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crowdfundingGiraffe Call
After trying a few other ideas for prompted fiction, I stumbled upon my Giraffe Call (LJ) idea in July: a themed call for prompts, in which I write one microfic for every prompter.
Donations:
* Increase the number of prompts I write for the donor
* bring the Call total towards "incentive levels," which increase the fiction for everyone
* Buy extentions of Giraffe Call fic at $1/100 words.
Over seven calls, the Giraffe Call has earned $420.45.
I have not had a month where I didn't hit the first donation level, and I've had one where I hit the third level ($35 and $95, respectively).
I've experimented with different incentives for tipping, signal boosting, more comments, and found many of them require quite a bit of back-end work, some more than they're worth. Counting comments on every story posted? Too much work, though I did try that on my busiest month. Linkback incentive story? Hard to keep track of linkbacks, as people don't always comment, but it seems to generate the most interest.
Themes are still a challenge. I know the theme for January now, but I'm still searching for ideas for themes going foward. Polls on this topic do not seem to generate much interest.
October was my busiest month to date, writing 42 stories for 19 prompters, and 9,500 words of sponsored continuations.
Novemeber was my slowest month - 21 stories to 17 prompters. December seems to have beaten October in number of prompters - 21 - but since I only reached the middle incentive level ($65), it will be shorter in terms of fic written.
One of my resolutions for 2012 is to keep better track of stats for this and other writing.
Going forward: I would like to have a better/sooner idea of prompt themes.
I would like to figure out how to manage the linkback incentive story better, and how to better encourage feedback.
I'd like to rethink incentives for higher-level goals.
Addergoole
Addergoole is my long-running webserial, which saw its third year in 2011. Co-written since 2010 with my friend Elasmo, thishas never reached the heights I hoped it would, and has, in 2011, shown a slow decline in readership. Some dark periods of the story, I believe, chased some readers off.
2011 did see the production of several "B-sides" erotic e-books for Addergoole, showing the scenes between the chapters; four more are slated to be released in early January, and the E-book for Book One of Addergoole is in production stage.
Addergoole has never been much of a money maker; most of the money made for it goes back into web space, art, and advertising, but it does at least break even every year.
b>Coming Soon
Plans for the coming year include a potential of at least 4 e-books, a homesteading blog, and 2 theoretical new web-serials. I plan to continue the Giraffe Call, as it's fun, engaging, and brings in money.
After trying a few other ideas for prompted fiction, I stumbled upon my Giraffe Call (LJ) idea in July: a themed call for prompts, in which I write one microfic for every prompter.
Donations:
* Increase the number of prompts I write for the donor
* bring the Call total towards "incentive levels," which increase the fiction for everyone
* Buy extentions of Giraffe Call fic at $1/100 words.
Over seven calls, the Giraffe Call has earned $420.45.
I have not had a month where I didn't hit the first donation level, and I've had one where I hit the third level ($35 and $95, respectively).
I've experimented with different incentives for tipping, signal boosting, more comments, and found many of them require quite a bit of back-end work, some more than they're worth. Counting comments on every story posted? Too much work, though I did try that on my busiest month. Linkback incentive story? Hard to keep track of linkbacks, as people don't always comment, but it seems to generate the most interest.
Themes are still a challenge. I know the theme for January now, but I'm still searching for ideas for themes going foward. Polls on this topic do not seem to generate much interest.
October was my busiest month to date, writing 42 stories for 19 prompters, and 9,500 words of sponsored continuations.
Novemeber was my slowest month - 21 stories to 17 prompters. December seems to have beaten October in number of prompters - 21 - but since I only reached the middle incentive level ($65), it will be shorter in terms of fic written.
One of my resolutions for 2012 is to keep better track of stats for this and other writing.
Going forward: I would like to have a better/sooner idea of prompt themes.
I would like to figure out how to manage the linkback incentive story better, and how to better encourage feedback.
I'd like to rethink incentives for higher-level goals.
Addergoole
Addergoole is my long-running webserial, which saw its third year in 2011. Co-written since 2010 with my friend Elasmo, thishas never reached the heights I hoped it would, and has, in 2011, shown a slow decline in readership. Some dark periods of the story, I believe, chased some readers off.
2011 did see the production of several "B-sides" erotic e-books for Addergoole, showing the scenes between the chapters; four more are slated to be released in early January, and the E-book for Book One of Addergoole is in production stage.
Addergoole has never been much of a money maker; most of the money made for it goes back into web space, art, and advertising, but it does at least break even every year.
b>Coming Soon
Plans for the coming year include a potential of at least 4 e-books, a homesteading blog, and 2 theoretical new web-serials. I plan to continue the Giraffe Call, as it's fun, engaging, and brings in money.
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Thoughts
Date: 2012-01-03 06:09 pm (UTC)Woohoo! You can has carpet?
>>I've experimented with different incentives for tipping, signal boosting, more comments, and found many of them require quite a bit of back-end work, some more than they're worth. <<
Yeah, I overdrove my headlights in the fishbowl once, when a couple of new perks coincided with a busy month. So I figured out ways to hand off some stuff to other folks, which has worked.
>>Themes are still a challenge. I know the theme for January now, but I'm still searching for ideas for themes going foward. Polls on this topic do not seem to generate much interest. <<
Huh. My audience loves stuff like that. Let's see, you could try...
* looking at a list of genres (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_literary_genres)
* looking at topics on TV Tropes (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage)
* skimming other people's lists of past themes for ones you might like
* asking friends to help you rustle up prompters on a theme-prompting day
Ping me the next time you call for theme prompts. I don't always see stuff in my flist but I have nooooo trouble coming up with ideas at a moment's notice.
>>and has, in 2011, shown a slow decline in readership. Some dark periods of the story, I believe, chased some readers off. <<
*nod* That can happen. I've read some splendid books and webfic that were just so dark I couldn't deal with them unless my life was in good shape at the time. That has taught me to be careful about blending light and dark tones in literature, especially in ongoing pieces that will develop a following. In this, I look to J.R.R. Tolkien, who was a master of tension cycling.
>>a homesteading blog<<
This sounds like fun. Let me know when you launch, and I'll gladly pimp it.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2012-01-03 06:16 pm (UTC)I can! The rest of the room is still a mess, but I have rolled around on the carpet. It's awesome.You can see it in this picture of a hat I knit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22999621@N04/6623751107/).
>>Ping me the next time you call for theme prompts. I don't always see stuff in my flist but I have nooooo trouble coming up with ideas at a moment's notice.
Will do!!
>>...blending light and dark tones in literature...
Yes. Part of this is working with a co-writer who likes to lean things even darker than I do. Mental note for next time I co-write.
>> Let me know when you launch
Will do! I'm excited about the idea!!