Howdydoo, Friends!
Well, after over 50 episodes, I'm taking a day off!
During this brief hiatus, I'll be doing some planning and retooling of Temple Tales commencing with Episode 051, to be sent Monday, May 25.
A manipulated Polaroid of Mission Santa Barbara
Here's the thing: It takes me 8 to 10 hours to create and produce both the Newsletter and the Podcast for one Episode. This includes reviewing my notes; researching online; writing the Newsletter/script; finding and formatting my pictures; building the Newsletter; recording, editing, and posting the Podcast--it's a lot! Plus there's a certain amount of list management, "customer service" (a fancy term for answering emails), promoting the project, and so on.
Now, to be honest, I had hoped to make a few pennies on this. But with this much work to do, I haven't had time to develop any revenue streams beyond the bare minimum: "Buy Me a Tea" and an Amazon Associates account. (Please take a look!)
But I also want to create some premium materials for sale on CafePress (note cards, post cards, maybe some other kinds of cards), and create some unique photographic prints for sale. (See the examples of my past work throughout this newsletter. No PhotoShop was used! Sadly, I haven’t done this sort of work since before leaving for Japan, so all of my examples are from the ‘States.)
A hand-painted black-and-white print of an old store front in Utah
I'd also like to realize the idea of launching some "premium content" (always at a modest price) via the Newsletter apparatus: keep the free stuff coming, but add some paid content to it, such as ebooks and online learning opportunities (which could also be offered beyond the Newsletter community, now numbering well over 100--thanks!).
And, I want to branch out a little into making videos--some with me onscreen telling stories, and others in the form of narrated "slide shows" of photos. These would be available for free, often linked to a particular Episode but available to anyone on YouTube, to extend my "reach" a little.
I LOVE what I'm doing, but I have had no time to indulge in any of these side projects. (Or even read a book since I started this project in January!)
A cyanotype of Mission San Gabriel
Rest assured, the Newsletters and Podcasts you've come to love will continue, and for free--but they're probably going to be quite a bit shorter. (Podcast 050 was nearly 25 minutes; that's about twice as long as I'd like them to be!) Shorter offerings mean less time committed to creation and production, and more time for nurturing some of these other ideas. (But I still have a few long pieces in development; I'll be sending those out in the next few weeks.)
From next Monday, most Episodes will focus on a single temple, in China or Japan, or perhaps on a single day's experience; on a single figure from Buddhism, or a single event in the life of the Buddha; or on a folk story, or a snippet of a sutra. "Mission Mondays" and "Dharma Days," currently sent on alternating weeks, may be spaced farther apart, and they, too, will exhibit a tighter focus.
A Polaroid transfer (with colored pencil) of a washstand at Mission Santa Barbara
So: enjoy your day off, and look for Episode 051 (about China's Great Buddha at Leshan, and nearby Wuyou Temple) next Monday.
The best is yet to come!
James