MAJOR announcement - Read me! (Patreon)

Hi all!

This isn't a good announcement for all of you, and I'm sorry.

Ripping the bandaid right off at the start: I'm taking a step back, and going from professional, full-time writing, back to being a casual author. Patreon refunds for everyone! Lower tiers opened!

Conclusion at the start! Alright, onto all of the details.

After taking my break I realized just how much this is (possibly literally) killing me. Between writing and mango and life I’ve been in a huge pressure cooker these last 6 years. Like. Working until midnight/1 am is common, then sleep, then wake up at 6am, and immediately back at it. It’s been brutal, and I’m juggling too much, and I stepped back and asked myself “why?”

Like. All the time and effort I’m putting into the weekly chapters isn’t changing my family’s QOL at all. It’s arguably a negative, as I’m spending all this time writing and not doing other things.

I’m also finding writing to be more of a chore, and less fun. There IS room for “good writer sits down and makes good words professionally” - I don’t think it’s mandatory to be in love with the work to make it good - but it’s far less enjoyable for me.

I suspect you all have noticed how few chapters have been coming out, so it’s hopefully not that much of a surprise.

I will be continuing to write, but much more “for fun, on my schedule, when I want to” instead of “I must squeeze every last second of productivity”. I'm finishing April off with my committed schedule, but starting in May, chapters will be sporadic. And not always Song chapters! Maybe I'll explore other things. The lower tiers on Patreon are opening back up as well. Professional tier writing and commitments require professional tier pricing. By the same token, casual writing requires casual pricing. Also, months that I KNOW I won't be doing ANY writing will be paused. It's not to say I'm promising anything in the other months, just that, July, for example, where I'm in the states for a month for my brother's wedding, I'll be getting roughly 0 writing done.

The commissioned artwork will continue to be delivered on schedule!

Song will continue to be written and completed. But perhaps more at the rate of traditional authors, that produce a book a year or two, instead of the frantic pulp writing rate I've been going at.

Now, with that said, I'll probably run a few AMA's on discord SoonTM (in various timezones) to let you all know the various aspects of the story. Lots of spoilers, but I know I hate getting left hanging on a story filled with mysteries, and there's potential that they'll never get revealed. Instead, I'd rather provide (weak) catharsis by revealing the answers, so at least you'll know.

I have to say, I didn't come to this decision lightly. I wrestled a lot with this. I spent YEARS working on my reputation. Being consistent. Following through on my promises. Hitting my scheduled chapters, or when life interfered, telling you all about it and working through the issues. Half a decade I managed to write my chapters every week. I took a break, suddenly had a bit more free time, and thought YES! It's great! I'll be able to do Song, no problem!

I hate admitting it, but self awareness is important. I wasn't able to balance Song with everything else. Not as Mango grew, not as life shifted, and the worst part about all this is how bitter I feel about disappointing you all. You trusted me, you had faith in me, and I let you down.

I wish I had something positive, happy, and upbeat to end this all on, but... I just don't. My friends are convinced that I'll find my mojo again, and will be penning chapters a day soon enough. I can only hope they're right, but until then, it's unfair on all of you.

Cheers,

Selkie