As I type this, I have -$267 in my checking account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yup, it\u2019s me again. Asking for financial support. But this time, it\u2019s not the same kind of appeal. This one comes with the reality of being a working writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within the span of a few months, it is no longer viable for me to be a full-time writer. My sales have plummeted. I was unable to recover a large amount of money from the Facebook hack. We were already reeling from the money we lost in our failed move. And while the Patreon support continues to be incredible, with rent, utilities, car payment, gas, food for a family of four plus pets, a thousand dollars a month isn\u2019t going to make it, even with my husband\u2019s pay (which is over $15\/h, but still not a living wage). I\u2019ve applied for jobs, but until I hear back from anyone, we\u2019re faced with having to get through August, September, and realistically into mid-October, when quarterly royalties will start trickling in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time, I\u2019m not viewing going back to working retail or food service as a failure. I\u2019ll be frustrated at how a day job will cut into my publishing speed, both for books and content here, on Patreon, and YouTube, but I won\u2019t be going to sleep sick to my stomach anymore. I\u2019m not asking the universe for a seven-figure bestseller or a fat traditional publishing advance. What I want more than anything at this moment is for one of these many jobs I\u2019ve applied for to contact me and say, \u201cYes, we will give you money to work here.\u201d I want to be able to know that my paycheck is going to arrive, instead of being the nebulous \u201cmaybe?\u201d that it has been for the past twenty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, I\u2019m looking at a negative bank balance and no certainty that I\u2019ll be able to secure employment. There are other ways to make money. I can sell my books, for example. I have an event in September that I committed to months before Facebook hackers stole thousands of dollars from my business, but I can\u2019t afford to buy books to sell there. If I don\u2019t go to the event and sell the books, I can\u2019t make much needed income, let along make back the money I spent on the nonrefundable hotel room. If I could afford to sue PayPal in small claims court, I could get back the rest of what the hackers stole, but I don\u2019t have the money to file or a way to appear in court in California. Everything that could make money at the moment costs money. Soon, I\u2019ll have a Shopify store up and running to sell signed books, but not in time to deal with the immediate problems that I have. Like the negative bank balance and over a thousand dollars worth of bills still due to come out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s so frustrating to come here for the second time in a year and shake the tin cup at you. But if you feel like you have the resources and\/or spoons to lend a hand, here are some things that I would very much appreciate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n