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Hello there, big announcement time with quite a few topics to cover! Three in total!

Topic 1: Book 10 Ebook is out today!

Yep, we are already all the way to book 10! Double digits, so that’s quite something.

This book marks the beginning of the beloved Nevermore arc! What more do you really need to know? Well, besides the fact that I can’t say when the audiobook will come out, something I’m certain a lot of people are wondering.

Anyway, get it today and reexperience the greatness of Minaga once more!

Linky link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2Z5MC51

Topic 2: Break time in September!

Next, I will be taking a break next month to watch my yearly Dota tournament and relax. As always, I will be pausing payments, so no one will be charged for the month of September. This means you can keep your current memberships active without paying a penny (this year, at least… but more on that later).

This year, I’ll even be going to my Dota tournament in person, so that’s pretty hype.

However, when I return, there will be some changes… none of them really up to me as outlined in topic 3.

Topic 3: Patreon announcement and the effects it will have.

I don’t know how many of you saw it, but on Monday, Patreon put out a pretty big announcement:

https://news.patreon.com/articles/understanding-apple-requirements-for-patreon

TLDR: Paying in the Apple IOS app will now be way more expensive, and my current payment model will be effectively discontinued by the 1st of November, forcing me to switch to the subscription model. That is to say, rather than be charged on the 1st of every month, you will be charged on the date you signed up and have 30 days from there (so for current subscribers, it won’t really change anything).

Except it will… though hopefully, something can be done about that.

The big problem comes with how pausing works on the new payment model I’ll be forced into. Right now, when I pause payments for a month to go on break (such as this September), new people can still sign up to read the backlog. With the new system, they straight-up can’t. No one new can sign up at all, which seriously sucks for more reasons than I want to get into here. What it will mean is that I won’t feel comfortable pausing for a month unless something changes, which will make you all pay for a month without any content, which will make a bunch of you understandably unsub, and it all just sucks dick.

But, as I said, hopefully, there can be a solution before I’ll take my break next year. Tonight, I’m having a meeting with the CEO of Patreon and a few others to discuss this, so let’s see what happens… oh, and I’ll also ask if maaaybe we can get a ”next post” button or something like that lol.

Anyway, with this forced change, I also see no reason not to enable Annual Subscriptions, which is exactly what it sounds like. Pay for a year and save 10% compared to just staying subbed that entire year, which will more or less equal out with my yearly break month.

As a last thing with this change… come November, if you are using the Apple IOS app, FOR THE LOVE OF VILLY, DO NOT PAY THROUGH IT! GO ON THE GODDAMN WEBSITE AND SAVE 30% ON THE PRICE THAT WOULD HAVE JUST GONNA STRAIGHT INTO APPLE’S POCKET ANYWAY. YOU CAN STILL READ AND USE THE APP, JUST DON’T PAY USING IT!

And, that’s about it. Remember that the break in September will be just like every other year, and all these changes will only matter from the time I return from my break.

Comments

Nobody

I will be at the dota 2 tournament for my first time too. Hype is real. But the price pool is still not announced xD

_mori

So there’s no problem using patreon via a browser?

D

Alright, no problem. Thanks for still giving us 5 chapters a week

Salvo

News on when the audible version on book 10 comes out? You and Travis are my heroes

Chrisbirdie

Interesting changes. Also love how you just casually drop that youre meeting the CEO of Patreon. Basically Jake going to have a little chat with Villy

MadMonty

I have no issue if you take a month off and not pause the payment, a few of my other authors I sub to, do the same thing and have the same issues with pausing the payments, for one payment a year I’m not fussed.

Wimsey's daughter

Have a great break. You absolutely deserve it. And congratulations on book 10 being out! I can't wait to read it again and maybe listen to it when the audiobook is published. I loved Nevermore. Have a great rest of your day.

Amathew2

Is the Apple iOS payment issue related to Apple pay or just using the app to pay by any means?

Scott

Enjoy the tournament mate!

Mohammed Sheekh

what about us android users? are we good or f*cked too?

Bryan D

As a multi-creator subscriber, I don’t want to be frozen out of my changes if a creator pauses. You can state you have my support (pure reader; not a creator) when you speak with Patreon. I have encountered this occasionally. It is frustrating. The subscription model is also a pain but manageable. One bank pull would be better tracked. It does discourage new subscribers on the last weeks of a month - there are always trades.

Pablo Barbatto

For month long breaks why not take 5 weeks instead and the week 4. Then chapter of that month just realease one of the chapter each week from that extra week you took off so we get content throughout the month you will out.

Jason Scott

Dunno what Dota is but have fun none the less man.

Zogarth

Nothing about Android users being affected, but let's not kid ourselves, it will happen at some point...

Hayden Leech

Tonight, I’m having a meeting with the CEO of Patreon and a few others to discuss this, so let’s see what happens… oh, and I’ll also ask if maaaybe we can get a ”next post” button or something like that lol. Just casual. Lol.

BamaPrice

This is one reason I've always said Apple is a cult.

Zizawah

I have been looking forward to get my copy of book 10. Enjoy DOTA and your break! Many many thanks for your wonderful creativity and hard work. Really appreciate your daily posts five times a week! I don’t like subscribing for a year to any Patreon so far but for your posts, absolutely will subscribe annually. Many thanks again!

Inneedofducks

There's already next post buttons lmao

Drendude

I think it's along the lines of Apple taking 30% of all in-app purchases, which is absurd, so Patreon is passing that charge along to the patrons so that the creators are getting the same amount per patron.

FRED MOWERS

When’s the audiobook releasing!!! Tell Travis Baldree to hurry up

BenjiVoid

Apple forces any in app purchases to give 30% to them and don't let the app tell you to buy elsewhere.

David Thomas

Good stuff! Thanks for keeping us up to date! I definitely appreciate not being blindsided by all this as I’ve totally been paying through the app on iOS and I’m definitely the type to not even realize a 30% increase until it’s been like 6 months worth of payments! So yeah, thanks for that! Lol

william farmer

You work incredibly hard and produce consistently top quality work - I am NOT bothered if I pay for a month for you to simply vacation! Thanks for being one of the best authors on Patreon.

Austin English

That sucks for Zog. His month off is when a lot of new subs happen. People catch up on RR and want more knowing they can pay to read 50 more if they sub to patreon. Now they can't sub during the break and read those extra chapters. That's how I started subbing 2 or 3 years ago during the month break.

Andromeda Adams

I’m sure it will all work out. 😁

Bryan D

“Meeting the CEO”… sounds equivalent to Jake saying “yeah, I was at the Gods’ watch party”

Randi Reed

In your meeting with Patreon, can you also ask for the ability for readers to adjust the text. Like make the text larger and make it black background with white letters. It’s so much easier to read when I can actually see the words. Patreon is not disability friendly for readers. I also support the next post button and maybe something to indicate which posts have been opened/read.

Thereader

you say app but i dont use the app on my phone just the internet will i be okay

Talon Michaelis

So I've seen other patreon writers just have one post weekly when they go on break and then leave the payment up if you have any extra chapters ready. And it let's us still get a bit of our jake fix

hill44

^This. I had to stop reading paper books over a decade ago because of eye problems, and read on my kindle with white text on black background so I dont get a migraine after 15 minutes.

Bryan D

I pay monthly and am not concerned either. I don’t sling money around and anyone who suffers from one month’s cost isn’t managing their budget well.

Dylan Suomela

From what the article said, that 30% increase only applies to new memberships made after November. Any recurring payments from memberships started before then won’t be affected

Reno

I wonder how much of my money's going to Google because I have quite a few subscriptions I started on my phone. I vaguely remember them also having some fees. Something to check later...

Rui Lourenço

Patreon through the Android APP does not show any extra fees and I haven't paid any despite using it for a couple. I think it's specifically about how Apple handles AppStore transactions.

Dougie Mitchell

Ngl, I don't care about the extra month of payment without content. You pump out some amount of content without dropping in quality that it's well worth it but I can see how it could lose you subs. Hopefully you'll get it sorted for next year 👍

Jared Evans

Any idea on the Audiobook release date. Or a general idea

William WIlson

Kindle offers a text to speech option that is sort of like an audio book. I'll also note that book 9 came out in audio form like a month or 2 after the e book. I imagine we will get the option to pre-order by the end of the month with a release date set a month after. That being said imma listen to it via the text to speech option and will listen when it comes out on audible too.

William WIlson

I think we are coming to the end of book 11 already if not in book 12. Zogarth pumps these books out and while I'd love new content in September I also understood the value of needing time off and taking a month from work. Personally I'm taking the entire month of November off from work and will also probably take a break on reading for the month.

William WIlson

I got started with the audio book being recommended and because I had some free credits I decided what the heck. After book 3 I dropped my pierce brown red god pre-order so I could get book 5 or 6 and cashed out all my audible credits. These got me to book 8 which I read off rr and then subbed for book 9.

Josh Hietpas

So if im using ios, i should cancel my sub in September and resub through the internet in November?

Govir Drauka

What are you using to connect to Patreon? I’m using the iOS app in dark mode right now. Not sure I can make the text larger though (unless I make *all* of my phone text larger). I also pulled up in Chrome on desktop and there’s a dark mode available. And you can use Chrome’s zoom feature to make the text larger.

Josh Hietpas

Also zog, i know you can make posts that are free and you should be able to pin them to the top of the feed. You could try making a note that you are on break so people can read that prior to subbing. Just a suggestion.

retrorocket0

It's more than just the app. The app makes it more expensive but even normal subscriptions can't be paused in the same way anymore.

Zogarth

It's not a feature. it's a few people paying someone to add it themselves or spending way too much time on doing it themselves for something that should be a basic feature.

Inneedofducks

Ahhhh I see, I've seen a few creators using things like that so just assumed 🤦

Amathew2

I doubt it’s a monopoly since you can use Patreon through other platforms. Most companies have an iOS alternative that keeps Apple from having a monopoly. Of course if you run Apple products you get screwed but you could be presumed to be aware since you opted to buy from Apple.

Seen Death

I hate propiatary companies in general, apple being one of the main offenders lol Getting into IT right now, and some certs require some info on mac and stuff... when im looking for employment im literally going to deny any jobs that work 1/3+ of the time on that scammer companies stuff (apple) ... which sucks for me but i dont support their bs. Same thing for most social media (i hope it burns) but now im ranting lol hope ya have a good day

Lommel

It's only for NEW payments authorized in the iOS APP. That means, NEW payments. When you have to actually set one up. See https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/27992185537037-How-iOS-in-app-purchases-work-for-fans --- QUOTE: "The App Store fee does not apply to existing memberships and memberships made on other platforms."

Seen Death

Its what they call a MOBA (same type of game as League of Legends)... its kinda niche but the people who enjoy it, are pretty huge fans, comparable to being at/watching a professional sporting season

Lommel

Another way to explain it: Normally, on Patreon but also on other websites, you get multiple payment options. Paypal, and lots of others, many dependent on the region or country you are in. Apple now forces all apps to ONLY use their one and only own payment system, and they don't allow any choice. And of course, their own payment system takes a 30% cut of the amount paid. Apps can no longer, for example, call out to Paypal for payment from an iOS app. APPLE IS USING AND CEMENTING ITS MONOPOLY and extends it to catch all payments and forces every app developer to only use a single option - the one owned and provided by Apple itself. But they can only enforce this for iOS apps, if the service in question has a website, you can go there and avoid the Apple payment option.

LoFiSamuraiJack

Dota tournament in person is gonna be hype as fuck. Have a good break man you deserve it.

Manowar

This is what i do, chrome darkmode and zoom in (only happens on the current tab, rest stays normal).

Manowar

Shirtaloon does it, but i imagined it's just him adding a link manually to every post. Would indeed be nice as auto feature to quickly navigate recent posts.

Jack

Guess I start my annual re-read in soon

Zizawah

I use dark mode on iOS app and actually use the zoom functionality of iOS to read. It works really well on landscape mode. Enable zoom in accessibility settings and use 3 fingers tap to zoom in or out. As for setting zoom level, it's a bit tricky using three fingers to pinch and zoom but there's an easier way (should google it).

Mrburns93

Will zogarth be playing in this tournament? Or just going as an audience member? I haven't been subbed long enough to have experienced last September

Dalton Akin

Have fun at TI my friend and fellow Dota player. Hopefully you can talk some sense into the CEO! I just wish they'd implement different themes so I can read longer without harming my eyes. Anyway, congrats on the new release!

Grine

Oh a DOTA player?

Decibel790

Will the April fools chapter be available for all to read, or will that be a patreon/royal road exclusive?

Cryingwisp

Love the new book ar

prahasth dave

Congratulations and hope your attainments in the Dao of cliffhanger have reduced.

RiCarlo Woods

These changes arent all bad, It also means that if you join at the end of the month you wont then be immediately charged again at the beginning of the month. Also if you cancel you wont immediately lose, you'll have it until the end of your subscription date. But yeah please dont give Apple a dime.

Taylan

Thanks for the heads up, as an Apple user I wouldn’t have known to just go to the site lol

Abhishek

Congrats on this amazing milestone!! And For the love of Villy don’t leave us with a crazy cliffhanger.

Randi Reed

I’m using the Patreon app on my iPhone. I don’t want to have to change all of my phone settings for one app, just to change it all back when I exit the app. Royal Road, Kindle, Nook, and most other book apps have reader friendly settings. I know Patreon isn’t a book app, but I’m sure they could add a reader settings option.

Ryan Ulrich

Oooo, are we gonna get the SS using his transcendence to fuck up the Prima Alliance when they try to ambush him?!?!?!? Single handedly fucking up EHs plan

Thenais

will recurrent payements be impacted by this apple thing ? i have a bunch of active patreons i like, an i have no idea which one i pay using apple or my pc navigator.

Vinstro

And this is why I save my chapters in August so I can read them in September <3 Those policy changes suuuuuck though, I'm sorry Zogarth!

Mikolaj Wasiak

Question I just joined today I won’t charge on September 1st because his pause it for that month correct

Johnsmith

I had no idea about the price changes for ios, thanks for the warning, a lot of people wouldnt say anything at all.

ANDREW LEHMAN

Yeah, I do read the synopses at the beginning of your books, even if I just finished the previous book. At the very least, lets me know which plot points are most relevant to keep in mind for the upcoming book(s)…

Kaylynn

This book has given rise to my new favorite character of the series. Minaga is flippen amazing.

Rodney

Thank you because a next post button would be great

Alex

I like the subscription model. Not the best for pauses, I understand. But I love that im able to sign up at the end of the month without feeling bad about wasting it by not waiting till the first.

greg belokopitsky

Your a good egg, Zogarth! Thanks for looking out for us!

FRED MOWERS

Can you please please please find out for us, at the very least, approximately when the audio book is going to be released?

Steven Bartels

I suppose you could lower the price for break months. Make it a price that recognizes they're still ahead of RR but there's nothing new for the month.

HateBate

who do you main in dota?

David

Just my luck again. I joined this month and he is taking a break. Second time this has happened to me.

Kahn Thorpe

Oh well hope you enjoy your holiday see you on RR in October

ABTelford

Enjoy your vacation time!

VenL.C.

Uggggg. It’s only September 9th!! The wait is sooo long! Zog, Concerning the billing concerns with your future breaks… You know what would really appease us; More bonus chapters. Just pre load a couple bonus chapters to release during your vacation. 😁

Rose angel

To be fair, that would be dope

Kyle Farmer

I can't wait till book 10 audio comes out. Zogarth as a truck driver.... thank you your books in audio format literally help me make it through the days. Keep up the amazing work can't wait to hear more

VenL.C.

Thank Villy it’s October!! Welcome back Zog! Yessssssss

Lukas Eagleton

Is there any word on book 10 audio release?

Ingwazeir Staghand

Hello Zogarth! Just started book 9, and wanted to let you know and thank you for doing the recap! It really and truly helped me remember what happened and was done in a way that was fresh in it's own right!

mitchell duddy

Has book 11 chapters been removed?

Iam AAA

Thank you so much for the books! Just found out there was a community for one of my favorite series of all time :))

Straat Junon

This is the only post I'm seeing? Anyone else having this issue?

Maj

What happened with all the chapters?

Jack

If you clear all filters they appear no idea why but it works

Remzi

I finished the book in audio book, and started again, I may be odd but this will be my 3rd run thru of books 1-10, cant wait till 11 hits audio book. i really enjoy this, i seem to catch tid bits each time i listen thru again. Im so glad i stumbled upon Zogarth and this book.

Elliote Elanor

For this content i dont mind paying 1 month without content a year xD

Lucy

ABTelford

I think you posted this reply in the wrong area book 10 release date has nothing related to Villy being sad or dying. 😉

ABTelford

Random question: is there a map of the different earth cities in relation to each other? I know earth isn't going to look anything like it did but...if there's no forthcoming map, that's ok I guess, but if there's a map floating around somewhere in our dear authors head I'd love to have it. for funzies

jobe matula

Samsung all day...

Canis

I'm sure its somewere in a Q&A or something but can you tell me what you write with? I've been struggling with formatting 'system' messages.

nathan

Is it just me or did all of Zog’s post just disappear 1/22/25

Hanson

That did not happen to me, though has in the past. I hit the home button and/or reloaded the page to get it back.

Christian Sullivan

Just heard the recap. THANKS FOR THE RECAP!!!! who knew bees came from wasps...weird.

Peter Smith

In this universe they do. However in our universe wasps and bees are as different as ants and termites. Vespids are streamlined hunters specialized to a certain series of creatures, mud daubers for instance hunt larger ground spiders such as tarantulas, while yellow jackets are more akin to carrion feeders who hunt weaker insect and animals, the only true danger a yellow jacket has for larger creatures is their community structure including their queen. Now if we focused on just yellow jackets and compared them to the aspidae, or bees, they would seem like cousin species, however that is a far difference as bees must produce their own food. A wasp hunts for food, while a bee converts material into food. It would be completely viable to label bees as the alchemists of the insect kingdom. Even the carnivorous vulture bees, must convert flesh into an edible substance for themselves, while hornets and wasps are able to break down basic materials into sustenance. It is one of the reasons why hornets and wasps will raid bee hives, but do not take over their hives for their own, the environments required for the two types of creatures to grow are nearly inhospitable to the other.

TwistedVanity

I you chat with patreon people is their any way they can allow us to change the font size. I'm ancient and my eyes aren't as good as they were

Cord

Just because they can’t live in the same environment doesn’t mean that bees didn’t evolve from wasps ie, Bees evolved from ancient predatory wasps that lived 120 million years ago. Like bees, these wasps built and defended their nests, and gathered food for their offspring. But while most bees feed on flowers, their wasp ancestors were carnivorous.

Cord

And ants are even a descendant of wasps and relatives of bees

Peter Smith

If we were speaking in matters of english terminology then you would be correct, however as we are speaking of ancestry english is not the language used as it is not refined to describe the evolution and divergence of the hymenoptera. To an english speaker any and all hymenoptera is a form of "wasp" in the same way that any and all Canidae are "dogs". However there is a direct genetic and ancestral difference between canid (dog), vulpis (fox), and lupus (wolf). The same thing happens with the hymenoptera, however it should be noted that it is an even wider difference than the canidae as hymenoptera are an order while the canidae are a family. If we were to back the ancestral line of the canidae up to its order of carnivora the difference is even more distinct as this would include bears, cats, skunks and hyenas. It is the same with the hymenoptera which ironically include many variants of fly. If we were to lower the ancestral line and nomenclature down tothe divergence between formicidae, vespids, and apidae, which are the creatures to which we are referencing, then the difference is even more apparent as with canidae. As the canidae are a single ancestral family, same as with the vespids, formicidae, and apidae. Even more importantly if you trace the line of evolution/adaptation the apidae are the most genetically distinct as every variant of hymenoptera diverge off of the direct line to apidae. This is important as many geneticists debate as to whether this makes the apidae the most advanced of the hymenoptera, or if they are simply the most direct line of evolution within the order. Even more interesting is how, in a very similar way as to the evolutionary lines of crocodiles, many descendants of the hymenoptera order seem to stop at their divergence while the apocrita line seem to continue adapting and evolving to further lines gentics. The parasitica which carry the insects most common to lay eggs on and parasitize living creatures are differentiated from aculeata by the fact that the parasitica retain a direct ovipositor, while the aculeata have developed that organ into the feared stinger, Which inject their venoms. This is important as the aculeata are the most eusocial of the entire hymenoptera line, crafting group hives and generating queens to handle the propogation of their species.

Peter Smith

@Cord again you are not wrong. The difference is in the presentation. Just like saying that Ketchup is a sports drink, it's not wrong it just needs context to understand why it is true so that we don't perpetuate unintended misinformation. Also cursed knowledge ketchup is a liquid made from a fruit mixed with electrolyte heavy materials and carbs (sugar), therefore, ketchup is a sports drink.

Tui

I am visually impaired and I unfortunately have to use my laptop and zoom. If you use your phone the app is set at that font. So if you don't have a desktop or laptop you can try zoom on a browser instead.

John Kinkead

Is anyone else having issues accessing chapters in the Patreon app? My phone just updated to iOS 18.3 and now I can’t find any of the chapters. I have cleared search filters, signed out, uninstalled the app and it still doesn’t show any chapters. The only post I’m showing is an announcement about book 10. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Dream

I use the reader view on the firefox browser, it opens a page with just the text and you can customize the font size and what not. You can probably find some chrome extension that does the same thing.

Jansen ogden

If you get us a Next Post button I will subscribe until I die

Scott L

I wanted to pop in and say yes! I read the recaps. I wish everyone did recaps like you do. With all the books I read from the unfinished series, it's so nice to have cliff notes for what I read a few months ago. I don't have an eidetic memory, so recaps are awesome! Thank you!

Colleen OLeary

I enjoyed the recap esp the jab at thinking Chris and Felix are the same. That mention actually reminded me how Chris and Jake met at the cabin attack early on. Right on!

Kuteesa Frank

Hello people. I am a creator from Uganda and I am kindly requesting for you to visit and check out my DEBUT African mythological book series. It's free of charge for paid and free members - in a collection till the end of this April. Just Incase you love suppoorting black content and able to please, I am kindly 🙏🏿 requesting for your shoulderr... Lift my goal from 1 patron to at least 5 or 10 so I can afford to hire illustrators. Meanwhile if loved Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. This is middle earth from an African perspective. All myths and tales and histories are based on African. The link to the CHRONICLES OF GEBIA collection I have attached below. https://www.patreon.com/posts/122624929?utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=android_share

Kuteesa Frank

I am sorry for commeting like that below. But I trust if God wills my African mythological book series can attract ... Even 10 patrons here to help me afford illustrators. If anyone loved Tolkien's world, 9years world building has enabled me achieve something closely Middle-earth but based on African mythols and history... Please pleaseee check me out and support if you find it worth your support. 🙏🙏🙏

Straat Junon

This is super sketchy. Wtf. This guy is liking people's posts so they get a notification on this chapter. Then they see his begging message. Scummy.