17th Century Patronage to 21st Century Kickstarters
Subscription options for Fiction by Reina Cruz
A Little History
(Seriously, feel free to skip if you’re not a history nerd, like me. History nerds, enjoy!)
Art patronage has been evident in history as far back as Mesopotamia and continues today. The forms and access have changed, but the concept remains the same. Artists earn a steady income through the patronage of fans.
The Renaissance period is well known for patrons supporting artists. The wealthy commissioned and even housed artists in exchange for their work. A lot of power was placed with the patrons. They dictated what the artist created (yet another example of power and money working hand-in-hand). If the artist painted something unconventional, the money disappeared.
That’s exactly what happened in the 19th century. Painters like Claude Monet and Pierre-Augustine Renoir rebelled against the traditional patronage that determined the art they created. They established the Salon des Refusé (Salon of the Refused), their work beginning what is now known as the Impressionist Period. Of course, without patrons to pay the bills, artists had to find funding themselves (think the “starving artist”). This was how Vincent Van Gogh lived his life as a pauper while his work today is worth millions. A talented and prolific painter, but unorthodox in his time (the scene in Doctor Who where Van Gogh visits a modern museum makes me cry every time).
Back to the Present Topic: Writing
What does this have to do with fiction and books? Patronage has transformed with the internet, but it still exists today. As publishing becomes more accessible to authors, the need for traditional publishers diminishes. This puts the power in the hands of the author and their followers. Patreon, Kickstarter, and Substack provide a platform for authors to connect directly to their readers and for readers to directly support their favorite authors.
The power of crowdsourcing is not new. Fans want to help the stories they love. They do this by sharing books and movies with friends as well as financially supporting the creators. In 2013, fans of Veronica Mars crowd-funded a movie (5.4 million dollars). The Kickstarter was a last ditch effort of the film’s writer and director (Rob Thomas), and fans of the show stepped up by almost tripling the original goal. This year (2023), Brandon Sanderson surprised fans with four novels through a Kickstarter. The traditionally published author shifted into the indie role and asked his fans to fund four novels, and the fans stepped up with an amazing $41.7 million!
Subcribing on Substack
This was my (very) long-winded introduction to my paid subscription option. Your support will go towards the creation of future books. As an indie author, the financial side of publishing is on me (a great experience, but not without a price!) Below are the paid subscription options:
Free subscribers: Access to weekly posts (non-fiction, fiction, you get it all!
Paid subscribers: Access to weekly posts, including audio versions of fiction work (not all of the stories will have audio versions, but the ones that do will be provided to paid subscribers), archived posts, and e-book versions of my novels
Founding Members (for those super fans): Access to all fiction and posts, as well as one signed novel of your choice.
As paid subscribers, you have the option to pay monthly or annually. The monthly cost is five dollars (a buy me a monthly coffee option). The annual cost is thirty dollars (the cost of one hardback book). You can become a Founding Member for $150.
I understand that most can’t (or don’t want to) pay a regular subscription to my page. Your support as a free subscriber is more than enough. Another free way to help would be to share my work with someone you think would enjoy my writing.
Thanks for sticking with me through my walk through history. Do you support artists or authors through Substack or another platform? Let me know below! I’d love to check out your favorites.
That was a very good episode of Doctor Who!