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I'd Rather Give it Away By ERIC FRANCIS 1st of Aquarius 2004 For those of you new to Planet Waves -- mostly readers of Jonathan Cainer who have been arriving in droves during the 18 months I've been filling in for him -- this web site wasn't always so commercially oriented. Everything was free, including the weekly horoscopes. That I now charge for my horoscopes is simply a matter of taking care of myself and the people who work for me. Some readers understand that supermarkets don't give writers and web designers special treatment. Others get annoyed when they realize that what was a free service is now a subscription service. And lots of people have signed up over the months with incredible warmth and appreciation. Personally, I'd rather that every feature on this web page be free. Heck, I have an Aquarius moon! And I'm a writer. I want lots of people to READ what I say! Instead, we've created the next best option: a socially conscious business. We're a business that charges reasonable fees for good work. We have a guiding principle of creating products that exceed advertising promises, often lavishly. We actually answer the phone, and have a toll-free number to encourage you to call if you need to -- (877) 453-8265. We work quickly resolve any problem you might have, which is pretty rare anyway. We will call you and then if necessary send you a personal letter if your email address bounces. We take your suggestions and we refund your subscription fee if you don't like our service. We give discounts to students and people on fixed incomes, and turn nobody away if they can't afford to subscribe. We offer the vast majority of our lifetime archive free to everyone and encourage you to forward the newsletter to your friends. Oh, and for the most part, we don't accept ads -- only the rare case of another business that has passed muster for quality and ethics, and usefulness to you. Usually, we just link you to our friends who offer good services. I think ads are ugly, and while you're on our pages I think you deserve to relax and have an experience that feels good. If more businesses worked this way, the world would be a lot happier and warmer place. We can do it because it works. And we can do it because our business is motivated by the love for our readers, for what we do, and for one another. Every now and then, such as early in the morning before Chelsea gets here, I answer the phone and (sometimes half-awake) talk to subscribers when they call in to order. Quite a few have said, "I've never subscribed to anything on the Internet before and I waited a year to do this, making up my mind..." And I just say thank you; your subscription fee actually pays the bills here. Thanks to our subscribers, there's a business manager, and I get paid to write the horoscope column, and we're reaching out to more newspapers and magazines to let them know I exist, which is starting to get results (I will someday write a rant on the challenges of getting published). We can keep our computers modern and I have the help of a fine web programmer (help moving rocks, as I call it, but Gemini Jordan often pulls bits of code out from behind his ear that solve real problems, and he's in charge of all the new programming developments on the site). But... Most of what we all get for your subscription fee is the fact that I get to keep doing this. Lots of other writers would have -- and, unfortunately, in fact have -- curled up and gone away facing the economic and logistical challenges of survival in business. They are formidable challenges. I have a lot of energy; I can handle 15 hour days. (I also have a LOT of help from people who help me edit, research, and brainstorm.) Over the past year-and-a-half, I've worked with great determination to establish Planet Waves as a grounded business, one that thinks of its people and builds for the future -- and gets to publish articles that cover real issues and human subject matter. We don't have to kiss the ass of advertisers. We don't care what Pepsi thinks. We don't have to pitch to the mainstream; we figure if you've gotten this far, you're at least part artist, scholar, lover or mystic, and you're looking for real writing and sweet artwork. If you're one of the people who is trying to make up your mind about whether it's a good idea to subscribe to something online, I'd like to encourage you to give Planet Waves a try. The horoscope is hotter than ever, and there are now seven each month (five weekly, two monthly). The annual horoscope site, called aquasphere, is truly magnificent for both its writing and artwork. Our writers are doing better work than ever. The world is as complicated and weird as ever, and we spend a lot of time looking for interpretations of experience that go beyond fear, teach self-acceptance, encourage you to grow, and remind you that you're perfectly sane if you're seeking a better life. We're here to offer you a place to find that life together, because we're looking for it too, and we're determined to work together creating it. Thanks for reading. We look forward to hearing from you. Yours truly, ERIC FRANCIS |
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Eric's monthly horoscopes are now free. If you don't want to wait a whole month, you can get his subscriber-only horoscopes and articles every Monday and Friday by subscribing here. Subscribers get horoscopes, astrology news and articles twice a week by email from Eric, plus the two monthly horoscopes, an in-depth annual edition, and access to our subscriber-only website. Full details are here. |
