I worry a lot. It’s in my nature, and my doctors tell me that if I can’t stop worrying so much, I’ll have hypertension and high blood pressure. In fact, I’m already on my way there, and it’s one of the main reasons I felt so lousy while I tried to recover from sinus surgery.
More than anything else, I worry about my ability to support and provide for my family. This isn’t just about paying bills and putting food on my children; it’s about health insurance and college tuition and retirement saving. You know, all those things that grown-ups have to worry about.
Two stories came across Bloglines this morning that were encouraging to me, and seem to support my belief that I can continue the life of indie publisher and occasional actor for at least another few years. In fact, after looking at these two stories, I have a great deal of hope that the way I’ve been doing things since I first published Dancing Barefoot is the right way to do it — and will become the predominant way creative people make a living in the future.
Story number one tells us that Nine Inch Nails earned at least 750,000 in two days with the Creative Commons release of their new album Ghosts I-IV.
Mike Linksvayer, the CTO of Creative Commons, runs the numbers of Nine
Inch Nails’s Creative Commons download experiment and discovers that it
only took the band two days to exceed the typical net from a
massive-selling traditional CD release. The band sold $750,000 worth of
"limited edition deluxe sets," plus an unknowable further sum from
sales of the regular CDs and merch.
I was thrilled to grab the first CD — legally — off bittorrent, and I was doubly thrilled to see the best download speeds I think I’ve ever gotten in a .torrent file. Not even new Linux releases were as widely-seeded as Ghosts I was. I liked what I heard so much, I bought the two-disc set, which included an instant download of the entire album.
Clearly, I’m not going to make 750K at one time, ever, but NIN’s and Radiohead’s success in directly engaging their fans and audience via the Internet both validates the way I’ve chosen to sell and market my books, and gives me hope that there is, indeed, a viable future for creative people who choose to reach their fans directly, without doing things "the old way."
The second link addresses that directly, and is especially relevant to me, personally. It comes from Kevin Kelly, and is titled 1000 True Fans.
Other than aim for a blockbuster hit, what can an artist do to escape the long tail?
One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. While some artists have
discovered this path without calling it that, I think it is worth
trying to formalize. The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer,
craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in
other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only
1,000 True Fans to make a living.A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and
everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They
will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even
though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for
your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions
show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies.
They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till
you issue your next work. They are true fans.To raise your sales out of the flatline of the long tail you need to
connect with your True Fans directly. Another way to state this is,
you need to convert a thousand Lesser Fans into a thousand True Fans.Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one
day’s wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is
an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more
than that. Let’s peg that per diem
each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums
up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living
for most folks.
First off, I’m not crazy about the term "true fan," because that seems to imply that unless you’re willing to spend $100 a year on someone, you’re not a True Fan. I’d prefer "diehard fan" or "core customer" or something like that, probably because I consider myself to be a True Fan of several different artists, and I don’t know if I’d spend $100 a year on a bunch of merchandise. I think it makes sense to compare these people to season ticket holders, if that makes any sense. Well, it does to me: I love the Kings and the Dodgers. I can’t afford to be a season ticket holder any more, but I don’t think that makes me any less of a True Fan. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Let’s move on.
But about Kevin Kelly’s number: $100,000 a year from my work? That’s more than "modest" for me. I’d love to earn $100,000 a year from my work. I’m not entirely sure if I can pull it off, though, because at the moment, I’m not putting out $100 worth of new stuff each year, and I don’t think I’ve hit the 1000 True Fan threshold, yet. 300, for sure (and for the win!) but I think my number is probably closer to 400 or 500, considering what I publish, how frequently I publish, and various economic factors. I’m not sure if I can double that number before the end of 2008, but Kevin Kelly is absolutely on to something here (Jonathan Coulton agrees with him, and JoCo is doing with music what I hope to do with words) and I’ve got a goal to aim for now: double that number, and increase the amount of stuff I’m putting out there every year so it’s worth at least $100 a person.
I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m going to do my best to make it happen.
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*raises hand* I like “core customer.” I’m probably not going to spend $100 on you a year, but I will likely buy everything you publish, possibly in print and audio … which reminds me that I need to order the new book.
I wonder how many of us there really are …
Wil, as an aspiring writer myself, I’m excited about the prospect of using “new media” to get my work out there once I’ve completed it. I will be watching you and others (such as JoCo) to see how well you do, and take from your successes and learn from your setbacks. I wish you nothing but success, and you can definitely count me as an added “core customer”…#501. W00t!
Have you ever considered PDF versions of your books that sell online for a little cheaper (or for donations)? I probably read the equivalent of 1-2 novels a week, but do most of my reading online. Since the conversion to PDF process is basically free, any sales are all profit. I think the instant gratification of the format is a huge motivator of online business as well (not to mention the impulse buy factor). I know I would personally be much more likely to drop $10-$15 on a download, than $30 on something I have to wait to ship.
I think musicians have an advantage over writers here. Maybe I’m the minority, but I’ll happily spend money on music in a digital form, I want to read my books on good old paper. Reading from a screen just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve tried it on several different screen sizes (PDA, 7″ UMPC, 15″ laptop, 17″ desktop.) But I just enjoy reading more if it’s a physical book.
I am cubegeek’s antithesis 🙂 I adore the smell and feel of a well-produced old fashioned book, and I love the physicality of sliding a record out of it’s slipcase, gently laying the needle down, then enjoying the artwork while I listen.
Just remember that – due to your main medium – a decent proportion of your “core customers” are unlikely to ever be able to make it to see you in person. Cos we’re overseas, like. Totally.
I suppose I’m a member of your core, since I flew out from Wisconsin one time to see your show and get my books signed…although working for the airlines facilitated that.
This post kind of reminded me of that book “The Tipping Point” (by the author of “Blink”) about how little things can make a big difference. Not that getting 1000 core customers would lead to thousands more or anything, but more in how the difference between 500 and 1000 makes a big difference in how free you are to create.
Anyway I know you’ve probably read that book already, but if you haven’t, it’s worth checking out.
If you produced $100 of new product a year, I would probably buy it. Your writing style is very good, good enough that my g/f who never likes these kinds of books is reading Just a Geek, and already read HDOOL. You might be able to market some of your comedy bits, or your speaking engagements, which I check out every time you post one. I like to think of myself as a core fan, but I don’t see myself flying to CA from FL for a book signing or a convention. However I would drive an hour or two if you came to a local con.
Hmm. The subtle balance between the pursuit of one’s dreams and the crushing realities of maintaining a livable existance. Yeah, I got that.
Wil, try not to be a worry wart. You’re very resourceful, and you’ve got a number of us out here who will buy what you sell. Any idea how many books you’ve sold (HDoOL) including the 300?
Food goes on tables, clothes go on children. Right?
I bring it up not to nitpick, rather because I’d want someone to point that out to me if I wrote it.
That said, the fact that I’m bringing it up makes this comment very meta – I can only imagine that a lapse like that would happen because you’re feeling stressed. …Apparently about feeling stressed.
Now that I’m writing something that makes me feel like a jerk…
You have what it takes. You’ve lived and learned, which means you have stuff to write about. You’re honest, which helps a lot. It also happens that you have abundant creative talent, not least as a writer.
You can do it.
This is a really cool way of looking at the economics of a ‘entertainer.’ It makes it all seem so attainable, and attainable goals are the best kind.
The coolest part is after attaining 1000 “true fans” all the rest of the masses are gravy, and chances are with 1000 ‘true fans’ you end up with some order of magnitude higher of regular fans who contribute 20%-80% of a ‘true fan.’ Not to mention ‘true fan’ spouses. They get sucked into coming along often which can lead to ‘uber true fans’ who end up paying the way for 2.
I think the challenge is focusing what you produce into marketable ‘pricetag’ items. I can say for sure I read most everything you write, but unfortunately for you beyond the published books, there is very little income from things like your blog etc.
So when are you coming to Chicago? I’ll throw down for some tickets to a reading, or a show, or whatever crazy act you throw together.
BEN “I can only imagine that a lapse like that would happen because you’re feeling stressed.”
Tha looks exactly like something I’d type when my brain was going faster than my fingers. Then I’d read it back, it would make me laugh- so I’d leave it. Like spoonersims. They are WAY more fun if you run with them rather than stopping and correcting yourself 🙂
I’ve always thought the internet will bring back the patronage system. Hundreds of internet users set up Paypal to take recurring payments out of their account – say, $10 a month – that go to an artist/writer/singer/whatever. The artist uses those funds to live, focusing purely on creating new work and releasing it.
The system would be self-correcting. If a patron is unhappy with the amount or quality of work produced, they withdraw their support. If people are happy, well, they’re happy.
Obviously there are issues with a system like this (how are works released? it’s easy to self-publish online with MP3s and PDFs, copyright, etc.). But I’ve always liked the idea, and it’s something along the lines of 1000 True Fans.
And the godawful typos in THAT were definitely not deliberate. Now I’m off to ky a flight.
The 1,000 fans idea sort of reminds me how music and other arts used to be supported back in the days of Haydn and those folks. Except in that case, it was one really rich aristocrat that supported them, but it is sort of the same concept.
Radiohead and NIN are lucky that they’re already very well-established bands. I’d like to see how less popular/global/international bands would do with a ‘open’ release like theirs.
Anyway, I LOVE how the world of publishing (music and books) is changing. I probably wouldn’t have known much about it if it weren’t for reading this blog! I believe this is how I found out about Scott Sigler, especially.
Remember this, as well: that Reznor is already an established and hugely popular artist is one part of the equation, but there’s another big factor.
Reznor is different from many other mainstream artists in that he’s clearly spent a lot of time and effort over the last few years figuring out ways to engage with his fans and offer them something more than an album every year or two.
He blogs, he dreamed up an immersive online/offline game tied in with an album, he’s made songs available in GarageBand format for remix — he’s pretty clearly interested in figuring out ways to do interesting things that his fans will enjoy.
While you, Wil, don’t have the existing fan base that Reznor does, you’ve definitely got the second part of the equation.
You (like Jonathan Coulton) are showing people the good things that can happen when an artist pays attention to building relationships and a community rather than a fan club.
Regardless of what 2008 brings, you are moving in a great direction and should be proud.
And I may not be a True Fan yet, but I’ll still happily stand you to a few Arrogant Bastard ales at your request. 🙂
ben, the “putting food on my children” is a spin off of a Bush-ism where he said “I know people are working hard to put food on their family.”
Well, if you translate “True Fan” to its roots, it would be “True Fanatic” which is probably a bit more appropriately descriptive for “1000 True Fanatics”
Just make sure you don’t end up with “999 True Fanatics” and “1 Scary Stalker”
I believe it is more complex than “1000 true fans”. More than likely you’re fan drop off will look like a long tail.
So you have something more like:
50 hard core, die hard, take a bullet for you fans @ $100/year ($5000)
200 “I’m all about that” fan @ $75/year ($15000)
750 “One of my favorite artists” fans @ $50/year ($37500)
2500 “He’s pretty cool” fans @ $10/year ($25000)
and your still at a very nice $82,500/year
But, with apologies to Steve Martin… what I’m really looking for is:
50 fans @ $ 50,000/year… one big show… good bye
I’m pretty sure Bob Mould wrote something on his blog a while back (can’t find it now) about patronage.
He mentioned vaying levels that people could buy in at. I believe the benefits ranged from something like a subscriber-only MP3 once a quarter to special access to shows or something.
First, I’ll say something unrelated. We are currently licking our wounds here in Texas. I am one of them. Sigh. I’m glad to be reading a refreshing news or post such as yours. I do not know how much I spent for Obama and I don’t like the word True Fan. But I guess in the heartfelt effort to pitch in, I think I am. Sure, puking is okay. And with that I say, no worries my friend.
And as for being back to earth with you and your art Wil, I have been a fan since I was 9 and living in another country. I am just delighted to know that your work has evolved into deeper creativity. I know you can succeed in this.
By the way, speaking of ebooks in PDF, my husband works at an ebook company. They also publish works by independent creators (of comic books and graphic novels). Their online ebook download service has tiers from free to gifting and more. It is called Wowio (dot) com. It is a start up. I am a bit biased, yes, but I think the guys at Wowio are awesome creatives too.
I’ve been thinking about how to do this with my own art, all morning.
I think Kelly’s onto something when he writes that you have to connect with your True Fans directly, and convert your Lesser Fans. That connection is definitely something that is a deciding factor for me when buying someone’s art/writing/music, and it’s probably something that’s a deciding factor for the people who buy my art.
If the artist/writer/musician is a friend of mine, I’ll buy pretty much everything they put out that’s in my price range, for as long as they make it. Not only am I helping support a friend, but I know I’m more to that person than just an income source.
If I don’t know the artist/writer/musician personally, I have to have connected with them somehow and liked them, and felt they were a decent person — or else it doesn’t matter how good they might be; I won’t support them. I’ll buy only the stuff I like, and pass on the stuff I’m meh about (e.g., be a Lesser Fan).
If I meet someone, and they’re a total dick, I’ll boycott them entirely. (I got to find this out when meeting a lot of writers while in grad school. Vonnegut? Total dick.)
So how to convert Lesser Fans?
You’re already a pretty public guy. Between writing this blog, and Twitter, you’re pretty connected to your fans. You’ve done the convention thing so much it seems like you’re kinda crispy on it. I don’t know where that line is between keeping your boundaries intact and connecting more; that WWdN meetup you were thinking about a while ago seemed like a good compromise.
You’re already Not A Dick. You have that bit down. I try to Not Be A Dick, but sometimes I have to be, when the weird creepy stalkers want me to do custom commissioned paintings that’re… well, ugh. Eww.
Also, as other people have seconded — putting enough content out there so that there’s actually $100 of stuff to spend money on in a year. When I think about that, I wonder when exactly I will find the time to make even more art, and despair a bit.
I haven’t come up with any brilliant solutions, but if I do, I’ll pass them on. It’s an interesting topic though, so please keep on writing about it. 😉
Enjoy your refreshing honesty at everything. Perhaps is why I come a callin’ to your blog daily. I am an artist too. I understand quite well how you are feeling, day to day, and what the bigger picture is in life. I would worry about income…not knowing when the next order would be. I used to try to engineer ways to solicit my work but you know what I discovered? I truly prefer keeping myself on the smaller scale in order to procure my real fans, a.k.a., my clientele, and give back in a way in which I can wholly be there. I like your style because it always feels you are ‘speaking’ to us, almost as individuals, and most people truly gravitate towards celebs, artists, writers, teachers, inspiring folks of the like who make a mark inside. You’re one of those people just by your brilliance and ability to communicate so thoroughly and honestly.
BTW, I just purchased your books so I can help contribute a wee bit to the college funds. 🙂
Much success to you, Wil. You already have it in so many ways.
Kelly
http://www.camiasdesigns.com
“I’m not putting out $100 worth of new stuff each year…”
So, have you heard of the limited edition boxed set?
“Lovingly wrapped in the finest, rich Corinthian leather, now you too can own the collected works of noted author Wil Wheaton.”
Well, it worked for JK Rowling!
Aloha,
Dan
300 ftw!!
Wil, you’re absolutely on to something there. I’m the “True Fan” type. I’m one of the 2500 who bought the NIN Limited Edition set at $300, I own every one of the Halo releases in multiple formats, I’ve flown all the way across the country to see concerts, I bought the tour DVD in SD, then rebought when I found it in HD… I most definitely spent a hell of a lot more than $100 per year for the last 15 years on Trent Reznor’s work.
With that said, I spent exactly $40 on your work last year, because I bought two copies of THDOOL from you at PAX (I wouldn’t remember if I were you, but we hung out briefly after one of the concerts because I was talking to Paul, who you were hanging with.) Anyway, the reason I’ve spent so little on your work is not because I don’t enjoy it, but because there is so little available that requires money. I read your blog, sure, but there is actaully no way for me to compensate you for that other than waiting for another book.
I can tell you in all honesty, that I would quite easily spend $100 in a year on entertaining WilStuff© if it were available to me… But it isn’t.
I guarantee you I am not unique, and I’d bet money on the $100,000 being a lowball for you.
Count me in the core (#19/300).
If you still have one of those old school “William Fucking Shatner” messenger bags laying around I’ll gladly give you $50.00 for it as some shitcock decided it would be a good idea to break into my truck and steal mine. Clearly an item in demand!!
Another thought. I, being a fan, purchase whatever pieces of meat you throw my way, let me make Anne a piece of jewelry, then we both prosper. I would be happy to have designed for a ‘celeb’. 🙂
Gotta ask for what you want, right?
June:
A case study of a lesser-known artist trying the Radiohead/NIN model is Issa, The Artist Formerly Known As Jane Siberry (www.issalight.com). Several years ago she switched to an honor-system “tip-jar” model for selling her CDs. The jury is still out on how well that model has worked out for her, but I do know for a fact that her decision to literally sell everything she owned that wouldn’t fit in her backpack and live on the road was made separately.
Thanks for posting this, Wil. I have sent the link to both the indie musician I tour manage and my sister, who is a SF/F author still trying to find the magic formula almost 25 years after her first big sale. 1000 core fans is indeed an achievable goal, and the whole concept gives one both hope and a fresh perspective.
$100/year is only $8.33 a month. That’s peanuts. I wouldn’t consider myself a “True Fan”, more like the “He’s pretty cool” fan like someone mentioned above.
And under $10/month to help a pretty cool guy sounds like a deal to me.
Hell, set up a donation button (or some such) and I’ll be right there.
Alternatively, write a couple short stories each month and I’ll buy those. 🙂
You know, I thought immediately of you when I saw the 1000 True Fans article on Boing Boing. 🙂
Well, first of all, despite student loans and being a low level peon who makes next to nothing I have to say that if you put out $100 worth of product a year I’d buy it. (I actually went over it w/ two THDOOL books last year and two shirts from CafePress b/c my old ones are ratty and worn out.) I’d probably spend more if you released more. You don’t put out crappy material and so I will admit I’d buy every last thing you could possibly make. (Even a hat and I don’t even wear hats. Okay, maybe not a hat. A visor, though!) Now, I don’t fly 1000+ miles to see you at conventions but I might if that $300 airline ticket and $150 hotel bill went to you and not the travel industry. But I’d rather wait until you and other artists come to my area so that I have more money to shower upon your awesomeness. Um, I guess the point is that yeah, true fan checking in here. (And I’m going to try and pretend that being a “true fan” as described by that article makes me sound “cool” and “awesome” and “total supporter of the arts” and not “weird” and “scary”.)
As for online ventures like releasing ebooks and the like: It could work for those who enjoy reading on eReaders or on their computers. I’d love to have a .pdf version of JAG, DB, or THDOOL so that I can read them on my computer at work. But I would never want that as my only copy of a book so I’d buy both the physical version and a cheap electronic version. (I’m also going to pretend it’s totally normal to buy the same product multiple times in multiple formats. Hey, I do it because that money goes to put food on your family and not towards your diamond studded swimming pool.)
To get a start on this $100 mark for 2008 I say you should get cracking on the audio version of THDOOL. And your Stand By Me commentary cd that has oft been talked about but has never seen the light of day. I’m kidding — you’re busy, I know. Glad you’re feeling better enough to post! And stop worrying, you’re so going to keep rocking at indie publishing.
P.S. Your twitter about Ohio is right on. Deplorable. At least I don’t have to see her ads anymore since yesterday.
Wil! Typepad keeps thinking I’m a spammer! 🙁 You have a perfectly awesome comment waiting for your review before it’ll show up. (Which is better than the system dropping my comment out as it is usually wont to do.)
I guess I’m a “true fan”. I never really thought about it before, but I did drive 12 hours to go to one of your readings. I spend about $50 a month on completely unnecessary crap, so I’m sure if you sold some cool shirts/mugs/mouse pads I’d be right there in line to buy. The key to suckering us into the $100 per year range, is to release new things throughout the year and not all at once. We’re more likely to buy lots of stuff and stay interested that way. Just something to keep in mind while you’re making plans.
I suggest that you find a few particularly pithy quotes (like today’s “put food on my children”) and put them on Tshirts. That’s a quick way to get closer to your $100 goal. I’m probably only “true fan” enough to buy one $25 book per year, but I might throw in a Tshirt or two (or, even better, the mug or the messenger bag or the laptop bag or something I don’t already have too many of like Tshirts). (Oh, now I reload the page and see that Kari just suggested the same thing)
Another suggestion: collaborate! Produce some nifty art/word combinations working with some of the people whose work you link to here, then share the True Fans with them and share the profit too.
I dunno if you found the link to “1000 true fans” through Seth Godin’s blog, but if not, I think reading his stuff may well be the kind of inspiration you’re looking for these days.
Oh, and by the way: My 9-year-old son and I are watching all the STtng episodes, and we just got up to “Final Mission”. It was nice to see you finally get a chance to show your stuff! An excellent (and emotional more than science-fictional) episode.
Does it count if money is spent on your fans? I’m pretty poor, but I’ve received Just A Geek and HDOOL for two consecutive holidays (thx Mom & Dad). I’m waiting for Dancing Barefoot to complete the trilogy…
Also, I know it doesn’t mean anything monetarily, but you should be proud of the fact that you have been instrumental in exposing me (and probably others) to a lot of new things. I just came on here because of a link I saw on cuteoverload.com (weirdly), and after seeing your Twitter feed, I’ve now joined Twitter and it’s allowed me to find a way to text my Mom in America for normal text rates, which I’ve never been able to do before! (No, this isn’t an ad… :S)
You’re an instrument of good in this world, Wil.
I’m a true fan; I’ll buy anything you publish. But so far, I’ve bought everything and I’m not even at $100. What ever happened to the book idea about step parenting? Or how about some fiction? I think you are certainly capable of 100K, you just need to publish a little more often, and maybe spread your name/image around the internets a bit more to pick up a few loose true fans, (when was the last time you posted on Fark? That’s how I found you). Oh, and relax a little, life’s to short….
If you build it, we will c… Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Anyway, you get the idea. 🙂
I happen to like the phrase “True Fan” it does not bother me! I like to call myself “The Fan” when is comes to you! I happen to have received The Last Prostitute for Christmas! How many other can say that? If you are out there let’s talk here –
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102273/board/threads/
I would buy anything and everything you put out, books, movies does not matter! But on a selfish note: I want your fine ass in movies as much as possible. Love your writing but I think acting is your true gift.
BTW – Loved Americanizing Shelley it was really cute, even due to the fact you were not in it enough. It was like a flash back from “Pie in the Sky”. But as usual you had on the black cons so that made up for it, Almost!
Hey, if it motivates you to write some original fiction using your wonderful ability to describe the ordinary and make it fascinating, then I’m all for it.
Now I need to find the entry where you dropped a piece of toast or something and made it hilarious.
But about Kevin Kelly’s number: $100,000 a year from my work? That’s more than “modest” for me. I’d love to earn $100,000 a year from my work.
Yeah, my eyes just about bugged out when I saw this was “modest” – tenured faculty chairs at major universities are so lucky to make healthy six figures in medium to large cities, so… (then again, maybe that’s just the life of an academic).
I will say that I understand the model, though – I’d definitely consider myself a “season pass holder” for, say, Mike Doughty. I’ll drive to NYC to hear him play, his new album was in my hands the day it came out, etc – ditto for Cowboy Junkies and a few other major musicians. (Well, major for me.)
The problem I see with this model, though, in books, is that I don’t reread a book as often as I listen to music, so (as a broke graduate student) it makes sense for me to spend the money on a CD that I might not otherwise be able to spend on a book. Sure, I’ll enjoy the book – but not every night/week/while working on my dis.
That said, I have noticed I am MUCH more likely to buy books/products when at a signing, or I know a book signing will be happening. The tangible experience of chitchatting lightly with the author, hearing things read, the Q&A, signature on book or shirt or whatever – those things add up to the book purchase being financially do-able.
Two cents and food for thought. 🙂
I wasn’t one of the 300 but I’m pretty sure I’m one of the 500 (I missed out on the hard cover by >< much and couldn't _really_ justify it since I had only just ordered the soft cover). However, I have and will continue to buy everthing you publish. I'd hate to think you'd have to give up what you love and take a "regular" job just to keep food *on* your children 🙂
I honestly think you have more than 1000 true fans.There are many who have posted who own every book and probably triple that number who haven’t posted. Shoot I ordered HDOOL as soon as I saw it go on presale on your Twitter sidebar.
All I am saying is If you do it we will buy it. And if you put up a donation button people would hit it.
Okay, start selling the goods, actor dude 🙂
Success in America is all about The Hustle – of lot of which is about taking big risks, and trying new things.
Being one of the 300 I’d say I’m definately one of your core fans. I’d pretty much buy anything you put out there. Now I’m a single mom so I can’t afford to fly from VA to CA to see you at a convention, but if you come to the east coast I’d be there in a heartbeat. I can see spending $100 a year on your work, provided it is spread out a little. As a matter of fact I spent roughly $85 last year on your stuff…man the autographed pic, THDoOL, and the limited edition version of THDoOL add up quickly. Good luck building your fan base.
~~TARA~~
Hey Wil
Listen, just do it. Do what it is that makes you get up every morning and want to add something to the world. Things always work out in the end, not always a smooth easy ride, but it does all work out to your advantage. If your family has a roof over your heads, food on the table, and one person in the world you can trust you are doing awesome…or HAWSOME!!
Trust me, I am working 3 CRAP jobs, and working on researching my own business, and taking night school (yeah I know wah-wah-wah) But I am happier doing all this, knowing I’ll eventually be doing what makes me HAPPY than being stuck taking some gawd afwul mindless soulless job-just for the money.
cathie
PS Duuuude you totally rock refencing NIN and Reznor…I humbly bow to yoru greatness!
I believe I’m a ‘Wil Wheaton Season Ticket Holder’ level type fan.
One person had what I thought was a really good idea. How about a monthly short story subscription. You put out 2-3 short stories each month. And we subscribe for, say, $5 per month to receive those stories. They would be more than just blog posts. More along the lines of the finished stories you put in your books. But, you could do not just stories from your youth, but possibly sci-fi ideas you had or any other story ideas. Then possibly those short stories could generate interest in a book on the same idea, or even a screenplay. Oooh, screenplay, FTW!!!!!
Wil, this seems like a good time to mention the audiobook version of THDOOL. I’d gladly pay for that, and you’ve already done the hard part, writing it! Just get together with David Lawrence and get that sucker recorded (I know, that’s a lot of work, too.)