Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is · 10:09am Aug 16th, 2014
art by xmiradox
I am still working through a weeks-long build-up of FIMfiction PMs that I haven't had the time to answer due to extended work hours and exhaustion from the heat and sleeping issues. However, the temperature has started to drop, and my extended hours are coming to an end this week, so I hope to actually get those done sometime soon.
I'm sharing with you, with permission, part of a PM conversation that I had earlier this week regarding the second printing run of Fallout: Equestria. You'll see why as you read the first two:
The link in that PM was to my blog Friendship is Magic.
Obviously, elements of these private messages have been edited. Part of that editing is by request below. Additional editing is for content. The conversation also included other topics, primarily regarding the delivery of my copies of the new printing. (It's been a bit of a tale, that. But I'll be getting my copies soon. They have been delivered into the hands of good friend, professional editor and fan of the story. 
He will be bringing them to me shortly. 
)
I won't deny that the offer was tempting, and I could certainly use the money to pay outstanding expenses. But I have a strong aversion to the idea of making money off of Fallout: Equestria. As I have stated before, Fallout: Equestria is a gift to the communities it was written for. To make profit off of it is against the spirit of that gift.
I'm not going to accept the money. (I will admit I was tempted accept just a little of it, just because it would be the only way I could bring myself to purchase something from this site. I really like those shirts, but I can't bring myself to spend my own hard-earned money on merchandise from a story that I created. ) But that leaves the question as to what to do with it. Here are the answers that I received:
I wanted to hear your advice. Right now, I'm struggling between suggesting they keep the money to roll into a fund for a third potential printing, should there be demand for it (with the promise that they will donate the money to charity should that not be in the cards), or to have them donate the money that they have offered me to charity in my name. If the latter, I would most likely ask it to be donated to my preferred children's cancer charity, or perhaps to something associated with Bronies For Good, although I am open to suggestions on that as well.
art by kalemon
Update: Thank you for all the great advice. I've told them to roll the money into a fund for future printings. If there are no future printings, the money will be donated to charity. If so, I have requested a voice in what charity is chosen.
The charity donation idea sounds like the best bet, outside of that B possibility.
Ah, I see why this post opened with an image of the generous Rarity.
As a jobless college student, I know nothing about giving away money. Can't help ya there.
I somewhat favor the option of holding it in a general fund for future printings (in case the cost to do so suddenly goes up, for whatever reason), but the charity option is good too.
I think the compromise would be that you accept some of the funds and donate the rest to a worthy cause. I think you deserve a reward for your time and hard work and its honorable enough to refuse the money however most people have some sort of expenses to pay for at the very least. You don't seem to be someone who would immediately spend all your money on something silly so being responsible as you are you should not feel compelled to make this situation a black or white decision.
Hello Kkat.
Seeing your will to keep Fallout: Equestria a gift for the community is admirable. The fact that you also were tempted to take a bit of the remaining money shows also something that readers often forget about human condition: That even though we write and think of higher things, we still are human in the end, with its greater flaws.
First, I'd like to say thank you for sharing this with us, to open yourself and your questions to the community that has been following you for a very long time. This is admirable too.
In my opinion, you should let the money in a general fund that would be used for a third printing as I know many people that wanted the print but couldn't afford it due to the price. That fund could be use to lower the average price for potential buyers. In my opinion, this is the best option to do.
Regarding you wanting to buy some of redbubble merchandise but not having the money, I have two options for you:
- Create a paypal account and accept donations, because you deserve it, no matter what you say.
- or create a patreon, if you don't know what it is, just check their website. Put up an account and be rewarded for the content you create and for what you still have to offer to the community.
As such, you will have a clean feeling about yourself, but you will be also given what you deserve the most, a rewarding work of creating.
Don't be afraid to let the FOE community give something back to you.
*dat first pic* --> Well, Rarity does rhyme with "charity"...
Yeah, giving it to charity does sound like the way to go. If the sum is large enough, then I recommend finding one of the recently announced brony charity projects, since those could probably use a decent "jump start" through a large donation.
If I could voice my opinion on this. I would suggest a split. Where half would go to a charity of your choice it more likely being the children's cancer you said in the post and for another run of the book. I suggest this more for the people who enjoy it so much can get a physical copy as well as help those that need it. As I saw in the comments that who patreon or PayPal for donations would be a rather nice choice as it would allow you to get the shirts you would like to have. But you could always send most of it to the charity's of your choice. If you get the feeling by doing this that you owe us something for the donations then I would lean towards to opinion that come to mind as of writing this. Not feel that obligation because of producing such an expansive would as the fallout equestria that you did. Or treat it as a commission of sorts. Like I believe I saw in one of your blog posts about continuing the store from littlepips friends and have the people that help throughout the donations send you oc's that you can use in the story. But as I'm probably not the first one to state that in the end the choices are yours and yours alone. I will tell you this that I'm not only saying that we all will still support your choice no matter what it is. Good day.
Depending on what you have in returns, do what your heart offers. What you made was a great and nice thing, if you wanted a light thing in return, is fine. I could see that you want to donate most of it to either keeping printing runs going of hard copies, or charities, and go for it. But a small reward, of a shirt of all things, well, I see nothing wrong there, again, depending on the amount you received overall.
You know, ever since you agreed to allowing me to get that item (that I am not mentioning here because I don't know if you will end up getting spammed with requests), you have gained my complete and total respect. It was your story that turned me from a person who dispised MLP into a brony.
I remember the first time I saw anything about Fallout Equestria. I thought to myself "oh no, why did my favorite game have to be infected by mlp like a lot of other things". But on day, I got curious and gave it a try.
And ever since, I have been a major fan.
Now, I not her to bore you with how I became a brony. You asked a question, and I personally believe that I don't have the right to answer it. Either way, youre going to be making many people happy and im sure that if you were to donate to charity, the whole brony community would have your back. By being generous, you show kindness.
But if you selected the roll into fund option, you woild be showing loyalty to the community by giving back if necessary. And if not necessary, then the charity card will still come into play.
I could just be rambling about useless information that you already know, but im tired so ill just cut this short.
In the long run, the choice is yours. Either option should make you feel good about yourself, and that is a good thing. No matter what you pick, we, the community will agree with you.
What you really need to consider (and look in to) is how Hasbro may view you accepting money from FoE. I've long told my friends that I think printing our stories is fine as long as we don't make any money off of Hasbro's property. The printing company fits into a little gray area because they're not technically making money directly off of Hasbro's property, but off of an author's writings. You, however, may not be so protected.
I'm not saying you can't, because I don't know for certain, but you'll want to look into it.
I would love to see a third printing, so my vote is the general fund. Mostly because I read the story after the physical version was all sold out the last time. Charity is often a good idea of course, so that's a good plan b. Another option that comes to mind, depending on the amounts of money involved, is to use some or all of it to support the community in a more direct manner. I'm sure Equestria Daily, and Fimfiction right here, would love a bit of help paying the hosting and bandwidth bills. Making sure that these places continue to be here for us is a good idea in my opinion, if not quite on the same level as helping out kids with cancer.
However, my vote is still for the option that might make a third printing of the physical version more likely.
Also, using a teeny bit of that money to get a cool shirt or two based on your own story is totally understandable. I applaud you for holding so strongly to your convictions that you haven't done it.
Well, I would suggest you to take SOME of money, you included a lot of your time into that, So I think you deserve at least ONE of those T-shirts :P And the rest would be donated.
And I just want to write it here, I really wanted this book, I even had enough money put aside for it, bur because of some idiotic local printing action, I decided to take it, as it would be over 50% cheaper (mostly because of currency exchange rates, or lack of those in local printing)
But that plan fell off, as one printing shop decided to just ignore us, and the other decided that EVEN WITH your agreement (remember those PM's?) they won't print it, as fanfiction is in this grey legal area, and they do not want to take any risks. So I not only lost chance to buy it in Poland, but also missed chance to sign to the second printing run. I am so frustrated, that I would kill one of the owners of those shops to print it. It is just too expensive to print it myself almost twice as much as if I got onto this printing.
I really hope there will be a third one, but according to their site, it is not likely.
So if anyone hears about another printing, (even better if somewhere in Europe) please let me know, I have to have those books.
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Agreed, you sound like you could use some help, and after everything you've done for us... don't be afraid to take a gift being offered.
Hell if I didn't just come off a month of unending financial issues every week only to come up with MORE this week... I'd buy you a shirt myself. It is the VERY least you deserve.
But of the options... I'd say go with keeping it in a general found for the third printing run, and if that falls through and never happens, donate to charity at that point.
Or as others said, split it, though would depends on just how much we are talking about as well.
I think that either charity or funds for future printings (I, personaly, really hope for a printing of Fallout Equestria: Project Horizon).
// Sphex
Take enough to get a t-shirt, at least. Think of it as our gift to you for this wonderful gift you wrote to us.
I feel like I need to say this; the fact that you feel so strongly about keeping Fo:E a gift to the fandom, as well as being so upfront with this dilemma of yours means a lot. I would ask you to allow the community to give you something in return. even if it is just a T-shirt or two.
Speaking as one of the people who ordered a set (just managed to jump on the waitlist hours before it closed), I see absolutely nothing wrong with you profiting from your hard effort. I understand your viewpoint on not making money from FoE; I share it myself concerning my own work. But at some point, I believe certain principles should be overcome by circumstance.
If it's true that you could use the money, I believe you are completely in the right to make use of it. At the very least, the money is your right, to do with as you wish; whether that be personal use or charity.
Seeing as you don't seem comfortable with profit, I feel like charity would be the best option, followed by saving against the cost of a third printing (and then donating that to charity if that doesn't happen).
If you're really hurting for money, I'd suggest accepting the money even if it's not super comfortable because we all do what we have to do when things are tight, but that doesn't seem to be the case (hence the above).
Charity certainly is a worthy cause, but I can't really agree with the aversion to “profiting” of of your own freely available hard work. It's not selling out or turning your back on your readers, especially when the intent was to sell them at cost and the reason there is profit is the efficient work by you and yours.
In the end, I do respect your decision, I just wish more fanfic authors were properly compensated for all the hard work they put in for our benefit—some of them need it but would never ask because it's just “not done.”
And we wonder why so many are never finished…
I for one would be extatic with a third run ( as I found it after they had been printed ) and is also think you deserve at least a treat !
Your story has created a universe that's touched , and enthralles a great deal of us , and helped others broaden and delve into their imagination to expand on what you set out in making !
I also agree , that a PayPal/ donations thing got you would be greatly accepted as a way we , your fans and supporters can show you our thanks above that of a simple thank you .
You have a gift in writing , anything we can do to help let you create , or assist in giving you the means to explore would not go astray !
Have them use a little bit of the funds, for a third run. And then have them donate to a charity of your choosing.
That depends on how much demand there is for a printed version of your story. If there are more buyers than there are books, put it towards a 3rd printing run.
Then, with the leftover funds (or the present funds if the demand isn't there), have them buy you a couple of your own damn t-shirts, and give the rest to charity.
Wouldn't personally accepting money for your story run you afoul of Hasbro's legal department, anyway?
so how do i go about buying a copy?
Considering I missed the first two printing I'd love a third and I have no aversion to you making a bit on the side seeing that the story you wrote is without a doubt the greatest thing i've ever read. I say go ahead and treat yourself a bit you deserve it.
I wanted to buy a copy in the 2nd printing, but didn't have the money. Now I have it, and would love a 3rd print ^^
The issue, of course, is that pretty much everyone thinks you should take at least some of the money, considering that you spent a portion of your time to write the book and you have economic problems (or so you seem to imply, sorry if that's false information) and we want you to feel appreciated (more so than you already are) and to be happy (well, you probably already are as well).
And since you're not going to allow anyone to give you money for the book, I can't really help with this decision beyond saying whether to donate to charity or to say anything involving the actual book printing. A previous suggestion was that of a split, and I wouldn't be adverse to that, but nor would I be adverse to you keeping it, you donating it to charity, or it all being funneled into the book funds.
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http://book.fallout-equestria.com... though you'll probably have to wait until the next printing, I dunno. Though these PMs of Kkat said they still had some. You can ask around there, anyway.
Yes a third printing would be nice.
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I thought Rarity was there. Because she shared Kkat's "Uuuuuuhhhgggghhhhh" feeling.
I do understand your unease about accepting money for something which you consider a gift, and, considering the method by which the money was made (from an unlicenced derivative product), it's probably safer not to as well.
That being said, whilst gifts of money are obviously inappropriate, I do feel that we should be able to send you tokens of our gratitude - your work had a rather significant impact on some of us, such that mere words can only poorly convey the depth of our thanks.
Dealing with the matter at hand, however, I feel the best option would be to let the printing group keep the money as pre-funding for their next print run, so as to cut down on waiting time, with the proviso that anything left over after their final printing be donated to whichever charity you prefer.
I understand your concern, Kkat, and I'd admire it. I probably like be so hesitant. However, while letting them keep it for another print would be nice, accepting some royalty might not be so bad. I mean, while him or is nice, you do Ned to think of yourself at times, but not forget hat you write for.
As Walt Disney said, he didn't make movies to make money, he made money to make movies.
Dose his help at all?
Simply put, you want to make sure that Fo:E makes it to as many fans as possible. That is your top priority, and burning your reader base through funding debacles is only going to estrange them.
You should be able to count on your funding entity to work with you. As it is, this zemming person (who actually seems pretty awesome) told you about funds that you could take if you wanted, although you have already stated that you don't want to profit from your book; he could have probably pocketed it and no one would have been the wiser. He's not a shady dealer, he's fairly open about what the Fo:E account is doing.
Count on zemming to put the money where it's necessary. Put it in the fund, and if anything is left over (as there most certainly will be), have it donated to the charity of your choice.
Choosing a charity to donate to is a largely personal thing; if you really can't choose, roll a D20 with charities in separate brackets. It's not really our place to decide where the money goes; it's yours.
I'm also not sure if this occurred to you, but accepting any royalties would be grounds for a potential C&D. When you start profiting, it makes a breach of intellectual property more likely, if I'm not mistaken. I have no idea how Fallout: Equestria stands as IP to Hasbro, but I don't feel that making any money from your book would be a good idea. Greed is tempting, but I'm glad you've already vowed to stick to your principles. It's making other complications less complicated.
Generosity has never been my strong suit. Hell, if I had all the money (And I mean all of it.) I would sit on my giant pile of greed and idk throw ipads and PS4's (because both are jus t terrible) people who get to close. So hell, If your not like me you're doing it right.
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Well, someone likes Microsoft a lot.
Not that I'll be able to change your mind, but I would like to make a comment about it.
Far from "gong against the spirit of the gift" or "selling out", I'm pretty sure, from reading through these comments, that everyone would be happiest if you just took the check.
Your choice.
2374817 I would then proceed to throw money at Microsoft and Samsung til something cool happens.
Well I would appreciate another printing (I missed out on the first two, unless it's not too late for me to get one now?
) But other than that since I know you won't let us give you anything, and you likely won't bring yourself to keep the money even though you earned it, I'd say donating the money to charity is quite honorable 
As much as I hate to tempt money away from charity, I would love to see a third printing (seeing as I missed the first two), so I'm afraid I'm gonna have to be a teensy bit selfish and say use it for a third printing.
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This is the concern I mentioned. A number of (free) fan-made games have faced this, apparently one plushie-maker (iirc), Molestia, and there are situations like the Twilight Sparkle's Secret Shipping Folder card game - which apparently cannot be sold outside of cons (private market). Most fan works (commissioned art pieces, etc) aren't going to face direct resistance from Hasbro because they just aren't widespread enough. Unfortunately Kkat is one of the few who might be famous enough for Hasbro to keep an eye on. It might be fine, it might not. But that's something Kkat would have to investigate.
The only truly safe way to get around this if you're going to make a profit is to take out/replace everything that comes directly from Hasbro and Fallout. Little Pip, Calamity, and Velvet would be fine, but you couldn't use the main six's names, the princesses' names, the Wonderbolts, Ponyville, Canterlot, Equestria, etc. So it would no longer be "Fallout: Equestria," but "A Post-Nuclear Apocalypse Setting: A Land Filled With Small, Colorful Horses Which Closely Resembles My Little Pony's Equestria But Isn't."
Staying strictly nonprofit is just safer.
A third printing would be wonderful, as would the opportunity to purchase some signed t-shirts. I would imagine that unlicensed t-shirts fall into the same category as fanfiction, but as I have not studied any legal work in detail yet, I have not further comments on this matter. All I can say is that going through books of laws is going to suck.
Donating for a third printing or donating for a good cause in your name?
Well they both help out people in their own way. For the printing, it gives a project to the people that print books and allows them to get payed. For the charity thing, it allows money to be given to a cause that needs money from an outside source to fund its expenses.
Both sound good, I guess it depends on how charitable your feeling or to whom. Another rout to go might be to suggest they split the money and donate to both ideas....That is if it's enough to make it feasible for both.
hi hi
I'm not very good with money myself, and I don't have a very good grasp on what it would take to start a third printing, but donating to a charity of your choosing sounds like a safe bet regardless.
Perhaps you could also save a portion for a third printing, setting aside those books for contest prizes and/or brony charity auctions?
(On a semi-related note, while I totally agree about accepting direct payment, I would imagine you could accept gifts in return, not directly related to acquiring the story, but gifts to you for no other reason than you being you. Other folks might want to be generous too. You haven't just given us a story, you've helped bring people together and made friends, which is not the same thing.)
Third printing for sure, seems kinda obvious to me. And as you say if there isn't enough demand for it just throw it at a random
night out in vegas.I mean charity.Or just flip a coin until you're satisfied with the result. Or throw coins.
Or throw coins at people and see which sides they end up on and take the result from the highest number of coins on chosen side for chosen result.
Or just turn all the money into coins you can lavish on people, do a weekly wagon ride in your local area and proclaim yourself their lord and throw money at them.
Would taking some money make you feel bad? I mean, beyond allocating funds away from a third printing or charity. Would it sour your opinion of your impact on the community, or make you feel like your contribution is less meaningful? It's not entirely relevant, but I don't think any of your fans think that is the case. In my opinion, you're just as worthy of receiving something as the other two initiatives. Fallout: Equestria will be a gift to the community regardless of any personal decision you make. To see you profiting off it would make us feel at least a little better seeing you get a little bonus.
And hey, those shirts are pretty cool.
Otherwise, I would love to see a third printing, though I certainly couldn't complain if it went to a charity.
I'd also echo sentiments that request you get a Paypal/Patreon account. Seriously, no one would complain if you got something for your troubles. You deserve it.
In the art picture, may I please get a link to the map in the background?
As someone who purchased a set from the second printing, I have no problem with the money going to you, but I understand that profiting from Hasbro's IP is legally & ethically questionable. Given that, my inclination is to roll most of the money forward into a third printing if there's enough to make a real difference in cost and the print project's legal advice clears it; otherwise, I'd say give it all to charity.
Edit: Or do this:
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I don't normally comment on blogs, but I feel an exception is in order here.
Truthfully I can't offer a concrete answer.
I'[d say if you're inclined to turn down the money and instead ask for it to be used for a third publishing run or charity, that's an extremely honorable course of action and I (and most likely everyone else here) applaud you for your selflessness.
And echoing everyone else here, but with everybody you've touched in some way, shape, or form with Fallout: Equestria- accepting some leftover money from an in-paper printing run seems perfectly reasonable in the context of a gift. FO:E is a gift, and gifts are indeed provided free of charge; this is just part of the fandom's attempt at giving back. And agreeing with most everyone else, you could even accept just a part of it: you should treat yourself, goodness knows how much blood, toil, tears, and sweat went into crafting this vast world.
And if you really do plan to not accept the money, it would likely depend on the amount there is. And most any line of reasoning might factor in, maybe a charity would be grateful for anything they could get, maybe they like larger donations so they can accomplish more with the money. I'm no business manager, but a third printing run can't be cheap, on the other hand, they had excess money to cause this issue in the first place. So I can't really offer much there, either.
This has likely been more or less a pointless waste of time, sorry about that. But if we're looking for a more subjective opinion: I'd say accept some of the money, and put the rest towards charity, a third run, or depending on the amount- both.
Just remember, you wouldn't be taking anything, just getting a share of the bumper crop that's sprung up.
Considering the nature of the work in question, would it be best to donate to a charity supporting efforts to disarm nuclear weapons or a group charity promoting peace?
I'm going to be a horrible person and argue that you should keep it... seperate.
I know you've had to turn down invites in the past to various conventions (our convention was one of them I think) these funds can be used to get you to those events as well as be thrown in for additional printing... which turns those conventions into a book tour, the money into a business investment, all expenses into business expenses and taxes both more complicated and less expensive.
But you know charity sounds good too.