I woke up this morning with a blank slate. I spent about 15 minutes clearing my head in a meditative rolling-around-in-bed stretching routine. After that I checked my emails to see if there was any news from the companies I’ve applied to. I noticed a request for a formal application with one, but before opening it, I saw something more exciting above it!

“You have a new Patron!”

For those who don’t know, a patron is a supporter at Patreon. They give a certain amount to you every month to support your work. What an incredible way to start your day! To learn that someone decided that you are worth something even when you want to work outside of the idea of a polished product, that just your raw ideas, stories, and rough recordings are of value and deserve to be rewarded, even when they can just as easily experience them for free, it’s the best feeling ever. Not only that, it was a fellow steemian that I like and respect, @k0wsk1. Thanks man! You motivate me to keep going!

Pay-what-you-want

This is one reason why am so stubborn and insist on pay-what-you-want whenever possible. When framing it as a product, or an exchange, I find myself more stuck in my expectations because more sacrifices were made in order to make my work appealing to an audience. But with this pay-what-you-want model, I feel motivated to give what comes naturally to me without any compromises and as raw and uncut as I’d like. Then when people see the value in it it moves me in a way that a buying of my so-called product could not. I feel so good right now, and that’s just from one person supporting my work, just imagine how it will feel when many people do! I will absolutely do everything I can to make my work better and better, and won’t get lazy or complacent once I’ve built a reputation!

Edit:

I wrote this yesterday afternoon...since then two more people made contributions on my Patreon! First one of my favorite steemians, @vincentnijman, doubled the amount he was giving...then a new friend, @felt.buzz , became a Patreon as well! I’m ecstatic! I’m going to make sure I’m worth every penny!

In the next 24 hours I’ll drop part 6 of His Battered Vessel. It will be the final installment (for now). His Battered Vessel is a bit of a black sheep in this collection of short stories, Confessions of the Damaged. It’s much longer than the other stories in the collection (hence 6 parts) and follows a character throughout the course of his life rather than catch a snapshot of a certain event. It was challenging to write and I’m not sure if his story is finished or not. It will tie in with some other stories in the collection though. You can find the story over at Patreon. All my work is available whether or not you pay, but I truly appreciate all support!