So it's been forever....

[2metaldog]

Just what the title says. It's been forever since I posted here. Truthfully, I needed to Google how to do a cut thingie because it's been so long (and then I saw the little tool doohickey and wow, it really has been forever since I don't remember that being there the last time I posted). Long post is also going to be long.

Comments

[liralen]

Glad to hear that you're well, and I'm glad that the change in employment has actually been all right for you!!

Sorry about your husband being trapped away from you and unable to sell things, that has to suck.

I think you should make money off the stories. xD One way or another, Patreon is cool for those who want an early look or more in-depth thoughts from you and then use Ao3 for publication and getting more following? If you post regularly, people follow. It's amazing how well that works. It's how a lot of YouTubers seem to live, the patreon for those who really want to support you long term and they can do it in small increments which doesn't strain anyone in these COVID times.

Huh. Does livejournal allow you to advertise and make money off certain posts? And let some people see your posts without ads? That would be amazing....

[2metaldog]

It's been an interesting year. It's been a tough couple of years, too.

I'm not really sure how Patreon works. I'd probably need to check it out more and figure out if it would be a good fit for me or not.

I primarily keep the journal here for 1 community and several people that don't have other social media accounts (that I'm aware of). Frequently the only update/new posts I see are from the community I belong to so I'm not certain how active LJ as a whole is anymore.

[liralen]

It really isn't that active. A lot of it moved over to Dreamwidth, which is fairly active, but in a different way than the old Livejournal.

I'd love to know what you think of Patreon.

I hope the upcoming time will be easier on you.

[2metaldog]

The Patreon thing will go on my to-do list but it's fairly far down said list. Other things are more of a priority for me although it likely seems wonky to others.

Like I just spent 2.5 hours adding hair to a wig, 8-10 strands at a time because I'm nuts and wanted to get it done and couldn't wait to work on it at a reasonable hour like normal people (it's after 2am here).

[hpstrangelove]

Good to see you're doing well. Wow, and I was feeling sorry for myself having to be away from my hubby for four months (because of the virus). Now I don't feel so bad.

I'm fortunate to be able to do my work over the Internet, but I've also been super busy because I work for a lab which started Covid testing. I had to program all that and boy it has been - interesting. I have not been on LJ since March and am only now trying to catch up on my flist. Don't know how long that will last.

Good luck with the writing. I support a cartoonist via Patreon. He publishes updates twice a week. I think that because Patreon is like a 'subscription', if you don't publish something consistently, people loose interest after a while.

[2metaldog]

Even when I post stuff over on Ao3, I do it only when I've completed a story. I'm currently following a few stories there and one had the author drop the project *sigh* and the other two have been very sparse with chapter updates lately. I'm a reader as well as a writer and I do know the pain of waiting for the next chapter to come out.

I think if I were to do a Patreon thing, I'd need to be far more disciplined about writing than I currently am despite not having a job anymore. Thing is, I'm easily distracted by other stuff and I let myself be distracted so it takes me quite some time to finish things. There's also the fact that the stories I write tend to go into epic size works and the bigger the story, the longer it takes to complete it.

It's been... different to not live in the same house for so long. I don't really do Xmas since I never celebrated it growing up but The Boy and the grandkids do and its hard for them to not see him for so long.

[pugsley]

Wow!! It really has been a long time since hearing from you, yet it's been a long time for me too. 😅

I am happy to hear you are doing good, but sad to hear your husband is not with you during this crazy pandemic. I wish you both the best, and hope you'll be together soon.

I saw a suggestion for you to try Patreon, and I, 2nd that recommendation for your stories, i remember you having such a creative mind for storytelling, and I know several people who have done well there with their ideas.

If you do get setup on Patron, please let me know, I would love to check you out there.

I also want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, as well, since it is close to Christmas and the new year is right around the corner. I wish you the best for the year to come, and please stay safe and be well. 😘💕💕

[2metaldog]

Thank you. Best wishes for the season to you as well.

I need to check out Patron. Earning income from my writing would be awesome. If you're interested, you can pop over to my author page on Ao3 and read some new stuff.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/ID_Locke/works

[pugsley]

Thank you for the Ao3 link to your stuff there, I will definitely check it out. 👍💕

Ikigai

[ext_5642585]

Hey so I originally found you on ao3 and you gave me links to your lj and your dreamwidth. I'm sorry to hear about the physical distance but I'm glad you're doing things that you love. I wanted to talk to you about ikigai (thank you gabriel iglesias) it's supposedly a Japanese thought to help people give what to do. If you're great at it, you live doing it, the world needs it, and you can get paid for it - then that's your ikigai. (From what I understood from the Netflix episode). So you're great at writing, from what I understand you love doing it, the world absolutely has a need for it (authors are necessary and I'll fight someone who says otherwise), and you definitely should be paid for it

Re: Ikigai

[2metaldog]

When I was published (about 10 years worth of having my stuff pro-published), I didn't make much money doing it. A good portion of that falls on my shoulders because I'm horrible at self-promotion. But at that time it wasn't about the money as I was working full-time at a good paying job I really enjoyed doing (architecture and structural engineering). I believe I learned quite a bit from that publishing experience on the back end and think it's helped me put out better stories

[dreamcypher]

Was revisiting some of my favorite stories recently and came back to yours! I read above that you've moved to AO3, so I'm going to check out your stuff there. Though I still have been holding out a secret hope that you'll revisit some of your unfinished fanfics someday! Either way, I hope that things are going well, and I'll check you out on AO3.

[2metaldog]

I hope you enjoy what I've got posted to Ao3. At this time I don't have plans to get back into fanfics although it does bother me that I've left some unfinished.

I'm doing well. I had my round with Covid earlier this year and fortunately it wasn't too bad and I came out of it ok. Still puttering along on the writing, too.

[dreamcypher]

I just got over a round of covid a couple of weeks ago, and it was awful! I'm glad that yours was a milder version and that you're doing well now. Do you still have books published somewhere? I've missed your writing.

Yes, my secret hold-out hope that you go back and finish up Saiyuki is not likely to happen, but I'm still going to keep it, lol! You're one of my favorite authors, and I still go back and visit that and your Weiss Kreuz ones every so often. I'm definitely up for more of your work, so I'll check you out on AO3. But if you're books are available somewhere, that would be good to know, too!

[2metaldog]

I was very fortunate that it was as mild as it was considering my shitty immune system and other health issues