My daughter and fellow creator introduced me to Ko-fi as a means of promoting my works and sustaining my writing career.

 

If you’re not familiar with it, here’s how it works.

 

The quick take? Think PBS for creative types.

 

I’ve set up (well, okay, Vicki set up) a Ko-fi page as a means of delivering both free and paid content excerpted from my books - print, digital and audio. You can “buy me a coffee” using the Tip Jar, or sign up for a membership which delivers exclusive content each week.

 

This “paid” content will include audio and digital chapters of the books with accompanying photos from my family’s archives.

 

In all, there are four ways to support my writing;

• A “tip” that buys me a cup of coffee which can be any amount you want to put in the virtual jar;

• Joining the Morning Ko-fi Klatch with a contribution of at least $3 per month;

• Becoming a “readalong fan” with a $5 monthly minimum contribution;

• “Keep writing, Terry” - a $10 (or more) monthly contribution.

 

The benefits of each membership tier are outlined here: https://ko-fi.com/terrymcconnell2/tiers

 

Every tip and membership will be recognized on this Patron page of my website. (Unless anonymity is preferred.)

 

So, why have I adopted this "PBS" model?

 

Patrons have supported starving artists—emotionally, spiritually, financially—since the days of Da Vinci and Mozart. In those days, it was an expensive hobby. Nowadays, what with the democratization of the arts through the Internet, that need not be the case. Pennies and dollars can add up in such a way that, as my dad used to put it, keeps the wolf from the door.

 

I realize watching PBS during pledge week can be mildly irritating in the least, and truly cringe-worthy in the extreme. Yet no one really denies the need for public television to raise money to stay on the air. It’s no different for the likes of us, though the remunerative scales are significantly different. No writer in Canada gets rich writing books, unless their name is Margaret Atwood. Or Pierre Berton in his day. It’s a sideline at best. But for some of us, pensioned off and living under reduced circumstances, the sideline becomes the mainline. And that’s where you can help.

 

I do good work. My writing has entertained tens of thousands of readers for years. I’d like to continue entertaining readers for years to come. What vehicles like Ko-fi provide is a way for that to happen. I respectfully ask for your consideration.