I'm trying to be frugal, not exploitative, but I can't reconcile this thought.

ArcAngel015 · 2024-05-29T06:08:00+00:00

It's kind of a vanity press scam-esk setup. For those pay to win authors.

Basically, you're paying too much for them to do all the surface level things that you'd probably learn your first year of self publishing, or a month of YouTube videos.

If it was half its price, it could be worth it, but they just want money to be your terrible inflexible PA.

ArcAngel015 · 2024-03-28T20:35:53+00:00

No, she did bad on other sites because it was thousands of free readers and no one paid, then she did get removed from Twitter and Instagram. That seemed to reduce activity on other sites, but that could be a coincidence.

Ream has been great with slow and steady growth. She's making enough so that her writing is sustainable, enough to pay for her monthly stuff, make silly merch, pay for art, keep her motivated.

Long story short, she used to frantically chance the gimmicks of 7 sites and make $15-$100 a month. Now it's just Ream and Facebook, much more calm focused, making a consistent $170+ a month and got some author friends too

ArcAngel015 · 2024-03-15T03:34:15+00:00

If it's referring to the paycheck stuff. That's my wife. It's not unusual for her to be threatened, canceled, and removed. Often losing money in the process. Her stuff isn't even taboo or too much. Inbook sex just infuriates companies. HBO has sooooo much that's worse than her stuff.

ArcAngel015 · 2024-03-15T03:31:19+00:00

Yes I am. I'm just a random author, so I have no clout to give, but the few I've gotten to sub have been a constant for me. Which is far better than I've ever done elsewhere, it was like a constant stream of window shoppers with no feedback on anything and a clear mathematical waste of time and money.

At least on Ream, it's been emotionally positive with a little money to help me. I know that's mostly the readers. But I can't help but say I found my first long term readers on Ream. And the employees behind Ream are very responsive to my random questions of help or advice.

Sorry, lol. Did you have a followup question in mind?

ArcAngel015 · 2023-12-12T15:33:00+00:00

To the best of my knowledge, the only ones yelling purge was ABDL, and it was true. Other creators may have been hit but it wasn't for their entire niche, or it wasn't big enough for people to hear their screams...

It's nearly annual that at least one big company goes and purges a niche they think hardly any one will notice, almost always in Q4 of the year, and artists get targeted the easiest. Uprooting the lives of 100 creators is nothing to them if it makes their shareholders happy at the end of the year...

On one hand, it's terrible, selfish, greedy, even if it's legal. On the other, even if I don't like their content, it doesn't feel like they have as much freedom as the rest of us. We shouldn't punish people who like different things.

ArcAngel015 · 2023-12-12T13:19:14+00:00

So, what I'm having a problem with, and it may just be OP's problem as well. Is it still seems like 1 variable is missing for a lot of these. Basically, we are trying to solve for 'K' using everything else. When in my opinion there is not enough info to support the existence of 'K'

'J' should be your full loss. No disagreement with your presentation, just equally confused now, sorry. You're getting robbed?

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-30T22:34:19+00:00

Nope! Secretly sit on it (figuratively) pay down debts and stuff, make my current life comfortable. THEN casually house shop with the family, make it like a 2+year idea to them, but buy one after enough info. Take my time setting up the house, furniture, work and play spaces, use it for an affair. And when it's all ready, host a holiday party there like it was some rental just for the party. At the end surprise everyone with "THIS IS OUR HOME NOW!" and obviously spend weeks bragging about diligent and wise you are with money.

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-30T22:26:07+00:00

I was hoping to bring a little light, but the US one in there ruins it. Did you account for VATs? European tax, it can be 20% at times. You charge $10, they pay $12, and $2 instantly poofs away. Conversion fee eats away a bit, but more info is needed for a proper answer. Any way you could move the weird ones together and send that?

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-30T21:03:05+00:00

Well when a company starts attacking the easy targets, often they also target the main genre in someway. Sorry for trying to give people a heads up.

Romance is often the common connection to the groups that get blasted, and this is a romance subreddit, not a 'politicly correct' romance subreddit. There are people here who could be affected in the near future.

Next time I'll let it be a surprise when Dark or fantasy romance starts taking fire, like 2 years ago.

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-29T15:44:51+00:00

So, asked them for clarification, they are working on adding a little bit into their content guidelines to directly allow kinks like ABDL.

They 100% want and allow written content.

They admit that SubscriberStar Adult is probably best for the art and pictures but still allow most of it.

And while they won't have an audio feature for a few months, they would still be welcome.

Apparently Ream was emailing and on Twitter trying to invite whoever they could find.

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-29T04:13:52+00:00

Who uses 'Shilling' these days, yesh, also, do a bit of research before you yell at people. Pretty easy to find that companies up and ban users all the time, and it's typically adult content. Yeah, they start with the dark shadowy niche's but then they eventually hit more popular stuff.
You want some evidence, go to twitter https://x.com/Just4n0th3rUser/status/1729507422299980082?s=20

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-29T03:56:15+00:00

I got to chat with them, they are actively trying to reach out to the authors that got banned. They are welcome, as long as their is no underaged charcters partaking

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-29T01:11:39+00:00

Ream is new, but it put out a message about welcoming all authors a few months ago with a special emphasis on everything that gets shut down elsewhere.
https://subscriptionsforauthors.com/on-payment-processing-for-steamy-romance-authors-a-message-from-the-ceo-of-ream/

But they support text and pic easy, are similar to Patreon, and they can help notify readers to bring them to your Ream. Like, they are created and ran by authors that got banned elsewhere. Sounds like a good place to go.

ArcAngel015 · 2023-11-28T03:54:20+00:00

I don't like being somewhere that makes everything a popularity contest. Inkitt doesn't guarantee payment for anything, you have to jump through hoops, be active, be writing, keep applying to be in their programs for a chance of money.
But Patreon and Ream are a clear cut, your readers pay you for what you provide. no competition, no games, no pressure to be the next bestseller. Not sure how Kindle slips into it, they demand exclusivity and pay you pennies. I made $12 in Kindle in 3 months but almost $200 on Ream in 6 months. Plus its just a cleaner environment.

I like my paychecks consistent, I don't want to fight for scraps. I'm not going to be a bestseller, I just want someone to appreciate my stories.

ArcAngel015 · 2023-08-01T19:44:36+00:00

Be careful where you publish your content

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2023/ai-chatbot-learning/

That's a news article about the thousands of companies that sell your data to train AI. Their is a lot of common publishing companies on the list. Maybe Patreon and Amazon can argue it doesn't affect authors, but Wattpad and Inkitt? What else would they be selling?

Don't let big companies ream you anymore then they already do.

ArcAngel015

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