I mentioned this in my Royal Tutor post the other day, but for those who missed it: I’m on my way to Florida for sun, sand, and fruity drinks with li’l umbrellas in them! This means no Royal Tutor commentary this week (I’ll roll episodes 10-11 into a single post), although I do have an article submitted to another site so there’s a chance it’ll go up while I’m gone. Either way, I have some Tumblr goodies in the queue to keep you entertained, and I’m sure you’ll see me on Twitter in between naps, too.

In the meantime, a little announcement: I’ve finally joined the ranks of those no-account panhandling creatives and set up a Tip Jar! If you like the work I do–whether it’s the episode commentaries, the seasonal check-ins, or just those High Quality and Insightful Tweets–and can spare a few bucks, I’d love it if you’d consider tossing ’em my way!

But first, a few details and some anticipated FAQs:

Got the love but not so much the money? No worries! I’ve been there. If you can tip, I’d really appreciate it. If you can’t, you’re good. Just tell your friends about how cool and totally not dorky I am, and that’s good enough for me!

Also, I know a lot of my readers hang out on Anime Feminist too. If you already patronize Anime Feminist OR are considering patronizing Anime Feminist and you can only afford to support them or me, for the love of God and all that is holy, CHOOSE THEM. Your contribution will go towards not only helping to pay for the articles and editorial/staff work I do there, but also for the work of lots of other voices. More voices is better. Seriously. Choose them.

Why a tip jar at all? To be blunt, as I’m accepting more work from outside sources like AniFem and Crunchyroll, it’s getting harder to justify the time I spend on both the reviews for Josei Next Door and the episode commentaries for Anime Evo. (This is not a knock on the Evo team, by the way–I really like working for them and they do compensate me for my work, but they’re a smaller operation so the rates are understandably low.)

I don’t do this for the money, of course, or I’d have quit years ago, but money is a concern. Those student loans ain’t gonna pay off themselves, after all. The Tip Jar is a way for me to (hopefully) make up the difference so I can keep writing the episode commentaries and seasonal check-ins. It’ll also help me gauge interest in those posts to see if enough folks are interested in keeping them around.

Why not Patreon? I couldn’t think of anything to offer people in exchange for various subscription tiers at this point (I genuinely don’t have time to provide more content than I currently do), so I felt too guilty to start a Patreon. It’s not off the table, though; depending on reader response and if I’m able to come up with any fun and realistic rewards for patrons, I may look into it at some point.

Seriously, every little bit helps! People worry that small contributions aren’t worth it, but they really do go a long way. Heck, if every one of my Tumblr followers donated $2-3 a month, I could quit my day job and write full time. Wild, right? So don’t feel like you’re not helping. I promise that you are.

Pay It Forward: Since y’all are kind enough to help me out, I want to do the same for others. 25% of my monthly tips will go towards a progressive non-profit or charity (such as the SPLC, IRC, or Trevor Project). The rest will likely go towards that pile of student loans I mentioned. Which I suppose is also technically a non-profit, innit?

Shut up and take my money already! You got it, boss! If you’re interested in contributing to the JND Tip Jar, just click on Maneki Nyanko-sensei:

He also has a permanent home in the right sidebar of the site (or beneath the posts if you’re viewing this on mobile), just below my bio, and will probably crop up at the bottom of articles from now on, too. Good li’l kitty, guardin’ the monies for me.

Hit me with any questions you may have in the comments, and thanks as always for your support! I’ll be back with more writeups and musings before you know it. Cheers!