Hello friends, this is my monthly dip into the absolute worst part of blogging: the part where I remind you that Steel Magnificat, and my family, run on gratuities.
I had a really weird experience last month, where a commentator under an assumed name made insulting comments on the blog and then took out an entire Twitter account to follow me around social media tell everyone I’m a “swindling grifter” for living on tips. It took a couple of days for him to lose interest. I eventually figured out this was a Franciscan University alum of my acquaintance. In any case, I don’t think he knows what “grifter” means, because a grifter is someone who cheats people by making a promise in exchange for money and never delivering on it. I’m the opposite; I make three to seven literary art projects per week and put them on the internet, hoping that somebody somewhere likes them enough to toss money in my virtual hat.
If I were a grifter I would try to aggrandize this blog by calling it an “institute” or, God forbid, an “apostolate,” and perhaps referring to your patronage as “donations to help me fight the culture war.” But I’m not, so I admit from the get-go that I’m just a blogger, busking. I’m not going to spend my tips on a culture war. I’m asking for tips so I can keep the light bill paid, take my vitamins, drink way too much coffee and keep typing blog posts. This is how I support my family in a gig economy. What you see is what you get.
Looking ahead to September, I’m wondering if I’m going to get any vitamins or coffee at all to go with that light bill. Summer is a lean time for bloggers who live on tips, which means the bills keep running past due, which means all of fall is spent playing catch-up and God help us at Christmas. Several bits of bad luck are running together all at once this week, and it’s going to be a tough several weeks as a result.
So, as always, I humbly ask: if you like what you read, give me a tip when you can! We have survived for three years on people who like what they read dropping five or ten or even a hundred dollars in the tin cup. Just click here, then click on the bright yellow button, and Paypal will walk you through the rest. If that doesn’t work, leave a comment and I’ll help.
And now I’ll get back to writing posts worth reading!
(image via Pixabay)
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