If you’re getting this as an email and you’re clicking to read it, thank you! At the end there are some almost naked, almost political, almost thought provoking pictures of me as a reward, so keep reading!
I’ve been writing a memoir, and I don’t want to publish it. The thing about all good memoirs is that they’re intensely personal. Once they’re published, anyone can read all your intensely personal angst for $14 or whatever that you get like $2 of, and it sucks. I’m really grateful for Michelle Tea, Ruth Fowler, and all the people that have been willing to put themselves out there like that. I’m not. Right now, and probably ever.
The other thing about book writing, is that there is no interaction! When I wake up in the morning and look at what I wrote the night before there are no comments! I miss you guys! Even more than missing you guys, I wonder about the value of writing when it is done, and then read, in isolation with no interaction between the reader and writer. I’ve wanted to have a conversation with every single author who’s book I’ve read. And I’d like to have a conversation with everyone who reads anything I write, to at least know who they are and how my stories relate to or mingle with their lives.
But I don’t want to blog again, not like this. I really never want to make my life an open book on the anonymous internet ever again. It was great while I was doing it, but I also learned how it can change relationships when a town full of people you’ve known for years are suddenly given the url to your life (mostly, oddly, because a lot of people apparently have low reading comprehension, and they read A and then assume B, and tell your customers C and D).
What I want is to blog intensely and personally like I did here, but more privately.
And, maybe I just have an inflated sense of worth from stripping, but I feel like my unique experiences, weird passionate thought processes, and hopefully kind of good writing are worth something. Think of it like a serial novel or a book in progress that updates most days.
Here’s what I’m going to do – if you have stuff in common with me and I want you in my little internet world (like, if you’re a magical music making van dwelling stripper, or you’ve ever lived in a vehicle, or we’ve stripped together), or if I read your blog for free, or if you love me but have not so much money, you’ll get the password for free. For everyone else, the password will probably be like $5/month or $10/3 months.
Here’s the survey part: raise your hand (I mean, leave a comment) if you’d pay a few bucks a month to read my awesome writing about cabin living and stripping and berry picking and birch spirits and phone sex and ghosts and sugar daddies and beautiful weird people almost every day.
Okay, if you read this far, here’s your reward:
I love the idea of you getting exactly what you want out of your writing. I would probably not pay for it, simply because I am squeaking by earning about $50 a month and relying on others for the rest. Maybe I fall into the free category? You read my blog AND I used to live in a van! 🙂 Either way, though, I hope your project turns out just the way you want it to.
Man fucks woman: I get the point about that, as it relates to the larger society, the way people talk to each other in movies/books/etc, general sexism, and one-way downhill violence. However, in my life/language woman-fucks-man isn’t an odd phrase at all with me or with my larger circle of friends. I say (as a woman to a man) “I want to fuck you,” or when telling a friend, “I fucked him.” My male partners will say to me, “Fuck me,” or “Thank you for fucking me.” It’s also flipped the other way, too, sometimes, as well as “We fucked,” or ‘Let’s fuck.”
i love the pictures. so awesome.
i would scrape together the money to pay to read your blog, but i see my “house”mate already commented above, so hopefully we could get a free pass. xo.
Love your writing, your stories and the whole caboodle. Was a professional domina and dabble in herbal remedies, potions, lotions etc. No money for a subscription, but if that changes I would be happy to contribute. I am hesitant to blog because of my concerns about privacy. That could change too.
Tara this is such wonderful news! I found your blog just before it ended. I read it from start to finish in a couple of days. I fell in love with your life. When you stopped blogging, I felt like I had lost something wonderful.
Tara!
Hey, It’s Colleen from SW.
I regret that I’ve never had the pleasure of working with you, although it has been my fantasy for years to work the upper Midwest like you did. I love your blog, and I have really missed reading it.
I could afford a one-time fee out of my Southern Charms money, but I don’t think I could justify an ongoing subscription. Like Sam above, I am one financial disaster away from homeschooling my kid in a van.
So if you can do a one-time fee, I would gladly pay it. Otherwise, I will really miss you.
Best,
Colleen
Long time lurker, occasional commenter here.
Personally, I would love it if you were to keep blogging and I’d love to keep reading. BUT (and there’s alwys a but) right now I’m kinda poor and unsure if I could swing paying for the priveledge of reading your yummy yummy words every month. Soooo, I could barter with you if you’d be interested in an arrangement like that. I knit and make tasty jam. 😉
Tara!
I’ve missed your writing so much, and can totally justify a couple bucks here and there to keep reading it.
I hope you are well and happy and full of good stories.
xo,
Honey
I think getting your fans to pay for your blog is a great idea. I completely understand why it would be better to blog to a smaller community of people who love you, but if you’re asking for readers two cents I’ll give you mine.
I read your blog a few months ago and found it so enchanting I scrawled through all the back posts and still check up here occasionally to see if you’ve written anything new. But having said that I wont be paying for a subscription, and don’t need money enough to beg for your passwords – I’d feel too bad.
I’d keep a new post up couple of months or so to keep this link alive (I’m sure a lot of people have commented in other places with links to “hobostripper” and it would be a good way to keep getting new subscribers to your pay as you go website.)
I think another idea to do as well would be to do articles for sale on various topics, like how to live in a van, the best attributes of the states you travelled in, and some of the most outrageous and moving stories from stripping.
I hope life treats you well and good luck in your new endeavours.
I love reading your blog. you have a precise and photo-like way with words. I have stripped, and have lived in a car, but not at the same time. 🙂 I also enjoy writing, and would like to continue reading whatever it is you’d like to talk about. I would be willing to pay for any good blog material, though i’m a bit lacking in the plastic department. Thanks for sharing your insights..
I’ve actually read your entire blog but never once commented. I love your stripper stories.
You should be compensated for the work you do, most definitely.
I, unfortunately, can’t offer money- but I’m a semi-professional illustrator and will trade you drawings.
Let me know!
Since I am currently an unemployed vagabond I don’t have much to offer for barter, and wouldn’t be able to pay the subscription fee until I am once again employed and have a steady place to live.
I would love to keep following your words, though. Would the archive of all the things that you post protected be available for people who are only able to pay at some point in the future? Or will they disappear after some amount of time up?
That’s awesome. I’d pay you if I weren’t a broke-ass-student-two-night-a-week-stripper, but I’d happily trade you all my strange recipes. Or commiseration on oddities in the club.
Wow. Good idea. I would love to read it, but couldnt afford to pay anything for it at the moment. However if you do ever travel through Germany i could offer you a warm guest wagon to stay in. It’s no van or little cabin in the woods, but well, still pretty fantastic.
I think you have good instincts and will be able to easily decipher who can afford to pay and who should get the pw free. I’m currently living with my parents and we recently cancelled our health insurance because money is so tight. I’d really like to continue reading (I’m not sure if your’e aware of how inspiring you are to a lot of people) but if I can’t get the pw, I understand – you’re not exempt from tough times either!
I would so pay some money, but would rather trade Appalachian organic farmer sometimes-sex worker former and future bus-dweller stories. Because that seems more fun than money. But for as long as money lasts as a system, it is more translatable into things other than shared thoughts. Though shared thoughts and their text translations are….
yehp rambling. I’m glad i check this site from time to time.
I definitely see the need for paying for access to things. Right now newspaper after newspaper seem to be shutting their doors due to online content being free. Writing, researching, publishing all take effort an energy just like any other job, so why not get paid? My only suggestion is to also make an annual option available for those of us with CRS; I can’t remember where my glasses are when they’re on my head, having to remember to pay less often is a good thing. =)
Dear Tara, Your blog has been a mind opener, for sure. Since I am barely computer literate, I have never bought anything with the computer and haven’t a clue how to do it and don’t know how to keep my computer secure if I did want to buy something that way. So, thanks for all the insights you’ve given me so far. I miss checking your blog to see what else you could teach me. Arcy
…still a few year away from retirement so I can afford to contribute.Thank you.Can I send a check? You are so worth it!
Hi again,
I love your writing so i’d go 60$ for 6 months, since thats my “extra” money right now.
Hi Tara,
I could pay $5/month to keep reading your wonderful blog. I’ve found it insightful, funny, and full of fabulous commentary.
Also, I could give you recipes, or fairy tales, in exchange for a password.
Thank you for writing, and for continuing to write (albeit to a smaller audience)!
Cheers,
~Dane
i’ve always been too shy to comment before, but i really enjoy your writing and missed reading when you stopped updating your blog, so i’d be happy to pay!
Tara, i have loved reading your blog for a couple of years now. I also enjoyed the tips and posting you wrote in van dwellers. I don’t live in my van but in my RV. Unforuntally with the economy the way it is, i can not pay to read your blog. I want to thank you for the time i spent following your blog. I really enjoyed reading about your adventures through life. Good luck
Love your blog. Inspiring, amazing. It refreshes my faith in humanity and gives me an arsenal of new ideas.
I’m a casual blog reader in general and won’t commit to a monthly fee – I’m also cheap as hell.
I’ll miss your blog. If I change my mind I’ll come and find you and dish it out.
Every now and then I think about what you said about listening to the dirt. I think of you and your cabin and your loving dog and your wonderful relationship with the river and nature.
I think I’d be alright if I quit my job and travelled around the country in a van with my boyfriend playing pool for money…
I DO hope you keep your current blog up and running so I have a place to refer to for your stories and lessons.
Thanks for everything!!! Great luck!
I found your blog in January, after you had ended it. I wanted to start dancing, and I found you. The strangest stripper resource I could have found, because you love things close to my own heart.
I have also lived in a van, though with a boy, and only for 3 months. But i’ve lived out of a backback here and there. I know the feeling of earth between my toes. I know the feeling of being a little bit different, a little bit wilder.
Now, I have been dancing since january, trying to survive in a big city, trying to compete with pretty barbie dolls. I meet people, I write, though my blog is never my best writing. (how do you write better blogs?)
I came back to re-read your advice for increasing one’s earnings, and lo-and-behold you have some content! joy joy joy!
anyways, sometimes I have money to donate, and sometimes I don’t. you know the way of intermittent cash flow. I hope on friday I can sign up for your delightful writing. (and purchase that picture I’m dying to see of you all strippered-up :D)
I would totally pay to read about your life.
I have loved reading Hobo Stripper, I find you to be an inspiration in my everyday life, and thanks to you, I’ve found a new way of looking at the beauty in my life, my world, and myself.
I would a small fee to read about your life, i have enjoyed reading your blog every scince i found it and i agree i think blogs should be private for the reasons you mentioned . I am so glad you are not living a van full time and you actually have a homestead to go to In todays time the gestapo i meant the police are so bad it just makes sense to have something of your own. I tell myself that having a home is more reason to travel because i can always have a place to rest if i become deathly sick or injured. I love your blog and will continue coming back for more .
typical i find this and yer not doing it anymore oh well happy wanderings wherever your path goes….