Besides “Who is it for?”, one of the most important questions to ask with any new creative endeavor is, “How could I fail?”
If your new creative endeavor has no possible way of failing, then it isn’t very creative. On the other hand, if the stakes are so high that failure will be catastrophic, then you need to know how you could fail intimately, and then think carefully before embarking.
Knowing how you could fail won’t necessarily prevent failure. You can see a trap and still get ensnared in it; you can know traps are in the woods, and not see it until you’re in it! But knowing how you could fail will help you plan for it, so you can get back up, and it will help you navigate your journey, so you have a better chance of success.
With my new Patreon experiment, I know that there are several ways I can fail.
First, I can fail to convince people that what I am offering on Patreon is of value. This is especially pertinent because most choir directors don’t directly purchase music for their choirs, so the idea of supporting a Patreon with that as the reward is not immediately enticing.
Second, I can fail to find the time in my life to complete my commitments. My life is busy, fluid, and not always predictable on a day-to-day level. In addition to my organizational and teaching commitments at two institutions, I have actual commission work as a composer and arranger, I have this daily blog, I have a book I’m revising, and I have many other personal and professional commitments. I want to commit to my Patreon project, and I believe that starting now, without precisely seeing where the time will come from, is the best way to make it happen. I also believe that having people keeping an eye on my progress via Patreon will be a good way to hold my feet to the fire.
Third, I can fail to produce compositions and arrangements of value to the community I seek to serve. My music might fail to support my community. But the gift of this way of committing to writing is that I will continue to get a new chance to grow and compose again with each passing month.
If the ways I could fail don’t outweigh the ways I could succeed, I hope you consider signing up for Patreon and joining me on this journey!