Kim Neville has put together an interesting assessment of Catherynne M. Valente’s new project – Omikuji.
It’s a little known but well documented fact that people who write short stories for a living cannot make a living writing short stories for a living. (got that?)
Valente’s Omikuji is an attempt to make a living at writing short stories by getting her readers to subscribe to her stories. Every month, her subscribers get an exclusive story that will not be published anywhere else. It’s her interpretation of 1000 True Fans.
Think about that? $10/month for a limited, collectible piece of work from your favorite creator.
What happened if someone else did this? Why aren’t more people doing this? Artists, writers, web-comicers, musicians? One small piece of work for $10/month from your fans.
For smaller webcomics, it could be half of one month’s rent (even one fan is $120/year).
For established creators, it could reach five figures easily.
If Penny-Arcade did this, I bet they could close to a million dollars/year – all for doing what they love and giving it to the people who love them for it.
