February 7, 2023

Early Year Admin Post!

Good afternoon, cozy folk.

So here in this, the Year of Our Last Fuck Given (and Last Pipe Burst!)2023, I want to get a little more organized with Patreon and my schedule so that I can feel less like I live in a constant tsunami of failing. Thus! Some changes! All beneficial and aiming toward getting you more of what you're here for.

The big one is that, as of right now, until/if we reach the patron count for the extra rewards (playlists, character postcards, media reviews) to return, starting tomorrow, rewards will go up on Wednesdays every week. It is highly likely (though not set in stone, ADHD is super fun like that and hates the word always) that the essay will be the last Wednesday of every month, just because it takes a lot of time. When/if those other rewards return, I'm hoping I can do two posts of a Wednesday to keep that the Cozy Cult's Holy Day, because if not our holyness, who the fuck has much use for Wednesdays? HUMP DAY, AM I RIGHT FELLOW BOOMERS?

Anyway, Wednesday, indeed, will be Cozy Day round these parts, full of Patreon content. 

As far as future rewards, we're in a bit of an odd space with the Mad Post Doc Student Tier (and up). Originally, the reward was asking the questions for a monthly Youtube/Insta Reel Q&A, but people weren't really asking anything after awhile, which made Q&As PRETTY AWKWARD. Then it was choosing the subject of the media review--which we aren't doing at the moment until/if the patron threshold is crossed again.

So...I want to ask you astonishingly kind and fantastic, dare I say, morally beyond reproach people what you would like to see for that reward tier. I want to give you cool stuff! We could go back to Q&As, or I could write you a haiku every month or a selection of Bastian's best quotes that month or sunset pics over the bay (I don't know, they've just been SO spectacular lately) or anything you all would value, really. Let me know in the comments!

Lastly, some of you know I have a Substack now as well. Now, I'm still not super active there (and I'm aware there's some issues with the site management/power users, but...there is with Patreon too) yet, but I want to assure you all Patreon is my main hub and where I most reliably and frequently am. I'll basically be using Substack for political commentary--a thing I've posted here before, but which isn't really as positive and cozy and safe good times as this space has grown to be. This is for art and feelings, for the moment, the other is for politics and being fucking mad all the time. 

There is a loose unstructured paid tier there, and I'll be asking them what they want to see in it, as I didn't really expect anyone to pay over there. I've been really torn about cross-posting, since I certainly don't, and have no intention to, cross post Patreon things to Substack, but have the other way round. For now, I think that I will mostly not be crossing the streams. If there's a big fat essay on the paid tier, I'll crosspost it, because no one should miss a big piece if they are doing something so extraordinarily amazing and good-hearted as to send me money every month. But shorter posts will stay with their communities. I have not, as of yet, seen a lot of overlap between the two groups and I suspect the audience is fairly differentiated. I'm still really wobbly on this, though, and could be talked into changing my mind pretty easily.

I think that's everything, please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions heading into this new year, tell me in the comments!

Comments (17)

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Elou Carroll · February 11, 2023

Random thing every month sounds fun! :)

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Robin Hill · February 9, 2023

I'm supportive of whatever changes you feeel you want to do. I generally contribute to people whose works I consider significant to me (and in a lot of cases to the genre in general), without particular consideration of the reward tiers (I'm not a social person, so the reward tiers rarely tie to my interests), so the restructuring of tiers mostly passes me by (there's been several where I've found the tier I'm on has been retired for several years). While I'm sure everyone has good intentions for money donated contributing to the arts in general, everyone ends up with some months where fate is just against them and money is needed for more prosaic measures, and I certainly don't regret a penny spent regardless of where it ends up.

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Elizabeth McClellan · February 8, 2023

I want a poem every once in a blue moon. I get why there's so little Valente poetry coming out of the Lab nowadays but I miss it.

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Perpetua Motion · February 8, 2023

I like Wednesdays. They're my day off at work and so I often get to spend them crafting or hanging out with my friends with toddlers.

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Marzie Kaifer · February 8, 2023

I most of all just enjoy supporting you, your work, and your family. Whatever you want to share with patrons is enough for me.

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Dennis Smith · February 7, 2023

I am also okay with a randomness thing every month

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Jeremy Brett · February 7, 2023

The most unhelpful response ever, I know, but I am up for anything you might want to give. I come here for you and your words, not for any particular reward.

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Tobias Wilson-Bates · February 7, 2023

I do think that poetry would be a cool thing to see on here. Your writing tends to read like poems that turned into characters, so it would be fun to see your poems turned into poems.

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Jahana · February 7, 2023

I'm not in it for the rewards, so anything you give back is fine. Bastian quotes do rank highly on the adorableness scale, though.

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Cynthia Sperry · February 7, 2023

I like the Random Thing idea too!

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Bruce Glassford · February 7, 2023

I'm up for anything - I'm here primarily to support you and what I get back is pure lagniappe as far as I am concerned. Bastian quotes, kitty or sunset pics, random numbers, whatever.

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Catherynne M. Valente · February 7, 2023

Hmmm...I wonder if people would like a Random Thing each month, never the same, always exclusive and fun...my randomness-loving heart kind of loves that.

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Dennis Smith · February 7, 2023

I would be so on board for Bastian quotes and shareable stories

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Catherynne M. Valente · February 7, 2023

What do you mean by shareable? Would people prefer it if those posts were public?

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Pamela Adams · February 7, 2023

Bastian quotes for the win! Kitty pictures are also appreciated.

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Catherynne M. Valente · February 7, 2023

Both of these are certainly in ABUNDANT supply.

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Deconstruction Interactive · February 7, 2023

Yay rewards! I am very much in favor of Bastian quotes or sunset pics :)