i’ve been shamed & told to “just. stop.”, etc a few times lately for continuing to promote my patreon (and work) here on twitter.

this is important, so hear me out.
this is not just about me but about all the other artists who are out there, reading & watching. {thread...)

many artists are just small businesses. when people tell me “but amanda people are literally starving so shut up and stop asking for money for your art”, i wonder if those people consider my staff, who don’t get paid unless my patreon stays afloat.

when people say “it’s tone deaf, asking people who are strapped to support your art” i wonder if they consider that i am not ever asking anyone strapped to support me. in fact, i use patronage (“to each according to...”) so i can keep most of my art free & out of paywall-land.

i do that because i don’t believe art should be expensive or accessible only to people with extra money. my patrons are awesome, and don’t see my patreon as an “exclusive club”. they see it as a way to support a working artist so she can keep her art cheap/free for all to enjoy.

when you accuse ANY artist of ANY size of being “selfish” for asking their crowd to support their art, pay their salary, and crowdfund their life & work into being, you’re sending a signal to ALL artists that asking for support is bad. don’t do that. artists are scared enough.

if you don’t want to support an artist, or can’t afford to, for gods sake, don’t. but do not tell artists to dismantle their lives & businesses & “get real jobs” because “people are literally starving”. if you do that, the artists you love may literally starve. think about it.