Ko-Fi

Crowd Sourcing Expectations

Peter Germany Editing, Horror, Horror Writer, Planning, Preparation, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve been playing catchup with podcasts, so have been bing-listening to The Mando Method Podcast by Armand Rosamilia and Chuck Buda. There was an episode, I think it was Chuck’s Mailbag #9, but don’t hold me to it. But in it there were responding to a question and the conversation got around to social media and being present. Making sure you post consistently and so on. I can’t remember the exact wording but there was mention of crowd sourcing and expectations. This kinda hit home a little. I’ve got an active Ko-Fi page and I’ve been regular in posting in my ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’ tier which is a short story/chapter from a longer story, once a month that hasn’t been been published elsewhere before.

I have zero expectations of earning money through this site. I’ve been blessed in that I have had contributors. (You know who you are and I love you!) But I didn’t set the page (or my inactive Buy Me A Coffee page) with the intention of making a nice chunk of cash each month. I set it up because once I get a few books published I will start building a fanbase, and then it’s somewhere people can come. When they do they’ll see there’s a number of posts, mainly short stories that they can check out.

I am feeling like a fraud. I talk a lot but don’t do anything to get my work out there. But, I feel I am making progress. I’m wrapping up longterm projects. I’m planning future projects. I am moving forward, just slowly. But I am getting there. Stories are ready to go, the zombie book and Penal Earth are there. Just need to get the money for the cover for zombie (this cover is awesome!). And with Penal Earth, I’m gonna start trying to find a publisher for it.

Good Afternoon, 31st of May 2022

Peter Germany Cat, Dog, Editing, Health, Horror, Horror Writer, Insperation, Life, Lifestyle, Men’s Mental Health, Mental Health, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Howdy, folks! How are we all doing?

Today I have edited 7408 words of Black Blood, adding 87 to the overall word count. That was a little bit of a slog but I got in done in about two hours or so.

I’ve also set up a few posts to go on my Ko-Fi page, including one flash piece which has gone live today. I was feeling a little behind with this so I got a few posts set up so I don’t have to worry about it too much for the next week or two. I do offer a membership in addition to one-time tips. Here I post an original short story each month in addition to bonus content. All for £1 a month!

Something I do want to touch on is that this month is the first that I have worked everyday in a very long time. For those of you who don’t know I have anxiety and depression, amongst a few other mental health bits and pieces, but my medications dosage was recently upped and I’m very much feeling it. Two months ago if I wasn’t feeling like working, I’d not. (when I say working here I mean writing. With the day job I haven’t missed a shift in a little over two years). At the moment I am working each day even if it’s just a few words while on my day job’s break. On days when I’m not at the day job I’m getting stuck into editing and making sure I get a decent start early in the morning and am normally done by midday. I’m making sure I have breakfast on these days and am getting a lot of little bits and pieces done that I’ve been putting off.

When I’m at the day job it’s a little different but I’ve found I’ve still been coming home (after a morning shift) and getting at least a little editing done. That’s normally in addition to writing something before work while sitting in my car, and during my break.

Max is waiting for me to finish so we can go play ball.

I’m feeling much more organised as well. I’m making notes on Black Blood on things like building a chapter to a conclusion to character motivations. I’m also listing what I’ve posted to Ko-Fi because knowing me I’d end up putting up the same story twice! I’m sure most people will be okay with a slight hiccup like that but people are giving me their money so I’m trying to be as efficient as possible.

I have had a hit to my self-esteem recently (I look hideous etc.) but I know how to rebuild that. I’ve done it, with help, recently and I know I can do it again.

Raven helping with editing this morning.

Life is moving in the right direction and I feel like I’m getting to the point where I can able do the things in life that I’ve always dreamt of.

Good Afternoon, 10th of April 2022

Peter Germany Editing, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good afternoon Folks, how are we all?

Today I’ve edited 3127 words on Penal Earth and did a quick edit of an old short story called Jonathan’s Not Quite Epic Adventure. I did this because I wanted it to be the first story on my Ko-Fi for anyone who wants to become a member! Yes, I’ve finally got that going! I’ve only got one Tier, and that’s £1 a month. Anyone who becomes a member will get access to an unpublished short story or a chapter of a longer story each month. I’ll also try and add in bonus content throughout the month as well such as previously published work, flash fiction and essays.

I did attempt to write during my break, but spilt cola scuppered me!

Moments after this the cola was sent flying and I stared in shock! 🙈🤣😝

Tomorrow I’ve got the day off and am planning to have a heavy edit day. I’m well past the halfway point of Penal Earth now, and I’ve like to get a good 8k edited on it tomorrow.

Be kind and have fun.

Good Morning, March 26th 2022

Peter Germany Editing, Horror, Horror Writer, Short Fiction, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Howdy, folks! How are you all doing this morning?

It is a gorgeous morning here in the South East of England, so obviously I’ve been sat at my desk, in my pjs and dressing gown writing. I’m off to work this afternoon and knew I wanted to get some words written. This I’ve done, 1393 all in all and I’ve finished typing up the ending of the zombie book. The next stage is transferring it to the main file, then do my final pass. In that pass I’m looking at just a few minor tweaks. There will be one larger addition to the first part of the story that will give a character a lot more depth and motivation. That will only be a couple of lines though and is the largest tweak that this final pass will have. Then it’ll be off to my editor for her to give it a final pass to make sure I’ve not left any really stupid grammatical errors or plot holes with this new ending. Which reminds me I need to message her and the cover artist.

So, what’s next? Next will be typing up one of the short stories that I’ve recently written as well as continuing with the story for an anthology I’ve been invited to submit to (need to check that deadline). I do also want to start my final pass on Penal Earth, but that can wait a little as I don’t have the money to send it to an editor yet. I do have a few notes from a dear friend who read it and picked up a few pieces that I, my mum and beta readers had missed. So this coming pass will mainly be for those.

I just want to give a shoutout to The Mando Method Podcast. Armand Rosamilia and Chuck Buda have always produce engaging, informative, and just damn entertaining content that I have learnt a lot from, but now they are doing a monthly roundtable episode where they’ll bring in two other authors and I’m really enjoying these episodes. Sometimes a podcast will make a change like this and it doesn’t quite work, but Armand and Chuck have nailed it with this one, and it really adds a new element to their podcast. I strongly recommend checking them out.

Just a little pimping out my Ko-Fi page. It’s still the bog standard page but membership will be up and running soon. You can follow for free, and I won’t be putting this blog behind a paywall. Once in a while I’ll put a post up on Ko-Fi that will then come here maybe a few weeks later, but these what I think of as journal posts will never be behind a paywall.

I’ll end todays post with my flash fiction piece, Ghost, which appeared in the 84 Stories 84 Words anthology.