Content Schedule Update (Patreon)

Hail and well met, fans of the Realms!

Ivan from ManyRealms here with a quick update about the direction of the Patreon moving forward. We've received some killer feedback and have been experimenting with release schedules, new content ideas, and what the Patreon model looks like in relation to the YouTube, and thought we would share where our heads have been with it.

Functionally, not much is changing for Patrons. Up until this point we have been releasing a Realmslore write-up (with audiobook) early in the week, and later in the week we've been releasing weekly YouTube videos and posting the "extended cuts" here on Patreon on the same day. This is going to be slightly different in the following ways:

• All new Realmslore on the Patreon will be released in the same audiobook format we have been doing but we will now also be releasing the video as well (unless an exception like lost data or failed infrastructure inhibits this).
• We are no longer going to coordinate YouTube releases specifically with what releases on Patreon the same week. You may see different videos releasing throughout the week than what appears on YouTube (details outlined in the next bullet points.
• Because of the above point, this means that content that comes out on the normal release days is going to be Patreon-exclusive on release and not exist elsewhere, in any other form, at time of release.
• We will be sourcing the Patreon's repository of published Realmslore posts and be picking select snippets and segments (and sometimes the entire thing if it happens to be a shorty) for editing into the regular YouTube videos (e.g., "Top 10 Hot Dog Stands In the Forgotten Realms" releases on Patreon, then sometime much later down the line, we may pull segments out of that video like "Joe-Bob's Waterdeep Hotdog Stand Serves THIS Interesting Condiment" for the regular YouTube videos).
• We are going to maintain the current schedule of posting new, never-before-seen Realmslore at a rate of 1.5x-2x per week (subject to variability, plus bonus content, updates, etc. as they pop up). The YouTube release schedule will be wholly unrelated to the Patreon schedule, and there may come a time where we have YouTube specific content (e.g., collabs, reviews, commentary, time-sensitive content) that might not fit into the Patreon paradigm and would only add to Patreon bloat by having the same exact video living on Patreon and YouTube at the same time.
• We're working on noodling through what live streams, both public and Patreon exclusive, might look like. Scheduling is tough at the moment with the sheer amount of work that goes into this, but it's a goal we're working toward.

This new Patreon-first approach we're implementing provides us (and you) with several advantages:

• This new "Patreon-first" workflow is going to allow us to talk about a much wider breadth of topics without feeling like we're constrained by doing things in a particular format or on particular subject matter based on whether or not it will succeed as a YouTube video.
• Prioritizing Patreon content means that we can release timely and unadulterated interviews, listicles, deep dives, etc. that haven't gotten the "mass publication" treatment (i.e., simple and clean Realmslore in longform without unnecessary flash, ads, or edits that might detract from the experience for folks who came to the Patreon specifically for that).
• We will no longer feel pressured to release two separate cuts of the same video simultaneously on the same day, which means that we can be more attentive about providing Patrons with the stuff they really want.
• Every post that comes out on Patreon will essentially be way early access. Even when we source these videos for YouTube-specific content later down the line, they will be trimmed down and have a noticeably different flow/format than the original Patreon content. We're still going to work to make the YouTube videos as helpful, informative, and good as we possibly can, but Patrons will have access to everything that is released publicly much more ahead of time.

I'm sure that there's something I'm missing, but for the time being I think that about covers it. We'll continue to learn what works best and what doesn't together, and we're all really excited that you're along for this legendary adventure through the Realms!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please know that me, the rest of ManyRealms, and Ed are open books. You can get a hold of us on Discord, through here, or whatever works best and we'll be sure to address any legitimate inquiries.

We're all really excited about the direction in which things are going! We love being able to produce this Realmslore for you, and we're committed to doing everything we can to continue to grow this community and provide the most exciting content possible. We hope to continue to be able to do so for a long time.

But most importantly...

THANK YOU!
Thanks so much for all of your support because, honestly, it's Realms fans like you that make this whole project possible. Without your backing we, very seriously, would not be able to do what we're doing. No videos. No write-ups. No audiobooks. No meetups. Not even a YouTube channel. Nada. Our time genuinely wouldn't allow because, not for nothin', a little birdy told me that Ed really likes to eat, and I think I read somewhere that he actually needs food to survive. Weird, huh?

Without your support, all of us would be forced to work on other things that may be less Realms-y, less available, and way less fun for everyone (especially us), and we simply wouldn't have the currency to fund the necessary operational costs to make this all happen.

Cheers, and we're excited to keep pushing out the stuff we all geek out over. That's the beauty of all of this; getting to hang and just geek out together (and no, that's not a euphemism).

Hugs,
Ivan & Ed