The Big Patreon Announcement Post

I’m happy to announce that Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs is now on Patreon! It’s been a decision I’ve mulled over for a really long time, and after consulting with the rest of the team and considering my expectations, I finally decided to put a page together and hit “launch.” So… what does it mean for the blog? First of all…

We will continue publishing as we do now.

This is not a paywall. This remains a blog by enthusiasts who do it for the love of the game! Our posting frequency will remain as-is, meaning that as we have material to write about and time in the midst of everything else in our lives, we’ll keep posting at least a few times a month! For the time being, there won’t be any Patreon-exclusive content, but pledges at the $5 level will receive a one-time gift of this snazzy new LITC sticker!

Your pledges go toward sustainability.

If we are able to hit the initial goal number of $20 per month, the blog will pay for itself. That is a small but meaningful weight lifted from my shoulders. At higher goals, I’ll be able to achieve a long-desired ambition of paying contributors for their posts (except for Victoria, who is opting to not accept a cut of the proceeds). I don’t want this to become a “job” for anyone, but I think that we have a valuable and worthwhile body of work established, and just as a friend, I’d love to offer some compensation to the writers who make this possible. I certainly can’t do it alone (special attention must go to Marc Vincent, who has been largely responsible for Vintage Dinosaur Art posts since he jumped aboard in 2011, to my great appreciation). Knowing that we can devote some more time to posting here without taking away from other freelance projects (which most of us depend on) will be a considerable incentive.

As earnings accumulate, so do the possibilities!

I have had some larger scale ideas for a while now that I haven’t had time to properly conceive or plan for. Or, crucially, fund. If we’re able to blow past our Patreon goals to cover the site hosting and maintenance and pay writers per post, some of these projects suddenly become possibilities. Website projects and books are filed away in this cabinet of dreams, but so is the ability to spread the wealth around. I like that LITC has a long tradition of boosting writers, artists, and small businesses of a paleontological orientation, but I’d love to be able to hire people to work on Very Cool Stuff.

And yes, one of my ambitions is to pay Natee buckets of money for a sumptiously illustrated paleoart book.

Patre-what now?

Ah geez, I’m sorry. I’ve been typing away assuming you know what Patreon is. If you haven’t heard of the site before: it is a way to pledge a monthly sum to support independent creators. It’s certainly not an unexplored avenue for creators like us: I highlighted a number of paleontologically inclined Patreons a couple years ago on LITC 1.0 (a list I need to update, I’m sure). The big takeaway is that even a small pledge can be meaningful with this grassroots approach to crowdfunding. I’d prefer an army of small pledges to a few large patrons!

Thank you!

If you feel like our work is worth a little bit of money each month, I hope you will consider making a pledge. Even if you don’t, your shares on social media can make a big difference, as well! The whole LITC team is thankful to everyone who takes the time to read this blog, whether or not you pledge at Patreon. We will keep on doing what we do and improving as best we can!