Dawn O'Porter

[Suzesnooze]

Chris O'Dowd on chatty man popped up on my YouTube recommendation, he says that they didn't sell the wedding photos as " why bother, we're so rich". Just made me think of dawn and her patron.

She posted yesterday about how her work dried up in the last decade but I imagine she was still wealthy as she owned a place in LA and in London!

What a decade! This photo pretty much sums it up for me. I met my husband on my 30th birthday 11 years ago this month. He moved in, we got a dog, we got married, we made babies. I became an adult. I loved getting married and I loved having babies. I gave birth to one of them on my bed with my husband and one of my best friends by my side. You can’t beat that. I got three amazing men in my life. One big one, two small ones. Team O’. The greatest of gangs. Work was a wild ride this decade. After achieving great success in my 20s, my early 30s were a slam dunk down to earth as the TV industry made me realise how disposable we all are in that world. I was a mess, to be honest. Felt like a total loser and failure. I got really down about it. Down O’Porter. Then I got a call from a lovely lady called, Emily. It went something like this ‘I love your column’ (I’d actually just lost my column and was in a literal heap on the floor as the call came in). ‘I think you’d write great fiction for young adults, would you consider it?’ A month later I had a two book deal. I got to writing Paper Aeroplanes straight away. The book that changed my life. I poured my soul into it. I found a small but interested group of readers who lifted me onto the next. Four fictional novels later and I end this decade knowing exactly who I am professionally, in control of my own existence and so clear on what work I want to create and how to make that happen. Life isn’t always easy. Most struggles are private, but of course they are there. As they are for everyone. But despite the rocky start to this decade, you can only be happy when it ends in such a good place. I feel very lucky. I’m heading into my 40’s and the ‘20s confidently and with the hope that this good moment lasts for at least a big chunk of it.

I really like her but a while back there were a few stories asking for recommendations for mattresses etc, which we all know is insta speak for who wants to send me a free mattress!

When she moved into their new house in London last year, she was posting for recommendations continually and it was obvious she was hinting for freebies! I've gone off her a bit since the Caroline Flack thing and the patreon!

 

[Greencatfysh]

Ugh I hate her stupid over the top 60s fashion and hair. It’s becoming like a caricature now

 

[Stillwater]

I read it. It just made laugh. To each their own. She lives the good life.

 

[Stillwater]

I have always liked her but yeah she is starting to get on my nerves lately.Not the climate change thing - I think she has immediate responses to things and post about them and I kind of like her for that - we do what we can and I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do when half your life (family)is on another continent. IMO it’s business travel has done for the world - I spent a year in global corporate and I was astonished and disgusted at the travel, the frequency, the brief spells (UK to US for 2 nights), the absolutely no thought to any alternative options. Vile.

It’s the qerkiness that’s getting on my nerves. It’s such a creation. Wafting about being just so retro. I might be done with it.

 

[Dunner]

I used to like her until she changed her name to O'Porter. I thought it was so pretentious and try hard. I'd say I feel neutral about her now. Must check her out on Instagram.

 

[Suzesnooze]

Ha she explicitly said when she started up the Patreon she’d still be on Instagram posting and storying.

Yes she said on her stories don’t worry I’ll still be putting content on Instagram. She asked for her followers opinions on whether she should set up a patreon account and a lot said ‘no’ but she decided she was going to do it anyway.

This forum is full of people feeling manipulated and sold to by influencers who will sell you anything to make money, and none of it is genuine, and people often wonder what these influencers ‘do’ and that they should work for a living. And here is someone doesn’t do ADs but does use their talent (appreciate not everyone will like her books) and platform to work for a small fee. She’s a writer, why should she have to give that away for free?

Yes she’s a writer, not an influencer, so it’s not the same thing plus she has a publishing deal for her novels so she is getting paid and her ‘fans’ are buying her novels.

Anyway I’m sure she’ll be back on Instagram when she’s got her new book or new musical to promote. I very much doubt she’s struggling to make a living like some writers.

 

[Patsy Stone]

Also Caroline didn’t follow Dawn on Instagram before she died which I thought was odd given they were meant to be really good friends... wonder what happened there?

 

[Poptart]

I unfollowed. I used to really enjoy her insta and it was the reason I bought her book she wrote during lockdown. Now its just ran by some marketing team or assistant to advertise stuff when it suits her.

 

[Suzesnooze]

Yes I came to moan too! She’s had so many comments from people complaining and politely suggesting she take down the post so she doesn’t spoil it for others and she still hasn’t. Strikes me that she’s not taking it down deliberately to make some sort of point, so petulant and petty!

She’s an annoying cow! I can quite believe she was a school bully.

 

[Yel]

She believes writing shouldn't be for free and is avoiding an #adgrid on her Instagram account. Absolutely fair fucks to her.

I do agree. But it's not a choice just between a paywall or loads of ads. The amount the patron is making she could earn easily with two instagram ads a year.

Just a bit of a shame as lots like her, but people can't give a couple of quid every month to everyone they like. So the content is stuck behind a paywall where hardly anyone will read it. There's better ways to be fairly compensated and reach a wide audience.

Judging by the free post it's just going to be like access to someone's twitter feed - https://www.patreon.com/posts/nostalgic-snacks-31871435

 

[Suzesnooze]

How big of a deal is Flackstock? Genuinely? I’ve seen pics floating around here and there and just seems to be her mates both famous and non famous getting drunk.

Same. The lineup is poor as well. It’s never really taken off.

 

[Suzesnooze]

I think the kids go by O’Porter too!

Yes I think they do. I heard one of her kids on her Instagram story the other day with his American accent! They seem to travel about a lot. I think last year they spent 6 months in London so I’m surprised the kids have an America accent and not some weird mix of English/Irish/American!

 

[itsmelilly]

Yep, she'll be back when she needs to flog something. Be it a book or tickets to that flackstock thing she does, that I've never seen anyone normal actually go to/talk about. It seems to be a gig for her mates to attend in memory of another mate, fine but not sure why we need to know?



Disclaimer - Yes, I'm aware of who Caroline Flack was and the circumstances of her death. It was sad for all concerned. My comment isn't about her death (or her life).

sorry but the disclaimer got me

 

[Suzesnooze]

That is really sad. I bet she must be devastated

She did a lovely post about it.

She was devastated when she lost her cat but then got two kittens quite soon after so wonder if she’ll get another dog?

I used to love all her posts about Potato and it’s funny Chris used to mention Potato’s eyebrows!

 

[Silly Sausage]

Her team? lol Its probably just her pretending

 

[LowCalCalzoneZone]

Ridiculous how she keeps her Instagram open just for AD’s but her bio says she’s left Instagram. Well delete your profile then instead of still trying to make money from it

I wonder how those contracts with Joanie etc work - presumably she's obliged to do a certain number of posts but I imagine when they signed her up they were understandably expecting to work with someone who was really active on her insta

 

[fluffnstuff]

The Patreon issue is complex. Ultimately I see it as a antidote to influencer culture. Instead of consuming ‘free’ content where the person is paid by brands to shill products in sponsored content of varying frequency, Patreon offers a model where you can pay the person directly, leaving them with a steady-ish income stream and they can produce content free of commercial pressure.

I really do not agree with Patreon ideas on a social media platform, it somehow feels dirty and like they're cheating their followers out of money, many of whom may feel they have to to demonstrate loyalty or in the hope it brings them closer and they will be recognised for it, its quite sad. On a website or blog however, it feels different to me for some reason like it is more acceptable as its a niche following there. Maybe Im odd

 

[Suzesnooze]

She has had a publishing deal for ages. I’ve read The Cows and her new book both of which I got for free from Netgalley.

I liked the columns she used to write but she’s not as good at writing books. Then of course trying to get all her followers to pre order it as that helps get the bestseller tag so then they can call themselves bestselling authors but she’s really not that good at writing novels.

She got a lot of feedback from her followers saying they didn’t like the Patreon idea but she’s still gone with it. Last time I looked she had 300 subscribers so not that many considering the amount of followers she has.

 

[Suzesnooze]

I see she's back in London and on the beg again...

I need rugs. The internet has 9287472627263763828 billion rugs on it and every time I look I have a breakdown. Tell me where to buy a lovely, large rug with a classy print, good colours and that feels absolutely delightful under foot?

And of course she got offers on her post for free ones!

 

[Suzesnooze]

This post has made me feel brave enough to say The Cows is the worst book I've ever ever read. The storylines were ludicrous and it was not the big comment women's relationships with other women it was touted as.

I’m a member of Netgalley where you receive advanced reader copies to review. You request which books you want and wait to see if you are approved but occasionally you get emails offering you books without requesting them and both The Cows and So Lucky were offered to me that way! That’s some desperate marketing from her publishers!

I was so bored reading The Cow’s! Her plots are so predictable and in So Lucky the male characters weren’t fleshed out enough. I read and review a lot of books and to me, she’s not deserving of a publishing deal in the same way Influencers aren’t deserving.

However, I did used to enjoy her articles but it’s obviously easier to write an article than a novel.

The book deal pays for the book writing no? So the patreon pays for the article writing. I don’t have a problem with women valuing their output.

They are doting parents, try not to worry about the kids. I reckon there’s a nanny anyway.

She doesn’t publish articles anymore as lost all her contracts with magazines.

She writes articles for her patreon of things she used to mention on her Instagram for free.

I don’t think they have a Nanny but they use child care. She has moaned a lot about not having school/child care during lockdown.