February 2024 Update - Part 2
I burnt out. There, I said it. Y’all happy now? I didn’t mean to, it just kinda happens that way when you burn the candle from both ends as well as the middle and all points in between. But I did, and it’s good I did when I did because it was just a little burnout and had one exact cause, which I think I have found a cure for, but bear with me as I provide an all-around update.
But the problem, first and foremost, was streaming. I am not a streamer. Not really, nor do I want to be one in the current sense of the word. Why do I hate it so much? Well, I am very introverted, and being that level of on and in the way one needs to be on when streaming takes a lot out of me. More than I cared to admit. One two-hour stream would require my entire day leading up to the stream prepping and making sure work would be OK, the stream itself, the rest of the night zoned out recovering, then the actual work of editing those streams into something YouTube-friendly. Not counting editing, that was an entire day gone just for two hours online with y’all, every week. And then I realized I needed to stream more if I ever hoped to monetize my Twitch channel. Basically, twice as much. (And let’s not get started on YouTube monetization.) So, after my last stream, which will only ever be seen by my members with full library access because it was that dreadful, I am hanging up my streamer shoes. Sort of.
What do I mean by “sort of”? Well, I do have a plan. I always have a plan eventually, like a terrible thief trying to steal lore books in the night. But I digress. The plan, of course, has stages, steps, and possibly a diagram or two. OK, no diagrams, but I thought about it.
Step 1 – Stop streaming on Twitch
Easy peasy, I already did that. Done and done.
Step 2 – Create a better monthly membership to lore y’all in. (Pun fully intended, of course.)
This might have been where diagrams could come in handy, but I will wing it.
I have created two new monthly membership tiers over on my Buy Me a Coffee page. You can now support me, all my writing and content creation, and general coffee-drinking, taco-eating ways for $1, $3, or $5 per month.
$1 Monthly Membership includes: personalized thank-you message your first month subscribed, YouTube video member end credit mention, members-only chat channels on Discord, Q&A stream access (more on that in a minute), as well as my sincere gratitude for your support.
$3 Monthly Membership includes everything from the $1 Monthly Membership, plus: exclusive personal writings and posts on Buy Me a Coffee, additional members-only access on Discord, access to long-term research projects and work-in-progress updates, and one group chat stream per month (more on that below).
$5 Monthly Membership includes everything from the $1 and $3 Monthly Memberships, plus: full access to my video library, full access to all areas of Discord (except admin-only ones), and one additional group chat stream per month, only for members at this tier.
(You can still support me financially with one-time donations through Buy Me a Coffee or Cash App, depending on your preferences.)
Step 3 – Start streaming again. Yes, I am that crazy, but hear me out...
By removing the parts of streaming I hate and adding in those parts I love, I can do this, on my own terms, just like everything else I do. I mentioned above a Q&A stream and monthly group chat streams. These will not be on Twitch, let's just go ahead and say that. Twitch is not my platform. Mostly because I do not tolerate rude a-holes, and guess what Twitch has a lot of? They always kill the vibe, and I lose focus for way too long. So, no Twitch.
Here’s the skinny:
We are going to have a Q&A stream after each lore and legend I look into. You can ask me your questions, give me your thoughts, and we will discuss them for as long as we want to. The general public and those just wanting to listen in can do so via YouTube, but us cool dorks, I mean Lore Lovers, will be in a secret streaming location and can actually talk to each other with our mics, cameras, phones, and stuff! What?!?!?! Nerd happiness here! But for real, I am so very excited to discuss with y’all live what we all think about a location, ghost, or cryptid. I did a test-run on this and really enjoying seeing all your pretty faces and the overall more relaxed feel.
Additionally, $3 and $5 monthly members get additional group chats where we can be all extra lazy and have coffee while we chat and talk about whatever BS we want to! These chats will be saved for members to view, but they won’t be streamed live on YouTube like the Q&A sessions will be.
Step 4 – Become sane again. (It’s OK if you laughed, I did too. OK, you can stop laughing now. I’m not that crazy.)
The whole point of me streaming was to 1) help supplement my writing with a little extra content and 2) help supplement my income (if we are being honest, and I am). But it quickly snowballed into the primary focus of my work, and I did not like that. I was also really not a fan of the dudes who lacked all manners on Twitch. I know those types are everywhere, but I do my best to keep the focus of Lily’s Lore and Legends on the lore and legends and less on the Lily and her looks, so the f-boys can eff off.
By ditching the weekly and energy-draining streams for ones that are less draining and more fun (I love a good round table discussion because, YES, I AM A NERD!), we all will get more out of them. Additionally, I can focus on all my research more and produce more written pieces, because that is why I am really here, y’all, to write. I am a chatterbox, sure, but a writer first and foremost. And I want to get back to that. Yes, I want to talk to all of y’all, but I also need time and energy to write. And hopefully, now I can.
I will still upload my research and wrap-ups like always and the Q&A streams as well, but the weekly streams have come to an end, so we might have something better ahead.
Now, I am going to stop rambling here, do what I do worst, and say good-bye, then hush, but only so I have words left to write.
Until next time, Lore Lovers, stay spooky💖
~Lily
This feels right, I'm looking forward to reading your work as you feel less stressed. And the member chats are really fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Robert! (It's Lily, my phone is being silly and won't let me log in to respond)
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