Special August Patreon announcement!

I posted this over on Patreon today but I'm sharing it here as well, because . . . maybe if you like my posts you would also like to support them a bit? And/or maybe you would like some extra content this month? Head right this way to sign up.

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Happy August! (How is it August already??) Yesterday was my birthday, so this seems like a good time to stop and take stock of things in general and in particular including this Patreon! I'm trying to figure out how to tweak things a bit so that you guys are getting what you want out of it AND it doesn't all fall apart when I have a few rough/busy months, as it did this spring.

So! What does this mean for you? For right now, it means that you're going to get a BUNCH OF EXTRA STUFF in August - some rewards for levels you don't normally receive, and maybe some new stuff I'm trying out. I hope you enjoy it.

At the end of the month, I'm going to ask you to let me know which rewards you enjoyed and which you didn't really care about, and then I'll use that information to revamp the reward structure going forward.

And then in September I'll announce any changes, and you can move your support level around as you see fit.

(And if you're reading this but not a patron yet - if you sign up for whatever amount this month, you'll get extra stuff and help me with this process!)

I hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any questions.

xoxo, Kate

Patreon Spotlight: Interviews and Guest Posts!

One of the reasons I have a Patreon is to help me publish different kinds of content here, not just more. So I wanted to tell you about my next goal! Because that's very focused in that area.

When my patronage level reaches $100 per month, I'm going to start getting you at least one interesting interview or guest post a month here. I really like the idea of hosting some different voices. For one thing, it just gives you a change from listening to my opinions about everything all the time. And, more importantly, I'm hoping to pull in some perspectives you might not otherwise get the chance to hear.

Wondering what this actually means? Well, how about a few examples? For the first few months once we reach this level: actress/writer Kate Hackett and author Susan Adrian will both stop by. (More on the latter in a second.) I've got an awesome young queer sex educator who will come recommend some non-terrible sex ed resources for the kids and teens in your life. I haven't actually talked to her about it yet, but I'm planning to drag my mom in to talk about health care policy from a pediatrician's point of view. (Hi Mom!) And remember Vampire Legal Issues? Our favorite vampires are no longer on TV, but plenty of other fictional characters are making terrible estate planning decisions, and Lawyer Christine will come back to yell at them.

And... it also means that when we reach the goal I'll put up a notice about how YOU and anyone else interested can pitch me guest posts. I'll even pay you for them.

So. As of this writing, we're at $53. $47 to go. Even $1 a month helps a lot (and gets you an exclusive monthly update on my work!). Any more than that gets you extra content: more links, playlists, recipes, all sorts of stuff. And I said I'd get back to Susan... the thing I have planned with her is really awesome and... really Christmas-related. I'd love to publish it in November to help get us all in the mood (and... maybe help you with your Christmas shopping?!?!). That gives us about two months to reach this goal. Let's do this.

Patreon Spotlight: Group hangouts!

I made some big changes in my Patreon this month, so I'll be spotlighting various rewards and goals as the month progresses!

One new reward I'm pretty excited about goes to all patrons at the $3 level and up: monthly group hangouts! I was a little hesitant to do this, because I kinda figured no one would want it, but I support a few Patreons that have similar things and they're actually really fun! How it works: We all jump on a Skype call or similar and just hang out and talk about whatever - stuff in the news or what we're reading or what's going on in our lives. Or you can ask me questions about what I'm working on or links I've posted or whatever. It's a fun way to build a bit of community around here. I hope you'll give it a try with me!

If you're already a $3+ patron, head right over here to vote on when we should have our September hangout!

And if you'd like to jump in for September, join now!

Things are happening!

Happy September! Again. I know I said that this morning, but I'm REALLY happy about it. So I figured September 1st was the perfect time to make some changes. As soon as the weather turns, I start waking up with energy and ideas and ambition. I love the back to school feeling, even though I'm not going back to school. So I figured I'd try to capture that feeling and that energy and channel them into making this blog and my Patreon into what I'd love them to be. (Plus, it gave me an excuse to use dorky school-themed names for the reward levels.)

I'm telling you about this here partially because the Patreon changes will mean a few changes you'll see on the blog as well, and partially to encourage blog readers to consider joining me on Patreon. I've never wanted readers to feel pressured about this, because I want these link posts, especially, to be available to everyone regardless of ability to pay, and because I really do enjoy putting them together - but it is a not insignificant time and energy commitment for me, and getting compensated for that time means I can continue prioritizing those posts and will be in less danger of burning out. The great thing about the Patreon model is that for most people, a $1 or $3 per month contribution wouldn't even be noticeable in their own finances, but they build together to make a small but steady stream of income I can depend on. And it's (I hope!) not all one-sided - patrons get all sorts of extra exclusive content at the various levels. So please head over and check it out!

Now, what's changing on the blog, you ask?

First of all, the links aren't going anywhere. Don't worry.

But! In addition to the links, you'll now get at least two non-link posts a week. One of these will be a recommendation of something I'm liking (book, movie, show, music, food, app, whatever!), and the other will be whatever grabbed my interest and made me want to write about it that week - something related to current events or pop culture or whatever else I'm thinking about.

Ads are gone. They went away today. Frankly, the TINY bit of money I got from them wasn't worth making you guys look at them every day.

New colors and layout! I like the blue but I'm still considering whether I like the new left sidebar. If you have strong opinions either way, let me know in the comments!

My next Patreon goal will mean a big change for the blog as well: When I get to $100 a month, I'll start publishing a guest post or interview each month. I really love the idea of getting some voices other than mine on here, and I have all sorts of ideas for who to get to talk to you. Look for a whole post about this next week, but for now let me say that I have an AWESOME holiday-related interview lined up... so let's try to get to $100 in time, okay??

I changed up the Patreon rewards today too. One big change is that ALL levels $3 and up will now have a monthly Skype hangout! I'm looking forward to that - sign up soon to get in on the poll for September's scheduling. The monthly recipe reward is now just $10, and there are some new higher levels: everything from exclusive playlists to peeks at my novel in progress to ASSIGNING ME HOMEWORK (blog posts) to getting my help editing YOUR writing. You can see them all in the right column here!

I'm going to be plugging all this a bit this month to get it off the ground; I'm apologizing in advance because I HATE marketing myself and I'm sure it's annoying to read. But you can absolutely help (and make me quiet down about it sooner) by sharing - sharing the Patreon and blog in general, sharing the link posts with your friends who might find them useful, sharing other posts that catch your eye.

As always, thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or suggestions, let me know!

So I have this Patreon...

I do! You can find it here. I haven't talked about it much recently (and don't worry, I'm not going to start plugging it constantly or anything), partially because I haven't been doing much with it and have been struggling to keep up with the way I structured it. SO, I'm going to revamp it a bit, and I'm looking for some input, whether or not you've joined me over there!

If you are or have been a patron - what did you like? What parts didn't you care about? What rewards do you wish there were?

If you're NOT a patron - what are the kinds of rewards or blog content that might make you consider joining? What have you liked/not liked in other Patreons you've dealt with in general?

And because this affects ALL blog readers, not just patrons - the link posts aren't going anywhere, but what ELSE would you like to see around here? I've been having a hard time with book reviews because most of my book thoughts are going to my Tinyletter, so I'm thinking about other kinds of posts. What would you like to read about?

Morning Coffee (2/19/16)

Happy Friday! Sorry so late - I saw all the animated AND live action shorts last night and then got home completely wired and couldn't sleep until two, so I slept in this morning.

ICYMI: I liked The Hateful Eight more than I expected.

Since a few people have asked recently: If you'd like to help offset the cost of these Oscar posts, you can become a Patreon patron or, if you'd rather make a one-time donation for this project, you can do so through PayPal here.

Let's get your Friday off to a good start with Maggie Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio on the BAFTA Kiss Cam.

And this is the kind of longread you should save for Friday afternoon boredom: Bad Blood the Color of Rubies (It's about a JEWELRY DYNASTY FEUD. It's very dishy, and I want someone to write the novel about the women who end up marrying the central figures.)

It was so kind of Ryan Reynolds to imply that he and Josh Jackson totally made out in high school.

Meet the Most Powerful Woman in Hollywood

This is a really interesting profile of . . . Justin Bieber?!?!

My new goal in life is to make/inherit/marry into enough money to hire the folks at Heywood Hill to make me a library.

I love KonMari parodies: "Burn all your books. We will have a special book incineration ceremony in the town square this weekend followed by a tidiness parade. Please report your friends who do not attend."

Kate Spade is really speaking my language this fall.

One Man's Impossible Quest to Read - and Review - the World

I hope you're ready to really want a bagel.

State of the Patreon update!

It's February - !!! - which means that my first month of Patreon pledges are processing, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who have signed up. After fees and such, it's at a little over $30 a month, which is more than I really expected, and enough to let me buy a few movie tickets or books to review - which means enough to make a small but real difference to me. That amount means we've passed the first two goals - link posts on weekends, as you've been seeing, and a monthly book review, which will start this month. The next goal, at $50, will get you a second review each month (either another book or a movie or show or something else). Want to jump in and help? Find out how here.

And for current patrons - if you have any questions about how your payment is processing, let me know and I'll see what I can see from my end. And if you're at a level that gets you special content, it's in the works and will be coming your way by the 11th. (Oscar Project + New Hampshire primary = TOO MUCH TO DO.) Thank you again!

Patreon!

As I mentioned in my New Year's update, a few readers have asked if there's a way to financially support the link posts and blog in general. This post explains how that is possible! So if you are interested in hearing about that, read on. If not, this is what you need to know: the reader experience won't change; posts aren't going behind a paywall or anything.

For those unfamiliar with the site: Patreon is a service that lets individual small donors band together to support creators with monthly pledges. It's sort of like crowdfunding on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, except it's for ongoing work rather than a time-limited project. You pledge whatever amount per month you want and from your end it's a recurring automatic payment, like you might have set up for the New York Times or Netflix or something. From my end, once a month I get a payment from Patreon for what was given that month by my patrons.

And based on the amount you give, you get rewards! (They stack, so at each level you also get all the rewards from the previous levels.) They're all detailed on my page, but a few examples: for $1 you get a thank you and monthly updates on what I'm working on. Anyone giving $5 a month or more gets a newsletter with bonus links and other content that didn't make the blog. The $10 level also gets my Pop Culture Diary of what I'm reading/watching/listening to and how I feel about it. And so on. (You can change your pledge amount easily at any time; I am a patron of some people and have done this successfully with no problems!) I've also set up some milestone goals for things I will be able to afford to write/post when the total amount per month hits certain benchmarks - everything from book reviews to commissioning guest posts.

Questions? Let me know! Want to read more about this or sign up? Click here!

Question: Do you care about disclaimers in reviews?

First, context: I'm planning to start posting a list of books I've read each month, with maybe a few sentences about why I did/didn't like each one. So, in thinking about this, I had a question . . .

What level of disclaimer do you care about when I'm recommending books by authors I know or am in some way connected to? It seems obvious that I should mention if I work for someone. But what if I just know someone? Do you only care if I consider them a friend? What if we're Twitter buddies, or I worked with them at a conference once? What if we have mutual friends? What if I don't know them but know their agent or editor? What if I do freelance work for their agent?

On the one hand, I am happy to provide this information, and don't want to seem like I'm secretly pushing my friends' stuff or anything. (I'm happy to openly push my friends' stuff.) And let's face it: while I would never lie about my opinion of a book because I knew the author, it's ridiculous to pretend that it's possible to stamp out all subconscious bias. On the other hand, I don't want book posts to come across as "Here is a list of authors I know" or, worse, "Look how connected I am."

Thoughts? How do you handle writing about books (or movies, or TV, or games, or . . .) made by people you know? How do you want me to handle it here?

Morning Coffee: Brief Hiatus

Happy Monday! Because of the volume of TV news this week and a bunch of travel I'm doing in the next few weeks, Morning Coffee is going on a brief hiatus, because there are only so many hours in the day. I'll try to do some link roundups a few times a week, but it won't be an every morning thing. We'll get back to normal in June. Thanks for understanding!

SOPA Strike

In a gesture of support for SOPA Strike, I won't be posting any new content on Wednesday. Please read about the issue, and I'll see you Thursday!

Tonight's Premieres and a Note

I hurt my back in a way that makes typing painful, so things will be quiet here today. Enlightened and Bored to Death are premiering tonight on HBO - check their site for details.

Premiere Season Fatigue

I was going to say that premiere season is about over, but that's not quite true: there are a bunch of premieres in October. I think what I mean is just that I AM DONE. I have hit that wall and all I can think is "OMG I JUST WANT TO READ A BOOK AND COOK A REAL MEAL AND MAYBE CLEAN MY HOUSE." So. This is basically to say that my thoughts on a bunch more pilots will trickle in, but otherwise we're going to try for some sort of balance around here - instead of making myself write about a million shows, I'll narrow that down a little and resume reviewing books and posting about food and all that.

Shows I will probably write about regularly: Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, Community. I'll keep checking in on Ringer, for now, and maybe add Terra Nova to that list. Possibly Hart of Dixie. And whatever else catches my interest on a given week. That sound reasonable?

So. New blog!

You may be wondering why I'm trying out this new space. I've been considering a change for a while, and yesterday I decided to just go for it. I'm hoping this version of the blog will make things better in a few ways . . .

1. The name/URL is more consistent with the version(s) of my name I use everywhere else.

2. The comment options are better, especially because I don't have to manually approve each one.

3. Blogger allows posting by e-mail and other easier mobile options.

4. I can schedule posts to automatically post in the future.

5. It's easier to mess around with the layout and to keep the layout consistent across all pages.

6. Tags! And a tag cloud! I am rather too excited about this.

7. Multiple authors gives me the option to have guest bloggers in the future.

8. Things are just generally easier to change and keep track of with Blogger.

9. And this lets me have that Google/Blogger "follow" thing. I STILL don't understand why people use that. Isn't it like RSS but inferior? Get off my lawn! Anyway. You all use it, and now I have it.

So . . . yes. Here we are. Comments? Suggestions? Anything not working/difficult to read/etc.?