Firstly, I don’t want anyone to worry, either
about me or about the blog. I’m okay, or will be, and the blog will
continue much as before, with the same sort of mix of content. For
those who have backed my
Patreon, I apologise for the lack of updates (though the backing
never reached the level where I made a commitment to a certain rate
of posting), and that will get better.
In a few weeks, I will have posted 40 maxims and
aphorisms, 20 of each. There are a couple more waiting after that,
and I assume that more will be along in due time, but 20 of each
seems like a good, round number to pause in the weekly posting, and
to stop and reflect. I’m considering posting instead, for a while,
a reflection on each of the maxims and aphorisms. As written
ministry, I don’t consider myself an authority on what each of them
mean, but it might be worthwhile to share my own thoughts on them,
one at a time. It may also prove an impetus for others to discuss
them.
I’m also seriously considering the idea of
publishing, in print and/or e-book form, one or more collections of
my writing. This could be through a publisher, if one will agree (and
I have very little idea how to go about that – Quaker Books, which
I understand to essentially be an imprint of Britain Yearly Meeting,
would seem to be an obvious choice, though I don’t know how to get
in touch with them), or I can self-publish. Amazon make that
relatively easy for print books, and e-books could go through Amazon
and through Smashwords, who syndicate to a lot of other platforms
including Apple and Google.
Self-publishing would mean I make money, which
some may think crass but is important; I need to make more, and
support through Patreon isn’t exactly flooding in. If I put time
into this, I need to make a return. Publishing through a publisher, I
have no idea if they would pay anything, fee or royalty, and if they
did it would most likely be a smaller share than one would make
self-publishing. On the other hand, it would have more visibility and
a wider audience, and the ideas and thoughts getting out as widely as
possible is also important to me. Indeed, that was the first impetus
behind the idea of publishing in book form, as the potential audience
contains people who aren’t a natural blog audience. It’s a lot of
things to weigh up.
Also, if I do publish a collection, there’s a
question of what to include. I could select and re-edit blog posts –
deliberate writing and written ministry – on a range of themes or
topics. I could collect and annotate or comment upon the written
ministry that is in the form of stories, or I could collect together
essays on Quaker Business Method. I might pull together pieces on
social issues, or on theology. There are a lot of options.
I also have a book that a reader generously shared
with me, on the understanding that I would share my thoughts on it,
that’s been on the back burner for far too long. I should get to
that soon, though impending upheaval (moving house) may slow down
various things a little longer.
None of this will mean that I stop new writing,
even if it has slowed down. I’ve posted on disagreement in business
meetings just recently, and there’s more in the pipeline. I hope it
will pick up speed again, and you’ll be able to look forward to
semi-regular contributions from me. The two drives, to get a wider
audience and to try to scrape a living, apply to producing new
content as well as finding new ways to present and share it. I would
value the thoughts of you, my readers, on these options, as well as
any other thoughts on the future of this blog – subjects you would
like to see me cover.
The purpose of this blog has always been and
remains to share my explorations and thoughts around the Quaker
faith, and the commercial concerns are just about enabling me to do
that, and to live. I don’t expect to become wealthy from writing
about Quaker matters, but it would be nice for it to make a
meaningful contribution to survival – something that’s a very
live concern for me at the moment. Anything you can do to help – a
voice of support, a word of advice, backing me on Patreon, or just
helping to promote my content by sharing it – is appreciated.
