Patreon Update: News for 2022, Winter Break, etc... (Patreon)

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I gave a true update, and while it's a bit early for New Year Wishes, I've got some news that can't wait for December. 2022 is going to be a very different year for you and me, especially with the inevitable release of the Vainqueur webtoon (no set release date yet, but almost certainly early 2022; roughly half of the planned season has been colorized). 

- Voidy's Master Plan (all according to Keikaku... or not)

One of you asked me in the community section if I had plans to adapt some of my LitRPGs into say, NFTs or games. It's a good question, and I guess it's time I reveal to you my ultimate evil plan to take over the world.

Truth be told, while I love living from my writing, I always considered it an intermediary step towards a larger objective. My true goal has always been to branch our my stories into the world of multimedia; comic adaptations, video games, animation... an art entrepreneur friend of mine has also advised me to go into the NFT field, and though I don't want to enter a market I don't fully understand yet, I admit I'm interested and looking into it.

When I started writing, I realized early that I didn't have the mentality to write a long-running story like the Wandering Inn or HWFWM. I've been burned off from manga that I feel should have ended a lot earlier (like Naruto), which instilled in me the belief that a story that overstays its welcome will lose its quality. There's also the fact I'm something of a chameleon, always wanting to try new faces and genres.

As such, I decided on a hybrid Patreon/Amazon strategy, where I published a story, finished it, then packaged it to Amazon/Audible. My goal was twofold: to attract companies willing to adapt my works while remaining independent from them; and generate passive income from royalties. That way I could afford to actually finish stories, rather than gamble everything on one but become unable to finish it out of fear of killing the golden goose. I hoped to develop enough cashflow to fund more expensive projects like video game development. 

While it hurt my Patreon revenues (I believe I would probably earn a lot more from Patreon if I had focused entirely on Vainqueur or The Perfect Run/made them last 800 chapters or so), the strategy paid off; I managed to land a webtoon adaptation for Vainqueur, hope to secure one for Never Die Twice in the long-term, and I can write full-time without being entirely dependent on one story/publisher while funding riskier ventures. Everything was well and good.

- What went wrong: pirates of the internet

However... I've been facing with a new unforeseen issue that makes my current model a lot more difficult to implement.

Piracy.

At this point, The Perfect Run, Never Die Twice, and Vainqueur have been uploaded without my consent on dozen of pirate websites with attempts to take them down having so far mostly failed (as pirates don't care about DMCA takedown). I've been considering measures to either damage these websites or redirect the traffic to my main account, but in the end they're like weeds; always coming back.

And that's causing me real problems with Amazon, as I need to prove to them that I am the original owner of the work. That's why the second Perfect Run ebook took so long to get out, and piracy is costing me quite a lot of money in copyright fees. I expect more difficulties with the other volumes left unpublished.

I had planned to use November to accelerate my update schedule, finish Kairos' second volume, and build a larger backlog for Underland... but then I got hit by the news that a dozen sites had copied my stuff (not just the usual suspect I shall not name), which really hit me morally. I feel there was a dip in quality in November because of it. I'm just furious that people not only try to profit from the work I put thousands of hours into, but also make it harder from me to live from it. 

It sucks. Sometimes, I wish we were back in the Middle-Ages where you could cut the thieves' hands. 

I'm really attached to post-by-post and web serials, but the current environment is making it harder to keep with my current model. I've considered a few alternatives, like publishing the full book on Amazon first, then releasing it chapter-by-chapter on Patreon and finally RR; or putting more focus on developing merchandise to make up for the revenue loss. It's currently up in the air. 

But honestly? 

What I really need is time to think. 

- Winter Break & Multimedia Projects

For all of these reasons, I will be taking a two-weeks break in winter, probably from the December 20th to January 4th. 

A preview of my break. 

I haven't had a true break since visiting my family in April, and I feel I need one. I wouldn't say I'm burning out, but I can tell the creative juices are getting a little too dry, especially on the Kairos department. It's a combination of the piracy issue hitting me psychically and long-running exhaustion with writing two stories at once + scripting and other projects. 

The break will also let me rethink my strategy for Amazon, see how I'll adapt from now on. I also would like to rework the Patreon to focus on only one story at a time, as I've realized that running two stories at once limits the growth potential and doesn't give me enough time to build up a chapter backlog.

Finally, a big change for 2022 is that I intend to pursue more multimedia projects beyond writing serials. Besides the Vainqueur webtoon, I'm in early discussion for a few indie projects such as animated shorts or a second webcomic; we'll see how that go, but I hope to give you visual adaptations of Walter Tye or Quicksave's adventures one day.

And well, that's all for it now folks. Stay safe, and write you soon.  

Best regards,

Voidy.