Sustainable Commission Ideas (Patreon)

Back in March, I opened full commissions for the first time in 4 years. All those commissions also got posted (to name a few: Uncanny, Heaven Come, Trail, Handle), so you have seen the level of quality that came from them. Unfortunately, it took 3 months to deliver because of a combination of stress (both related and unrelated) and creative temperament.

While I don't think it is the last we will hear of full commissions, I do want to pursue ideas that may strain me less but still provide a service people enjoy.

One such idea has already been put into motion to great success, the so called "Vanity Commissions." These are just bite sized commissions with generally fewer restrictions than I put on full commissions (because they're priced that way, short, and inherently not going to be used for anything else--without your permission).

If you're unfamiliar with them, the form for them is here. The $50 version of these commissions is already attached to the corresponding Patreon tier.

Another idea is something that got briefly mentioned a while back but never implemented. Since the completion of full commissions, however, I've been kicking it around the ol' brain box more.

"Grab Bag" commissions would be full commissions where you can only specify your limits (the things you absolutely do not want to hear) and whether it's NSFW or SFW, and I fill in the rest of the blanks. What I make is what you get. However, it also comes with an exclusivity period. For X months, this audio is for your ears only. At first, this will be extra work, but as delayed release begins, it will be cool to show what people have been getting over the months, plus let me relax a little bit more as these audios fill up my schedule. I don't have a solid number on X yet, but maybe 3 months.

I have considered that for a speculative $200 tier, but am a little wary of the potential optics of having such a high tier (it would also mean these audios can't be in violation of Patreon rules). Let me know what you think.

So far, these are the best two ideas I've had in that vein. If you have more, I'm interested.

Some notes:

- Permanent exclusivity is only "an option" if you are willing to drastically overpay. This has always been true and privately negotiated in the past. It's not something that I really advertise because the pricetag is ridiculous and I don't want to dangle that in front of people. So, for all intents and purposes, consider permanent exclusivity not a part of this conversation.

- For audios that are intended to be postable (as all of the full commissions are), I don't like to repeat myself often. Keeping diversity up is a way to maintain my sanity. I understand there are plenty fans of DD/lg, for example, but I don't want to make only that kind of content. Even if it performs well, it makes my content samey very quickly and the quality degrades with my disinterest. So in all forms of my full commissions, there will still be the consideration that I want to have some amount of creative control (whether that's through complete control like Grab Bag or through selective acceptance in my normal commissions).

- Payment options suck but that's how it is. They have to be private (no names), accessible (as easy as possible), and reasonably "priced" (low transaction fee). International payments are a whole other mess.

Feedback