First, I'd like to personally take the time to thank each and every one of you for supporting the eFiction Project over on Patreon. While we don't have many Patrons, the ones that we do have mean oh so much. It helps keep this project alive. 

With that said, I know some of you have some concerns over just how much our Patreon actually does for eFiction. That's why I'm writing up this forum post, as I really hope to be able to quell any and all concerns you may have. 

 

Q. Where does the money go? 
A. The money goes to me, Tyler Harvey. 

Q. How is the money used? 
A. The money is used for personal and business expenses, as a way to help ensure that all of my projects, including eFiction, stay updated and relevant. 

Q. How many Patreons would you need before you can reliably fund all eFiction development? 
A. To be absolutely blunt, eFiction is not a cheap endeavour. I have some rather big plans for this thing, and big plans are typically a lot more expensive than small plans. 

The amount of money I would realistically need to bring eFiction into its own self-sustained active development phase, would be about $500 per month. And even that isn't entirely self sufficient, as I would still need to pull some funds over from my main business to fund development for eFiction. 

Q. How much are you making right now?
A. As of this writing, the Patreon is making $7 per month. This covers core hosting fees to keep this site up and running, but not much else. 

Q. Do you need more Patreons? 
A. Yes, most definitely. It would be great to be able to bring in a few thousand dollars with this thing, which would more than cover eFiction's development costs, as well as to ensure that both my life (I gotta eat, sometimes) as well as my business remain functional and stable. 

We'd actually be rather set if a mere 0.05% of all website operators (those that installed and use eFiction) subscribed to our Patreon. 

Q. Does eFiction make money in any other way? 
A. No, eFiction is currently not being monetized in any way, shape, or form, though we do have plans to monetize eFiction in the future as part of a hosted platform. However, the main open source eFiction software will never have ads. 

Q. Why is eFiction development taking so long?
A. So, long story short, I lost both of my parents this year, which put a bit of a stopper on all things in my life, including my business. I also moved recently, and now live 500 KM away from where I once way. 

To say that things have been stressful, and pretty hectic, would be an understatement. Unfortunately, with my life taking an unexpected turn for the worst, I've had no real time or energy to dedicate towards eFiction. 

With that said, however, eFiction is still going to be supported, and all of my original plans of updating and modernizing eFiction, are still valid and planned. 

Q. How do I ensure that eFiction does not die?
A. Keep using it. Keep posting stories, and operating your websites. Beyond that, you can also assist financially by subscribing to our Patreon, or by ordering website hosting through DoRoyal. 

Q. I subscribed to an eFiction tier on Patreon, but didn't get my community rewards. What gives? 
A. The community rewards aren't yet active, but are still planned. In addition to the forum and backend dashboard rewards, we also intend to release a Discord server, and provide server ranks based on your supporter levels. 

I will also sell merch through Patreon as an additional perk / reward. So if you want a unique and limited-time eFiction shirt, hat, or hoodie, stay tuned for that. 

 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'll answer as much as I can.