One year ago, we founded Story Embers, and we weren’t sure what would happen from there. Over the past 365 days, we…

 

• Reached 20,000+ visitors on the site.
• Got a listing in the Christian Writers Market Guide.
• Crafted a manifesto that defines the attributes of masterful Christian storytelling, which more than a dozen published authors signed.
• Produced, polished, and published 70+ articles on the writing craft.
• Opened 8 Guilds to provide writers with tight-knit online communities.
• Hosted our first short story contest.

Each week, our team has invested dozens of hours in…

 

• Continually refining our vision for Christian storytelling and determining how to best enact it.
• Analyzing what our subscribers need and brainstorming ways to help them achieve their aspirations.
• Taking each submission we accept through multiple rounds of editing to bring the content and style to professional standards.
• Discussing how we can improve our strategies to offer optimal advice and resources for various skill levels.

In summary, we devote copious amounts of time and energy to serving all the writers in our audience, ensuring that they’re growing, and meeting their needs. That’s our mission, and we wouldn’t change it for anything.

 

We have big dreams for the future as well.

 

In addition to continuing our current initiatives, we hope to…

 

• Organize bimonthly panel discussions where we enlist authors to answer your writing questions through a live video feed.
• Publish several in-depth article series on different topics that are relevant to Christian writers.
• Run another short story contest.
• Release a free video course on developing the right mindset to succeed as a Christian storyteller.
• And more!

But we need your help to accomplish these plans.

 

As you may or may not realize, we don’t get paid for the hours we spend on tasks at Story Embers. Many of us have full-time jobs, and we work here simply because we’re passionate about edifying and encouraging fellow Christian storytellers.

 

Running Story Embers not only involves considerable time but also money. Web and email hosting, contest and giveaway prizes, and other occasional expenses require funding. And if we rely only on volunteer hours, sustaining the site and fulfilling our goals to equip more storytellers will be difficult.

 

That’s why we decided to start a new project for our first anniversary.

 

Announcing Our Patreon Page

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this platform, Patreon allows people to financially support creators they love with just a couple dollars per month (it’s kind of like an ongoing Kickstarter).

 

We’ve built a Patreon page because we want to continue managing and expanding Story Embers for the benefit of all the writers who congregate here—and your support will enable us to do so.

 

Plus, we’re granting exclusive perks to the people who choose to contribute.

 

Click here to check out our Patreon page and learn more.

 

In addition to the regular rewards our patrons get, anyone who signs up within the first week will receive a free Story Embers magnet!

 

As soon as $200 has been pledged per month, we’ll begin working on launching our panel discussions.

 

We want to reach more Christian storytellers to provide them with community, urge them to pursue excellence, and aid them in navigating thorny topics. Being a great Christian storyteller isn’t about achieving publication. It’s about telling stories that deeply impact readers—like those described in our Christian Storytellers Manifesto—and we need your help to bring this vision to fruition.

 

View our Patreon page to consider becoming one of our sponsors.

 

Looking Ahead

Our first year of operation has been incredible, and in many ways, all of you make our work worthwhile. Your comments, emails, and esteem mean the world to us. We don’t know where we’d be without such an enthusiastic audience.

 

Thanks for giving us a memorable first year at Story Embers. We’re excited to be guiding and inspiring Christian storytellers for many years to come!