Today, I got an email from Patreon. Patreon is the only way I get paid for my writing, and I only have about 7 patreons for a total of 15 bucks. But that’s still more money than I was making getting published by magazines.
Here’s the email itself
Alright, sounds good, right? I make more money.
Except, instead of lowering their fees, Patreon has decided to up the fees of the patron. So, if you pledge to me, say, five dollars, you aren’t paying five dollars. Sure, I get that five, but you’re paying 5 + (0.29*5+35). That’s a total of 5.495, or when rounded up, 5.50. You’re paying ten percent more. That number gets even higher when you’re donating a dollar (1+(0.29*1+35) = 1.38, so you’re paying nearly 40% more).
This could be a way of Patreon subtly encouraging you to pay larger pledges, but that may not be reasonable for everyone. Different financial situations don’t mean someone should be shut out of supporting their favourite artists and writers.
According to Patreon, they “ran experiments” and determined that most patrons were happy that more money was going to their chosen artists. That’s fair. But, as a creator, I am not happy that my patrons will be charged more. Sure, I get some more cash in my pocket, but frankly, I’d rather my patrons state they’ll pay 5 dollars, and then actually pay that, even if service fees mean I get less.
Anyways, this is just a headsup, and Patreon is apparently informing all patrons tomorrow of this change. If you are supporting me on patreon, thank you so much, and I’m sorry that this change means you get the short end of the stick.
Lady Jace Of The Fae 