over the threshold. That's another way to cut overhead, actually: if you don't have to pay for services out-of-pocket but can get your TFs to do them cheap or free, then you can more easily and cheaply produce hardcopy products. That just happened with the chapbook edition of The Aphorisms of Kherishdar and that one's already sold 27+ copies.