The Two Reveals Announcement

From C.J.
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I think the candles are gonna be absolutely fantastic! I can’t wait to see what other cool scents you come up with!

However as for the second AG pay wall I don’t personally think it’s a good idea. The community is already divided by the AG+ pay wall and I think this is just gonna alienate a lot of your community members. The community started out as a community for all but now it’s turning into a community only for those who can pay and frankly a lot of us can’t. We feel like we’re being pushed out slowly but surely despite your promise we won’t be. I understand you need the finances to support AG for the long term but I don’t think this is the right way to do it.

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Candles are going to be lit.

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Thanks for your reply, @Rimor. I’m happy to share information that will add context to my decision here, publicly, for others who might be feeling the way you are.

I want to share with you some info about the revenue of Ackerly Green. Ackerly Green Publishing being me.

We now have nearly 8,000 subscribers. Of that, there are 40 AG+ members at $7-8 a month, which ends up being around $300 a month. Just enough to keep the forum and site running. And I’m insanely grateful for that.

This year we made Flora & Fauna free to help get people involved and invested in the world and then charged $3.99 for Cosmos & Time.

To date, we’ve sold fewer than 100 copies of Cosmos & Time in either e-book or paperback. That’s an estimated profit of less than $150 over the past two years.

The Day of Change merchandise launch on Monday garnered 11 purchases as of tonight when I post this. That’s an end profit for Ackerly Green (me) of around $40 because I purposely keep my profit margin low so that our merch is affordable.

To run Ackerly Green, which involves the office rental, Catherine’s pay, the app, shipping, software, and advertising to bring new people on board is upwards of $6,000 a month to maintain a company, community, and creation I never planned for, but completely believe in. $6,000 that my husband and I pay out of pocket from our own personal money. We have sacrificed just about everything to keep the company afloat in the hopes that we will find the sweet spot that will make it stand out in a very crowded market, and ultimately a successful business.

I didn’t mention all this before because I’m not trying to garner sympathy. I just want to make good things for a group of people I genuinely care about, and make a living doing it so that I don’t have to quit and do something else to support my family.

At the end of the day I am one indie writer with the trappings of a company, trying to make something special happen.

I truly don’t believe that 40 AG+ subscribers has fragmented the community. And my priority with this new experience was to ensure that nothing changed here at the forum. You can ask anyone who was already aware of it. I talk about that aspect constantly.

I understand that some can’t afford it. Or aren’t willing to pay because they can get a million other pieces of entertainment for free.

But my job at the end of the day is not just to host a free community for awesome people. This is my (hopeful) livelihood, not a hobby. And if I’m being frank, after three years, I hope I’ve earned the trust to try this, and also make a living for myself and my family.

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Personally, I’m a little worried about how much interaction non-paying members will get. As much as I’d love to join in, I can’t really afford it, being a broke uni student (though merch will definitely be on the christmas/birthday list) and I don’t know if I’d have the same interest if there was nothing to interact with. The “readers-affecting-the-story” aspect was so unique and engaging that if that disappeared entirely then I think a lot of the community would feel the loss.
Without giving away any spoilers, can we get an idea of how much the standard member would get to see their impact on the story, relative to the premium members (for want of a better way to describe it)?

Also, I want to make it totally clear that I understand the reasons behind monetisation of aspects, and I’m never going to be annoyed at people trying to make a living. There’s definitely stuff out there charging way more than reasonable for far less than what the magiqverse provides, and to be perfectly honest, I was a little surprised when I first got involved and only had to pay in total £3 for two full, engaging books and access to an incredible, diverse and growing community. If I had found the books before Flora and Fauna was free, I would have been happy to pay full price for them, and still would have considered it a bargain for the amount of content I’ve gotten out of it.

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That’s a great question, @BarkbytheGrace. Thank you for asking. Non-enrolled readers will have as much influence on the story as they do right now. :cjheart:

It will be like The Search for Magiq and The Monarch Papers are happening simultaneously, with occasional crossover. Both affect the story, each informs the other, and non-enrolled readers can read recaps of the enrolled experience.

It will be a monumental task, but I’m taking a step back from writing traditional novels to do it, and now I have full-time help.

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I believe the main difference will be that the enrolled members and occasional crossovers will be included in the published books whereas the free storylines will just be online, is that correct?

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Generally, but it’s not that black and white because there is only one story I’m telling at the end of the day. The free experience will still push the story forward and be part of the overall Magiqverse narrative so it will also need to be documented and adapted.

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Yeah I figured it was more complicated than that but it’s a simplified way to understand it.

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:cjheart:

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I personally don’t see much of a problem with there being some experiences that need to be paid for. As someone who doesn’t receive the AG+ benefits, I don’t feel separated from the people who do in any meaningful way. So they have more merch than I do. That’s fine. I don’t think that makes us into different “classes” of fans or community members.
AG Secret Society was also something that people had to pay to get insider access to. And there was no huge divide in the community based on who was in it and who wasn’t.
I understand wanting to experience as much of the story as possible, and wanting to collect all the nice things, but I’m sure we can still have a good experience and remain a united community even with the new experience. I don’t think I’ll be able to pay for it either, but I’m sure I won’t suffer from a lack of things to do here.

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And especially now that there’s Neithernor: Reborn to have fun with. It may not be part of the story but it’s still something fun and interactive to be part of.

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Oh man, and NNR is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to things we have planned, which will be available for everyone.

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i literally agree with everything sel said. i dont feel separated in the slightest. i feel like ag+ is a necessary measure to keep the company afloat, and i 100% understand the necessity that comes with making premium stuff to keep yall alive.

i dont understand the class thing, and if i can be honest it just feels a bit rude to call it that, when theres very little evidence of any inside split of any kind. What i know is that we’re here to play a game, and you cant have a game without the money to make it work. You have my Sword.

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And my bow!

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And my machete! I am not responsible for the loss of an eye and thus the ending of fun.

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The Ackerly Green experience is such a unique and innovative thing, and I am so impressed with how well you’ve balanced doing right by your readers while still figuring out how to make it all sustainable. All of this upcoming content and changes sound like they’ll be really exciting and fun for everyone! Thank you guys for working so hard to create this weird and wonderful thing. :slight_smile:

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Concurrent plots! I love concurrent plots!

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What you guys create here at AG is 100% art and magiq, and the fact that so much so far has been accessible is honestly a gift. I’m very interested to see what the next chapter of the experience brings, and I totally trust that you can make it work for as many people as possible, and for the company!

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@Sellalellen, @Cj_Heighton, @BairnSidhe, @Fox, @Louisa and @Tinker couldn’t have said it better.

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I just wanted to follow up on a couple things. First, I want to reveal to you all the name of the 2020 interactive experience and then I wanted to share with you some ideas we had after your valuable feedback…

We’re still figuring out the best, most accessible price point for the experience, but when discussing your thoughts with my husband Matty, he had the fantastic idea of offering student discounts which we’re 100% going to do, we just need to figure out the logistics of how to implement that into our current shop!

So yay!

Second, the title for the new, ongoing experience is…

:weatherwatch:

:gossmere:

:flinterforge:

:ebenguard:

:thornmouth:

:balimora:

[spoiler]

The Briar Society.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]You will be joining a society organized to seek the briar books, understand what happened to The Book of The Wild, and work together to shape the future of The Book of Briars.[/spoiler]

I’m DYING to share everything we have planned!

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