Yesterday, I commented that I was starting some new read alongs over at REAM. There was a plot twist!
The operators of the platform have decided to do a book awards for indies. (We always need new book awards for indies.) I was very surprised with a nomination for their debut award in the Best of Urban category.
It was apparently something people voted on sometime in November, so while I missed that, I want to show the platform a little love.
REAM is a totally new thing to me, but the nice crew over there is helping me get the situated with them a lot faster.
How it’s going to work is a little like this:
I fucking love libraries. To me, REAM is going to be a little library I offer to people at a nominal fee ($5 a month.) That’s less than the cost of one of my new books. REAM will always be a little behind compared to retail, but that’s fine. Ultimately, people will be able to access 40+ books for $5 a month, which is not shabby.
It exists to give people a chance to catch up on my books at a reasonable price. It also lets people who enjoy throwing pennies into my jar do just that.
In the next few weeks, the available collection of books will be increased to approximately twenty, and the rest of the books will be queued in as read alongs with daily offerings for those who want to have some spice to their reading life.
Will this replace Patreon?
No. These are two different platforms with two different purposes. Patreon doesn’t really let me do mass setup for read alongs. REAM is specifically designed for that sort of thing. What REAM does do is fill a very specific need for readers who want a subscription service for my older works. (They want to subscribe, come to the site, and binge read older works.)
I’m starting with the R.J. Blain books, but I will be doing REAM for Susan Copperfield beginning on January 1, 2024. (I will come back with the link later, when it’s ready and the books have been queued into the system.)
Right now, $5 is the only tier I have for REAM, and while I really love earning money so I can do fun things when I’m not writing, unless a lot of people ask for higher tiers, I will be leaving it at $5 a month.
Once the collection is loaded in and everything is on the way, REAM will have daily chapters of books until it is completely caught up with the collection, after which it will be given a new read along when a book reaches 6-12 months of age on retail. (Because let’s face it, retail is where I make my largest chunk of money, and this is a discount option for people to read rather than pirate the books.)
So, if this is something that might appeal to you, check it out and hit the follow button. If you’re the kind who likes libraries and wants to throw pennies in the jar, this is an option for you!
And well, if you don’t, that’s a-okay as well.
Now, for the tidbit for authors:
REAM is an interesting platform. It was designed following some of the typical drama regarding sexual content in books on Amazon and other vendors. Essentially, the platform’s operators believe that authors should be approached should their works violate rules of a platform before action is taken.
Having been plagued with this myself, I utterly agree with that sentiment.
Most authors are using ream as a “releasing” platform, where readers pay to access works in progress. Once the work is done, it stays on the platform to earn money down the road.
That’s not how I’m using it, but that’s okay! I use Patreon for that; my method is just better suited for Patreon.
Where REAM is shining for me is that I can pick frequency, publish all at once, and otherwise have full control of the publishing environment. The payment rates aren’t much different from Patreon in application. (The structure, at first glance, is a little confusing.) But at the end of the day, if you’re okay with Patreon’s payment rates, you’re probably okay with REAM’s.
Their system does take a little to get used to, but it’s not bad. For the most part, I even like it, baby hiccups and all. A little patience may be required, but that’s par for every course in this industry.
Adult content is allowed, but you definitely need to make sure you click the appropriate box when setting up your project. Project setup is simple enough.
My only problem? More than 40 books that needed to be uploaded into REAM.
That problem will be solved with a little time. (Heee…)
Anyway, this is a thing I’m doing to give readers more of an option of how they pursue their reading of my books. For those in the $5 tier on Patreon, REAM might be a better option, as it does include the backlist. What it doesn’t include are all the author notes. That’s a Patreon exclusive.
Anyway, I’m off to do Saturday things. (I have escaped living in Monday… but for a brief moment, I genuinely did think today was Tuesday…) Have a great weekend, and don’t get into any trouble without me.
~R.J.
Groovy!