#didn't read m/m or didn't want to read anything problematic / with any disturbing themes

[not-poignant]

hiiii! have you considered releasing tradewinds as a single purchase through a site like gumroad?

Hi anon!

So the reason Tradewinds was shelved and not published like 8 years ago, is because I couldn't find an Aboriginal sensitivity reader willing to read m/m with disturbing themes. I had sensitivity readers for the other side of things (like Matan and his heritage), but I kept either not finding anyone, or the one person I found took my $200 USD deposit and vanished and never spoke to me / responded to any of my emails.

As a result, I was uncomfortable distributing it anywhere broadly, even though I was relatively confident the novel isn't offensive, because I just don't know 100%.

I am a lot more confident releasing it via subscription as an exclusive novel, because the people who pay for subscription are often folks who are a) already used to my style of writing and b) generally know what to expect from me, vs. cold audiences who don't. I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't realise that Tradewinds would make a great exclusive/paywalled release for subscription, because it means it's only ever going to find a very narrow bandwidth of readers.

Basically if I could release it for single purchase - as basically an ebook - I would have released it like 8 years ago, anon. And the reason I have actually released it this specific way is down to the fact that I'm just not really confident offering it for broader distribution.

That might change one day, if I happen to stumble across a sensitivity reader who is okay with my style of writing, who is reputable + has references (i.e. so I know I won't lose a fair chunk of money in the process, because that burned me pretty badly, not gonna lie). But until then, having Tradewinds be limited is the only way I'm comfortable releasing it at all.

Folks are more than welcome to sign up for one month, download the book (and read any other early access they want) and then leave. They can even just put 'I only wanted one thing and now I have it' in the exit survey so I know what they were there for if they want. Then it's still a single purchase (with some early access extras), and they still access the downloadable file. :)

#asks and answers #tradewinds #merchantverse #tradewinds was shelved not because i think it's a bad book #but because i wasn't comfortable going to broad distribution without a very specific kind of sensitivity reader #it was actually meant to be the series i started publishing with #long before perth shifters existed #and then i realised that through writing a highly diverse cast #i might have actually really hurt the future of the series #and had to shelve the whole thing and all the worldbuilding #i really don't regret tradewinds at all #i like the book and i love the characters #but yeah it was complicated #what i thought would be an 'easy' problem to solve was really difficult in part because #'sensitivity readers' is a very USA concept and certainly was back then #and a lot of the folks i enquired with who did offer sensitivity reading on Aboriginal Australian matters #didn't read m/m or didn't want to read anything problematic / with any disturbing themes #which i can understand #but literally reduced my pool to '0 plus that one person who took $200 USD from me at a time when i had to skip medical appts because of it #i'm sure it would be better now #but i'm also happy to offer a novel to folks who sign up to the patreon / ream account #since that is my main and primary income