How much work is this blog, and how can readers support it?

Hi! It amazes me that you post such fantastic, well-thought-out, and nonjudgemental advice/responses every single weekday. How much time do you spend on a blog this big? Are there ways I can support you doing this work? How fast does the ask backlog accumulate?

Aw, shucks! I get lovely fanmail sometimes but rarely do I get letters that are both fanmail and questions I can answer. Thank you so, so much!

Each Ask Polyamory entry takes me anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour. I also spend a lot of time sifting through the letters I get, identifying which ones are good candidates for the blog, and managing my eternally overflowing inbox. And there’s general maintenance to make sure the website & tumblr cross-posting & comment section are working well. So I’d estimate that the blog takes around 5ish hours of work per week.

I don’t like to be late or skip a day, so I usually queue up a bunch of posts at a time, which means I do a solid chunk of work in one day and let that carry me through the week. I like to have a queue of ~2 weeks at any given time, but sometimes it runs low or gets up to 4 weeks’ worth, depending on what my life works like. I work one full-time job, one part-time job, and am a single parent, so I try to give myself enough of a buffer that the chaos of my life doesn’t impact my readers!

As for the backlog, it’s hard to say. I cannot, and do not, answer every letter that comes in (see my explanation here.) I don’t think any advice columnist does! But for letters that I do answer, it usually takes 1-3 weeks for an answer to be published. I occasionally bump things around in the queue if a letter seems more time-sensitive, but I try not to set that expectation.

The best way for readers to support me is by reading the blog, sharing it, and linking it wherever people are needing a resource on polyamory! If you’re sending me a question, the best way to help me out is to use the search & FAQ to make sure it hasn’t already been answered, then send it over in a clear and concise way. And, if anyone is able & willing to financially support me, I have a Patreon, where supporters can get stickers & extra content that isn’t posted on the blog!

Patreon reminder!

Now that Polyamory Advice is posting 5 days a week, rather than 3, you're getting almost twice as much content - always for free!

I spend a significant amount of time and energy on this advice blog, and I'm thrilled to be at a place where I can answer even more questions every week. But I'd also love to be able to grow even more. If just 10% of my tumblr followers pledged $1 a month, it would have such a huge impact on my life and my ability to keep writing, educating, and advocating.

Patreons who pledge $2 or more will get two Polyamory Advice stickers! And all Patreons get exclusive extra content, which in the coming months will include:

  • "Polyamorous playlists" of love songs carefully selected to exclude monogamist tropes
  • Interviews with polyamorous and monogamous people about their relationship philosophies and experiences
  • Polyamory jokes & silliness by yours truly
  • Polyamory-related comics & artwork (commissioned from friends of the blog)
  • ...and more!

If you enjoy my work, please consider heading over to Patreon and supporting me!