An Open Letter (Patreon)

(I've avoided saying anything about this since I felt it would only draw attention to it, but since it's now one of the top results when you search for my name on freaking Google, I don't see much point in keeping my mouth shut.)

To the patron(s) that share their log-in information with a piracy site,

Did I offend you somehow? Do you have a problem with the work I make, or with the quality? You obviously think it's worth your money since you paid for a subscription. Do you just think it's not worth anyone else's?

Do you want me to have to stop doing this because I can't make a living at it anymore? Because another year of this, and I could see it happening. Ever since my work started showing up on there earlier this year, my Patreon numbers have stayed firm, (Thank you all for subscribing!) but my book sales have plummeted. We're talking $5-10,000 a year, just gone. That's the difference between making a living at this and not. Hell, I'm in my forties; that's the difference between being able to eventually retire and not. And I know I'm not entitled to earn a living at this, but you're not entitled to give away my work and stay ignorant of the cost. And if you want to argue that you may not be the reason for the decline: there's only one way we'll find that out, isn't there?

I'd also like to point something out to you: Every page on that site has a bunch of banner and pop-up ads. You paid to give them free access to my work and they're using it to generate ad revenue. Apparently you think they should be able to make money off of my comics instead of me.

In closing, I'm not some huge, faceless corporation; I'm just one guy making fetish art in his living room. I started doing this as a way to work from home, so I could take care of my mom while she fought a battle with cervical cancer, and I've been lucky enough to be able to keep doing it after she passed away. There's lots of people out there with Patreon sites who have stories like mine, and I'd like you to stop and think about what you're doing and who you're doing it to. But really, I'd like you to just stop. 

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I apologize to everyone else for going all "Woe is me!" this morning. I've tried to keep my head down and ignore it, and I'll probably lose patrons by even talking about it, but this is the first time in the five-plus years that I've been making these comics where I've started to worry about the future of doing it. Normal smut-posting will resume shortly.

(Also: When I asked about setting up my own website last month, this was the reason why. The good news is that I can keep handling subscriptions through Patreon, and just have you log-in with your patreon info to access certain areas.)