End Of Year Eight

Eight years of the Retreat concludes today.

This will not be a short post. I will break this up into three parts: Admin, Observations, Miscellenaia. I ask that you read the former two at the least, and the last as a courtesy.

Administration

Readership reached a reliable average readership per post in the low three figures. Part of this is due to narrowing of focus (see Observations), and part of this is due to engaing in multi-post series on a regular basis (ditto).

Readership remains dominated by the Anglosphere, specifically the United States followed by Cananda, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Continental Europe follows after that, and most of the rest of the world having one or two readers at the least.

There's been more Comments than in past years, as the Comment Policy's secondary objectives of encouraging compatible audience growth to speak up is now having its intended effect.

After eight years, this is finally sustained year-on-year growth. Alas, it's coming a bit late.

Observations

All forms of publishing have one reliable pathway to success: a well-defined niche.

It was the case before social media and the opening of the field to independent competitors to Big Media--holdover from Old Pub can tell you this--and it remains the case now.

The Retreat niched down to writing about tabletop role-playing games and suddenly the audience took off. Drifting from this focus for a single post craters readership and gives what Josh Strife Hayes a "Quit Moment". Empire turned into a Big Think blog focused on dissident politics and readership stabilized and started ticking up. The Study needs a better niche than it has, but it has one.

And, being a cripple in a wheelchair, doing this unpaid as a hobby is not a long-term solution. Fortunately this changed over the last few years, and there is now sufficient maturity and diversity of options (built on the corpses of early adopters- never be in the first wave to hit the beach) makes this practical to pursue now that we have successful examples to model our own upon.

However, this requires decentralization of presence to decentralize risk- at least until you are willing and able to do like Andrew Torba or Vox Day and wholly own your online presence, software and hardware alike, down to email and banking access.

Siloing off specific topics to specific publishing channels makes them more viable sources of income due to diversity of audience, regardless of overlap. People who like Happy Puppy Adventure Time are not there to read about the necessity of a nation needing to tell the stories where they win and their enemies lose; despite the fact that the latter is what sparks the former, there is little audience overlap- they needed to be in separate silos if publishing material about them is to be commercially viable.

The means to earn an income doing this is now here, and that is going to happen; the specific plan will be detailed tomorrow.

Miscellenia

My birthday is one week from today.

If you would like to send me a present, I have several suggestions for you.

• Steam: Wish List is here.
• GOG: Wish List is here.
• Amazon: Several wish lists available. General, Misc. Anime, Concept Art, Genre Fiction, History Media, Middle-Earth Stuff, Mobile Suit Gundam, Record of Lodoss War, Soundtracks, Video Games.

If you want a more specific list, here you go, taken from the above (and two exceptions):

• UDON's books for Southern Cross and MOSPEADA.
• Date Masamune
• Dougram
• Hidetaka Tenjin's Artistry of Macross: From Flash Back 2012 to Macross Frontier
• The Ancient City
• Sabaton: The War To End All Wars
• Super Robot Wars 30
• Yoko Kanno Seatbelts Rai Chiky Box Set
• The Traveller Book (My ancient '80s copy is falling apart)
• LEGO Galaxy Explorer (a retro '70s Space set)

Notes:

• Just about every tabletop RPG product found on Amazon can be found at DriveThruRPG.
• Gift Cards for Amazon, Steam, Switch, Half-Price Books, or just plain money are gladly accepted; I do not, EVER consider them an insult.
• I have not given up my interest in the pew-pew. It's just a pain in the ass to gift bangsticks thanks to the Brotherhood of Alcoholic Traploving Firebug Enjoyers. Should you wish to indulge me, we'll talk privately so no one gets into trouble.
• Import Hell for Macross film/CDs is here.