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Slickbux - The New Changes!
5 months ago
Hey gang! Slick here, and I've been mulling over the question of how to keep Slickbux -- that is, the credit I extend to my customers for buying art on my behalf -- as a sustainable metric.
With the economy being so grumpy and certain customers taxing me with their expectations, it's become apparent that allowing Slickbux to be so easy to earn and use is essentially allowing some double-dipping and some choosing beggar mindsets, and while I love you guys and would be happy to write your fantasies around the clock, I need to encourage purchases with real cash too. Can't really do that the way things have been going, so thus I have to tighten the reins and impose a few more restrictions on how it's earned and how it's spent. Don't worry: even if I'm adding more rules, there are ways to relax them later on! Anyway, to the changes!
Slickbux (Earning)
- Artwork exclusively of my own OCs now earns Slickbux at a 75% rate (i.e. 3 SB per 4 USD)
- Artwork where my OC interacts with a buyer's OC for a limited duration and remains the primary character of the art piece will earn Slickbux at a 50% rate (i.e. 2 SB per 4 USD)
- Artwork where my OC interacts with a buyer's OC and shares equal parity in the art piece will earn Slickbux at a 25% rate (i.e. 1 SB per 4 USD)
- "Special Cases" -- like being an art piece with the inspiration taken directly from my personal to-do list -- will increase earned SB by 10-25%, dependent on the situation
Slickbux (Spending)
- Most stories will now include an SB limit of 25-50%, meaning that the other 75-50% must be covered with cash
- "Special Cases" -- like investing in a "comm-ready prompt" that I actively want to write a story about -- will increase the spendable SB limit by 10-25%, dependent on the situation
- Slickbux can now be spent to help fund group stories, increasing their overall value and unlocking bonus content like character cameos and tie-in art pieces
- Slickbux can now be spent on artist liaison services, for those clients who want to oversee artwork from a particular streaming artist but are limited by time zones and other factors (the use of SB in this manner is limited to times that are compatible with my own schedule)
- Other Slickbux services without standardized costs -- like adding dialogue to an artist's comic page, or even willing me to stream games for my server to watch -- may be considered on a case-by-case basis; due to how loose the limits are on these opportunities, I can't lock in their respective rates until enough reasonable transactions have occurred; roleplaying will not be considered for any amount of Slickbux (my apologies)
Breaking the Changes Down
The dollar-for-dollar method I was using before was fun, but I was often spending double time not only writing the story in exchange, but overseeing the art piece that was requested, removing all burden on the client past their initial investment in the art piece. This has unfortunately resulted in occasions where a client's view of a story's value is that it's not worth anything at all, because they haven't put any money into that side of the transaction. On the other hand, the only real reward that people could spend Slickbux on were my stories, and while many people love them, the lack of extra options doesn't do much to help quantify its value either. I'm not running a mining company store here, I want you to be able to spend your Slickbux on more than just one thing, so I'm going to experiment with a few extra options with SB spending. They may sell, they may not, the point is that I'm making the effort! I couldn't have a successful gallery without you guys, and I want you to know that I'll show my appreciation one way or another!
To reframe my commissions in a way that better emphasizes their intrinsic value, I've taken steps to ensure that even in the short stories, a transfer of actual cash is still a vital part of the Slickbux process. I'm no cryptobro; I want my fiat Slickbux to be backed with hard currency, because when a client pays for even a part of their commission, they get the respect of a creator delivering a product that's paid for, and the client gets the right to a refund and other fun protections that just Slickbux wouldn't provide. My use of "Special Cases" allows me to loosen these added restrictions whenever necessary, but I'll feel out exactly where and when to relax those rules for my client's benefit. And while I don't know exactly how to charge for every possible service, I will leave the door open for negotiation; just don't forget that I decide what I am or am not comfortable with doing, for love or money.
In Summary
I've been pretty creative about knocking the owed amounts down, but I'll run out of clever ideas if I don't make a change now, and I know that nobody wants me to actually raise my prices! That's why I'm doing a soft beta test of these changes for now; with a solid foundation of value and trust, these adjustments will help future clientele get a better grasp of how to plan for art and stories moving forward, and I won't end up hip-deep in a pool of story debt that no one wants to help me out of!
Before you ask, I'm not changing the rates on my Carrd page just yet. I've got to make sure that these changes stick first, but any new commissions that happen before, after... and maaaaaaybe during Berried Alive will apply these new changes until they've either proven themselves or been replaced by better rules. Here's hoping that my ideas stick!
- Slick <3
With the economy being so grumpy and certain customers taxing me with their expectations, it's become apparent that allowing Slickbux to be so easy to earn and use is essentially allowing some double-dipping and some choosing beggar mindsets, and while I love you guys and would be happy to write your fantasies around the clock, I need to encourage purchases with real cash too. Can't really do that the way things have been going, so thus I have to tighten the reins and impose a few more restrictions on how it's earned and how it's spent. Don't worry: even if I'm adding more rules, there are ways to relax them later on! Anyway, to the changes!
Slickbux (Earning)
- Artwork exclusively of my own OCs now earns Slickbux at a 75% rate (i.e. 3 SB per 4 USD)
- Artwork where my OC interacts with a buyer's OC for a limited duration and remains the primary character of the art piece will earn Slickbux at a 50% rate (i.e. 2 SB per 4 USD)
- Artwork where my OC interacts with a buyer's OC and shares equal parity in the art piece will earn Slickbux at a 25% rate (i.e. 1 SB per 4 USD)
- "Special Cases" -- like being an art piece with the inspiration taken directly from my personal to-do list -- will increase earned SB by 10-25%, dependent on the situation
Slickbux (Spending)
- Most stories will now include an SB limit of 25-50%, meaning that the other 75-50% must be covered with cash
- "Special Cases" -- like investing in a "comm-ready prompt" that I actively want to write a story about -- will increase the spendable SB limit by 10-25%, dependent on the situation
- Slickbux can now be spent to help fund group stories, increasing their overall value and unlocking bonus content like character cameos and tie-in art pieces
- Slickbux can now be spent on artist liaison services, for those clients who want to oversee artwork from a particular streaming artist but are limited by time zones and other factors (the use of SB in this manner is limited to times that are compatible with my own schedule)
- Other Slickbux services without standardized costs -- like adding dialogue to an artist's comic page, or even willing me to stream games for my server to watch -- may be considered on a case-by-case basis; due to how loose the limits are on these opportunities, I can't lock in their respective rates until enough reasonable transactions have occurred; roleplaying will not be considered for any amount of Slickbux (my apologies)
Breaking the Changes Down
The dollar-for-dollar method I was using before was fun, but I was often spending double time not only writing the story in exchange, but overseeing the art piece that was requested, removing all burden on the client past their initial investment in the art piece. This has unfortunately resulted in occasions where a client's view of a story's value is that it's not worth anything at all, because they haven't put any money into that side of the transaction. On the other hand, the only real reward that people could spend Slickbux on were my stories, and while many people love them, the lack of extra options doesn't do much to help quantify its value either. I'm not running a mining company store here, I want you to be able to spend your Slickbux on more than just one thing, so I'm going to experiment with a few extra options with SB spending. They may sell, they may not, the point is that I'm making the effort! I couldn't have a successful gallery without you guys, and I want you to know that I'll show my appreciation one way or another!
To reframe my commissions in a way that better emphasizes their intrinsic value, I've taken steps to ensure that even in the short stories, a transfer of actual cash is still a vital part of the Slickbux process. I'm no cryptobro; I want my fiat Slickbux to be backed with hard currency, because when a client pays for even a part of their commission, they get the respect of a creator delivering a product that's paid for, and the client gets the right to a refund and other fun protections that just Slickbux wouldn't provide. My use of "Special Cases" allows me to loosen these added restrictions whenever necessary, but I'll feel out exactly where and when to relax those rules for my client's benefit. And while I don't know exactly how to charge for every possible service, I will leave the door open for negotiation; just don't forget that I decide what I am or am not comfortable with doing, for love or money.
In Summary
I've been pretty creative about knocking the owed amounts down, but I'll run out of clever ideas if I don't make a change now, and I know that nobody wants me to actually raise my prices! That's why I'm doing a soft beta test of these changes for now; with a solid foundation of value and trust, these adjustments will help future clientele get a better grasp of how to plan for art and stories moving forward, and I won't end up hip-deep in a pool of story debt that no one wants to help me out of!
Before you ask, I'm not changing the rates on my Carrd page just yet. I've got to make sure that these changes stick first, but any new commissions that happen before, after... and maaaaaaybe during Berried Alive will apply these new changes until they've either proven themselves or been replaced by better rules. Here's hoping that my ideas stick!
- Slick <3
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