Ok. I have four books published with major publishers. Most of them are used in Latin American schools as reading material. But, still I am not earning money with them. Meanwhile I am being considered for several anthologies, even some non-Spanish ones, (one of my stories is included in a Belgian school book). So what is the next step to be able to support myself with my work? And of course I make a lot of work for free, because is a good publicity and because it makes me feel good. And I am not talking only about this article in Amazing Stories or helping organize literary activities in Finland. I also do a lot of voluntary work in femininst organizations like Monika Naiset or Naisten Linja, trying to make a difference among women.
on the other hand I cannot find a job as a teacher, despite everybody telling me I have a wonderful c.v., with a lot of experience etc. etc. I am even applying for jobs I am really over qualified for. The fact of not being able to earn money with things everybody says I am good at is a huge punch to my ego and of course my wallet. This has gone on for almost 2 years, since the death of my husband. It is not that this situation was not bothering me before, but now that is also affecting my wallet, it has become worse. But what are my options? In fact, do I have other options?
And what if the solution is not to try to find a shitty job that obviously is going to take time away from my writing? What if work with a publisher (even if it is a very good one) is not the only way? Are there other ways? You have the example of Amanda Palmer, so why not try that?
So here I am, trying to find a solution to my financial problems and also going one step further as a writer. Because I would like to translate my work, to go to more cons, to use all my time in blogging without worrying about the money. Is it going to work? I don’t know but I would like to at least try.
So may I present you my Patreon page. You can support my work from 1 dollar (that is not a lot for you but is something for me). If this works, I promise to end publishing for free on the web, because I am not Amanda Palmer but I would like to believe in the art of asking
From the editor: Tanya Tynjala has worked tirelessly and selflessly to help bring Spanish SF/F to a wider audience and to help expose the wider world of science fiction to english speaking audiences. She also serves as an unofficial ambassador for Finnish science fiction. Her writing talent is unquestionable. I’ll be donating to her Patreon account and urge Amazing’s readers to do so as well. You can find all of her posts here
