Updates

So one of the artists I mentioned in a previous post has changed his pitch a bit for his photos.
The One True b!X now is offering various sizes and mounting and framing options.
I like it.
I just ordered 4 prints which to me speak of the 4 seasons. They are all 6 X 9 and I plan to show them at different times of the year on my wall, although I may choose to show the snowy branches in the middle of a hot August. And the dry weeds with the blue blue sky beyond in the middle of winter. We'll see.
Having all these choices works well for my needs.
The book by Catherynne Valente book is up to 18 chapters with a couple of interludes and has been well worth my donation so far. She expects it will wrap up around (American) Thanksgiving and I will be sorry to have it end.

Charity is only part of it

Rachel Caine has put an old book of hers up for free download. The book is no longer in print and it is a very early one of hers, but she has added a new and interesting twist to the "I'll give it for free but please donate if you would" scenario.

She says " You can pay whatever you like, I’m not bothered. And if you can’t afford anything, that’s fine too.

If I get a really good response -- $1,000 or more in total donated by the end of 2009 -- I will donate HALF of the proceeds to the Kids Need to Read Foundation."
That's a generous offer and one worth supporting in my opinion.
Not all artists need extra support. It seems that Rachel Caine is one of those and so, she is testing the waters and doing a good deed at the same time. Good for her.

Angels in the Abattoir & The 52/50 project

Musician Thea Gilmore has set up a subscription service where, for £52 per year, a subscriber will get all sorts of things, including a new song every month via email.
This is a different kind of creator-patron paradigm. For one thing, it sets the amount of money upfront.
This is indeed a subscription, a straight sale, not a donation. You don't get anything without subscribing, while some of the artists I have looked at before, are giving their work away and hoping to be reimbursed.
I like Gilmore's music but much of what is offered, the gig and backstage opportunities for instance, only work if you are in the U.K. The hand written lyric sheet doesn't interest me and neither does the set of badges. So I won't be subscribing to this. It is too expensive for what I would be getting.

Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last unicorn has a subscription as well. His is only $25.00 U.S. and he is offering 52 songs/poems, one every week, in print and recorded on an mp3. I only know Beagle for his novels but he too is in financial straits and for such little money, I am much more likely to subscribe to his project.
His e-newsletter, the Raven quotes Neil Gaiman thusly:

For over forty years, Peter S. Beagle has been the gold standard of fantasy, one of the most elegant and genuine writers of fantastic fiction out there. His short stories are jewels. In Japan they declare their finest, most irreplaceable artists national treasures, and if there was any justice in the world Peter S. Beagle would be declared a treasure and be left alone to get on with making magic."

Gaiman also has wonderful things to say about Thea Gilmore's fundraising but it seems to have been on twitter and thus harder to find. But he has paid his £52.

Bone Shop

T.A. Pratt has written a series of books about Marla Mason, Crime boss, Sorceress and twitterer. Someone else linked to her tweets, I read them, liked them and knew I wanted to read more. Pratt has written a variety of things, from poetry to short stories , none of which I've read and none of which is in my local library.

Like others, Pratt is facing hard times and has started serializing a book about Marla's early days. Every Monday, a new chapter goes up here, right next to a very attractive donate button.
He also includes author musings for those of us who like to see behind the screen.

I don't know of any ordinary fiction or non-fiction author who is doing this. I'd be interested to know if it could work for non-fiction. I don't see why not.

My only problem with these serialized novels is that I don't like to wait. I tend to go several weeks ignoring Catherynne M. Valente's book until 2-3 chapters have been posted. Then I will download them and read them all at once.
But that small quibble aside, I think this is a great idea and I hope these authors are being supported as they deserve.

Sound and Sight

There is a photographer, known as The One True B!x who is selling some of his pictures here.. It is good, good work. I believe that he would sell a lot more if the word got out.But unlike Catherynne M. Valente, b!X doesn't have a Neil Gaiman sending people his way, even though he also is good at what he does.


Another way to catch the attention of the public is what S-F writer, Spider Robinson is doing. He has a podcast and he is not shy about stating how much he appreciates and needs the donations that come his way via the paypal button on the website. Robinson does 2 types of podcasts, one of music he loves and wants to share, by a wide range of known and unknown artists. (At least unknown to me!) Cass Elliott is next to Molly Johnson who is next to Luciana Souza. Every other time, the podcast is Robinson reading from his own SF work or that of other writers. Since we have similar taste in writers but not music, I prefer the latter podcasts but it is always possible to fast forward during the former if I need to.

Both b!X and Robinson are offering the results of their talents directly to the public. I would suspect that neither are getting the response they deserve. It's a pity.

A drop in a bucket

Lately I have been hearing of creative types; writers, musicians and the like raising money on their own through direct sales - or requests for donations. In the Middle Ages, artists survived upon the mercy or generosity of rich folk. Then it became the artist, the middle man, the audience. Some musicians, especially folk musicians, were an exception to this. Their tireless touring meant they sold the albums as much as any record company did and probably more.

But the internet has changed everything. The Long Tail (see a post of mine many years ago now) allows creative types to reach out directly to their audience. And who appreciate the audience reaching back.
The first up was this one. Catherynne M. Valente - a writer recommended by Neil Gaiman And Warren Ellis, both on Twitter. Her work sounded like something I'd like to read and I appreciated her practical approach to raising much needed funds. Since her significant other is out of work and she is not making enough to live on, they are in dire straits. So, she is writing a book and publishing a new chapter each week. And asking that if we like it, to pay what we think it is worth.
So I tossed in a donation and look forward to a new installment of the story every week. Shades of Dickens.
At the start, with the interest generated by Gaiman's 600,00 followers I'm sure a lot of people donated. Now, I'm wondering if it has fallen off. And what she, or any of us, can do, to keep interest and donations high.
I can't write. I greatly appreciate those who can. They deserve our support.

I've moved on

I like Blogger. It lets me change my name and change the name of my blog. I had started this as part of an assignment. Once it was over, so, mostly, was the purpose of the blog. I keep another blog as part of other work I do. And that one has a flurry of activity for a few months then sits dormant. It has almost reaches its dormancy period now. So, I think of this long neglected page.