Music of the Day

This will be a more severe and personal journal that I want advice on. It goes beyond the future of my accounts here and elsewhere; to when I start my career as an author. I've been thinking about it as of late, primarily after I've written (but not yet posted at the time of this journal posting) Once Upon a Time in England and The Werewolf Connection.

Point one: Editorial help.

I don't just mean the kind of help where they check for misspellings and grammar corrections. I mean the kind where they check the prose and see if it flows well, if the word choice is clunky, etc. That's the type of help I want since, by my admittance, I'm not always a good wordsmith. My word choice can be dry, clunky, and incorrect, something I'm aware of and wish to seek assistance with.

At this time, my 'editor,' if you can call him that, is my dad. Yes, my dad reads and help fix the story I've written (though not all of them, especially the more over-the-top kind of stories), which I appreciate. However, I'm also aware that he won't always be around for me, and I don't want to put too much pressure on him, especially since he's been planning to construct a new home here.

So, my concern is finding an editor, perhaps even hiring one, to help me with my writing. I'm willing to offer payment for their services, maybe not for the short stories commissions, but definitely for the larger ones like the stories I've mentioned above. So, if anyone here can offer their services or point me to someone who does this stuff, please do so.

Point two: Growing the accounts.

While my watch counts have been ticking up, I feel it's been stagnant for some time. Of course, part of that is because I haven't been posting much for a while (partly because I've been waiting for certain people to read my stories before posting them, partly because I've been waiting for them to be edited), which I hope to improve upon in this new year. The new writing system I have shown that I write faster than before,  which I'm pleased with.

At the same time, I feel bothered by the lack of progress on how much the accounts have grown, though I'm not just talking about here. I'm talking about Patreon and Ko-Fi. Yet, despite everything, my two most essential accounts have been dead and, despite my efforts to promote and update them, have remained dead. It's to the point where I wondered if I should kill them since if they will not gain the support they need, why keep them?

Despite that, I like to hear advice on how to grow both of them so that they have the support they need. I'm doing something wrong here, and I don't know what to do to make it right. For example, should I make my Patreon commissions cheaper? Should I forgo shortie commissions? Should I make it into a scrap note tip jar? Should I make more weekly Twitter posts about them? Should I make more posts in general? Maybe previews?

Any advice you give, I'll listen to them.