An unofficial official move

I’ll be super honest with everyone… an author’s life is more about art than it is money, but it takes money to pay for the art. In an author’s world, there is so much that goes into this. Website. Bookfunnel for ARCs and marketing. Ads for promotions. Programs for writing. Promotions for graphic design $$.

Here is where I can save money. Newsletters. Newsletters are an essential part of the process in order to keep the reader connected to the author. And there are programs to do that, like Mailerlite or MailChimp. But those cost money. Do you see the amount of money going out?

There are those who write to market and are making a killing doing that. I am not one of those people. I’m sorry, but there are too many Sapphic romances out there and I’d be bored after writing the first one. I have ALWAYS written for the art, not exactly to make money. Money is great, but I’d rather write what I love. In order to find a happy balance, I have to cut corners where I can.

I had thought I’d could live with the costs of another program and pay for mailerlite and have an dedicated mailing list, but with everything on my plate… this is what needs to go.

So, I am back at Substack… because it is FREE. I am not going to set up paid content. I’m not going to move away from my website. I love WordPress’s websites and I have finally gotten the site to look some what back to normal. So that will change. I will also continue to use it as a blog because it lends itself better.

This Substack will be a combination of both really. I will be using this page as a newsletter. You can subscribe, unsubscribe, share, etc… all of the above. I will also post my “blog” posts here, as well as on my website so readers do not have to jump between one or the other. The website is an official home for marketing, while Substack is for those dedicated readers.

SO WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE?

At the beginning of the year, I got in bed with a horror press that turned out to be a very toxic environment and continues to this day to be spiraling out of control. When I originally joined them, I moved my website to Substack, as well as theirs. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how connected the two were linked when I initially created them. There was no way to remove one without removing both – hazards of Substack.

Because of that, I had to delete mine in order to give them theirs. I am an honest person with integrity. So, I would rather start over myself than to destroy what they had created. In hindsight, they did not deserve their site and I wish I would have deleted theirs instead of mine. BUT… as I say, I’m the bigger person.

I never wanted to move away from Substack to begin with, but it was the right thing to do at the time. If I had thought things through at the time, there might have been a different solution, but it was a matter of timing because I needed to jump ship and fast.

This brings us up to date and where we are. Again, if people wish to jump my ship because of the change. Do so… Because I would rather lose a follower than go bankrupt because of an artform I love.