I Need Your Help… aka Save Me From Snorting
I need your help.
No, I haven’t fallen down a well. Or been possessed by a disembodied phantom (though that would make for a fabulous story).
But I need you. Yes, you. Right there. Not someone else. Not the person you could share this post with. Or their Aunt Mabel.
You.
Because you’re my reader. And that means you have a vested interest in Flash Fiction Online and the FlashBlog.
You see, Flash Fiction Online and the FlashBlog are free. As in, you don’t have to put a credit card number in the tiny box and push pay. You don’t have to insert quarters into the DVD drive of your laptop (PS. It doesn’t work. My three year old tried it. Took him $1.25 and the Geek Squad to learn that it doesn’t make change. And they thought *I* put the quarters in. Seriously. Because grown women looove to put quarters in DVD drives.. Sorry. Rant over.)
Yes. The magazine you know and love is free. And our authors are paid professional rates. Most of our staff are writers. We know firsthand how little writers are actually paid. And writing takes work. And time…oodles of time. Staring at the screen. Plotting. Planning. Writing. Re-writing. Critiquing. Throwing it all out and starting again… You get the idea.
We believe we should actually PAY writers for what they do. They’ve honed their craft enough to produce the beautiful stories we bring you every month. They deserve every penny I pay them and then some. Many magazines only pay a fraction of what we do. Or nothing at all. Some places even ask writers to pay them to be published (Yes, really. Don’t do that. But that’s another post.)
So how do you take a free magazine and shake enough coins out of its pockets to pay for three professional stories a month? Plus custom illustrations and web hosting fees and all the other little dribs and drabs that add up?
Well, that’s where I’m hoping you come in.
Flash Fiction Online has teamed up with Patreon, an amazing crowd-funding site that pairs donors with creators. We’re looking for donors willing to pledge a certain amount for every new issue that we produce. And you set that amount based on your own budget (and the luminous generosity of your sweet, sweet spirit… overkill? Yes? Sorry. I’m trying here.)
Better yet, there are individual rewards and incentives for the magazine as a whole. If Flash Fiction Online reaches a donor level of $300/month the heavens will open and a winged pegasus will… Nah. Actually we’ll add a fourth story twice a year for you. Way better and far less smelly.
On an individual level, for $2/month, you get an ongoing e-subscription for Flash Fiction Online delivered directly to your inbox in either epub, PDF, or mobi format.
Or… drum roll… my favorite and something we have requests for on a regular basis… starting at $10/month, you can send in your own manuscript and have it critiqued by FFO’s senior staff (including She Who Wields Great Editorial Power aka Suzanne Vincent herself).
So. Moment of truth.
To donate: Click here.
Please don’t reduce me to grovelling. It’s not pretty. The mascara begins to look like a raccoon and I get the worst crying face ever. And I snort. Yes, I confess. I’m a snorting, sniffling beggar. Don’t make me do it.
If you can’t help us out, don’t worry. I won’t snort at you. I still love you just because you love us enough to have read this far. But I will ask a favor. Share this link on your favorite form of social media for me. (Let the whole world know about my little sniffling problem. Great…)
Help us get the word out. Donate if you can. But most of all, keep reading!
All my best,
Anna Yeatts,
Publisher