CraftLit

annotated audiobooks for busy book lovers

Helllloooooo,

Well, if you're subscribed to the podcast you know that Anne of Green Gables has been perking along nicely. Kym Zuckert is a marvelous reader (Thank You, Kym!) and there's so much to love about the book. However, if you're on Patreon you're probably wondering where the podcast is or where I've got to, and if you normally pick up your Premium audio at CraftLit.com/membership you also might be wondering what's up.

The short answer is: Life.
Life is up. As are snow levels...and power outages...and tax season...
But mostly it's just Life. <<insert Marvin joke here>>

Listeners who've been with CraftLit a long while may recall that this all started way back when Thing 1 was 5-going-on-6 and Thing 2 was but a wee tyke of 2-and-change. They're now 14 and nearly 18 and...well...it's a tricky time. Plus, I'll be honest (and selfish), it's time I don't want to miss—especially since Thing 1 will be heading to college after the CraftLit Scotland Tour. Over the years I've done my best to keep the podcast up and running pretty regularly and spent more than a few weekends at home while the boys were out having fun with Andrew in order to pull that off.
I've decided not to do that this year.
Time is short. Life is short. I love my kids. Plus, what "real" work I do have doesn't pay enough to make life (and looming college) easy/plausible—but it sure sucks up a lot of time. So I find myself spread rather too thin—and this time, I'm sorry, but the podcast is the thing that's been suffering. If I'm honest, it's the thing that will likely continue to suffer for a bit longer.

The other big issue you might be aware of: I'm super frustrated with Patreon right now**—as I'm sure many of you who get your audio from the Patreon site are frustrated with it/me. I don't blame you. And I don't blame those of you who've canceled from the site. I'm actively looking for someone who has three to five hours a week to take over the Patreon work, but so far it's been tricky to find someone reliable (that must sound funny right now, coming from me) who has the tech knowledge to pick up the ball and run with it without requiring too much training (if you know anyone, send them my way, please) and, preferably, someone who 'gets' what we do here.

So that's it.

I hesitated a long time about writing this to you as I didn't want to sound like I was whining at you, but podcasters and our audiences have different relationships than, say, I have with Terry Gross or Ira Glass. You know way more about me, my life, and my family. I feel like you deserve to know why the show has gone a little sideways because, even if you're paying for Premium content now, you know that there were years and years of free audio to enjoy before we started down the fee-based audio road. I appreciate that you appreciate that—and that you continue to stick with CraftLit and me even when life gets wonky.

The short version is: I'm taking this Sunday to sit in the room with my kids, helping them edit a video for school and using the time there working to release the backlog on Patreon and on the Membership site. You'll notice a slow but steady stream of releases on Patreon. By the time you read this, the CraftLit.com/membership page should be updated.

Thank you for understanding my need for a Premium audio hiatus and for your continued support for CraftLit and classic literature!

Ever, anon, and many, many thanks,

Premium Audio FGA*

*(Frequently Given Answers)
Still have questions about Premium Audio options?
Everything is explained in the previous newsletter. You can read it here.

You can listen to free or premium CraftLit episodes using any of the following means:

via our App (iOS • Android • Windows 8)—the app is 100% run by Libsyn. You'll need to create an account with them (craftLit.libsyn.com - click the pink "Get Premium Audio" button). Signing up through

Libsyn means the ONLY way you can get the Premium Audio is using the app or visiting craftlit.libsyn.com. No Patreon access. No downloading page access.

The other option for listening to premium audio:

OR signing up for the download-only Premium Membership (which gets you immediate access to the Download-only Premium audio on the CraftLit.com site.

**Why didn't I put the link to Patreon with the Premium options above?
I'm not sure what's going to happen there. It's a crazy amount of work (though I'm sure it doesn't seem like it from the outside) and it's frustratingly clumsy and slow work, too. But the other problem is what's happened with their fee schedule. Most of the benefits of the platform (as both a creator and a supporter) seem to be eroded by their new policy. I came across this useful graphic (below) that a creator made to better show:

how Patreon's fees used to be structured
how Patreon explained the new structure, and then, finally
what a graphically accurate comparison of the new structure really looks like.

I'll let you decide if you want to move off the platform and onto the app or the CraftLit.com/membership site (using PayPal). I know there is no "perfect" solution, but coupling the time-suck and now the fee-suck...I'm just concerned it might not be the best place for us right now.