Keep Quil From Starving
Hey everyone,
Long post alert, but there's some good stuff at the end so bear with me.
I hope everyone is having a good November. Mine has been alright, but the last several months for me has been a bit stressful. Not just some medical issues that have gotten worse in the past few months, but other things (including Amazon trimming the KU pages and the Canadian dollar rising, ugh) which has been making it difficult for me to keep my head above water.
I've been on my own since I was 17 years old, living by myself most of the time with a boyfriend thrown in there at one point for good measure, and always I've found a way to survive. Either my side job was doing well, or writing was doing well. When the side job went to hell, my writing earnings floated me. But, well, that hasn't been happening over the last few months, and recent expenses like medical issues (even though good ol' Canada covers medical stuff, bussing it to a specialist a few towns over once a month is all on me) and just living expenses has me going in the deep red.
I want to keep writing full-time, but reality is catching up to me. I thought I was basically fucked since I'd never ask for handouts, but I found something called Patreon and it looks like I can give shit back, and I can get creative with it too, and I decided to say fuck it, put my pride aside and see if it'll work.
I'm not looking to fund an extravagant lifestyle. I don't drive, my place is probably the cheapest place in my town for what I'm getting, and I buy my clothes from the thrift store. I'm not looking to buy a new TV or pay for a trip to Europe. I'd cry tears of joy to just break even right about now. Hell, there's even a $1 tier there. I'll try and make it as rewarding as possible, and if you check it out, contributing can get you anything from me mailing you a thank you card, to a hand drawn drawing of your favourite Fallocaust/The Gods' Games/Silent Ground character done by me (Yes, I used to draw a lot, until writing stole my time lol). Eventually, I want to do signed book raffles, maybe even invest in Fallocaust t-shirts or something.
I also set up an Amazon wishlist which is just for household stuff from cat food to toilet paper. It's on my quilcarter website, the link I'll be posting below.
So, I've been putting off posting this for a few days since I just feel like crap doing it. I've been surviving one way or another for over a decade now and took pride in that. But I love my books, I love writing, and I want to keep being able to deliver the books the way that I do.
NOW THE GOOD STUFF
Have you read this far? Awesome! Because I also have an important announcement to make. I'm making an investment, another thing I'm hoping Patreon will help with, and that investment is in a good mic and mic stand, a desk, and some sound proof panels. Why?
Fallocaust is coming to audio book. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and now I think getting it done will also help my situation. I hate my voice, I think I sound like a 15 year old, but I know how to read my books, I know how each character is saying each thing, and I don't think there's anyone in the world who can read you The Fallocaust Series better than me. So, that's also something everyone can look forward to, and if you just want to kick a few dollars towards the equiptment needed (well, technically to pay back the credit card I used to buy this stuff) I would love you forever. After Fallocaust, The Gods' Games and Silent Ground will be next. Eventually I want everyone to be forced to listen to my weird boyish voice in order to have the series read to them.
Sorry for the huge post. I hope you all don't hate me for having to post this. I love you guys, and a chunk of you I consider my close friends, and you guys know how this medical stuff has been unravelling. I really want to keep bringing the books to you on the same schedule, and hopefully, I'll be able to pull it off.
Thanks for reading,
https://www.patreon.com/quilcarter?alert=2
Keep Quil From Starving (with Amazon wishlist)http://www.quilcarter.com/help-quil/