An update on Film Stories, ways you can support us, and ways you can sort your Christmas shopping out…
Hello! Be warned, this letter switches between ‘we’ and ‘I’ a lot. It’s because I’m writing the letter, but I’m just one part of a brilliant, tiny team.
Firstly, the most important bit: thank you so much for supporting the Film Stories project.
Across print, audio, video and online, Film Stories is now heading into its seventh year (!) of operation. For an independent like us, it’s been a hell of a journey, and it’s only possible thanks to people like you. Who lend us your eyes and/or ears, and help us offer what we do.
From day one, this has been a passion project. Print film magazines, audio film shows, clickbait free websites, and a celebration of the cinema that’s been crowded out by superheroes and Star Wars over the past decade.
Thank you so much for your support.
This letter is about a few new things we’re doing, to hopefully offer you some extra things you might like, and also to try and put some coins in our pot. As we don’t have an abundance of marketing resources at our disposal, you get this letter and me asking nicely instead!
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Firstly then, we’re adding paid-for articles and digital subscription options to this website. The vast majority of the writing in Film Stories print magazine has never gone online, as we want the magazine to have extra value. Also, I’m aware that people want to support us, but a physical magazine might not be their preferred way.
As such, we’re going to be selling individual articles that previously appeared in print on this site, for 49p each. A small amount, as we look for a few new ways to bring in funds to help keep all of this going. There’s also monthly digital subscription options, and print too.
None of this is in lieu of the material we put on the site anyway. We’re not robbing Peter to pay Paul, as it were. This is extra writing that we’re experimenting by charging for.
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Secondly, just in time for Christmas, we’re launching some nerdy movie merchandise. We looked at reselling Back To The Future T-shirts and things like that, but we wanted to try our own thing. As such, we’ve designed a bunch of 100% independent Nicolas Cage merchandise: coasters, T-shirts, a mug, and the essential Nicolas Cage scratch-off poster.
That’s all for sale now, here.
We’re slowly going to be adding all of our back issues to buy digitally directly off the site, and as part of the digital subscription package too.
Also, anyone who subscribes to our Patreon for £5 or more a month will also be getting our digital magazines thrown in. Just working out the tech of that. You can find the Patreon here.
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I’ll level with you. Independent publishing has never been trickier. These new ideas are ways we can hopefully bring some funds into the Film Stories project and keep doing what we’re doing. The big money isn’t in supporting independent films, non-superhero blockbusters, British productions and such like. It just happens to be, though, where my heart is, and where the heart of our tiny team lies.
Thanks everyone again. If you can help us spread the word, that’d be amazing. If you’re secretly a millionaire and want to send us a chunk of money, thank you. If you want to buy a chunk of Film Junior magazines to send to schools, please get in touch.
But you know what? Just reading this. That’s supporting us, and not taken for granted.
Thanks everyone. Stay safe and well, and the very, very best to you.
Simon Brew (and the team)
Film Stories
Thank you for visiting! If you’d like to support our attempts to make a non-clickbaity movie website:
Follow Film Stories on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.
Buy our Film Stories and Film Junior print magazines here.
Become a Patron here.
