Dear Patrons, I need your help...

LONG-ISH READ AHEAD. 

Within this update I drop some good news on you guys, some meh news, and some bad news. Hopefully a good portion of you guys will see this, but if not, I will be releasing a State of the Podcast Address because there's been a few developments recently that I need to get off my chest. Look at me being all dramatic - everything is grand really, but I have to get real about some stuff and I'm not entirely sure how you guys are going to react.

First of all, I need to come clean about something I've been sitting on for a while. On 23rd May 2018, I planned to release a Thirty Years War Podcast, which will bring that conflict to you guys on a new, exciting level like never before. Trust me, you're going to love it, and you're also going to love the book that goes along with it! I choose the 23rd May because it's on that date that, 400 years ago, the Defenestration of Prague happened, and the Thirty Years War began. 

This is obviously really exciting, but note that I said planned, rather than plan. You see the good news is that I will be releasing the Thirty Years War. The less exciting news is that I won't be releasing it as a separate podcast, but in the WDF feed. Every week, alongside the Korean War, in other words, you'll be able to access a new episode of the Thirty Years War, and you won't have to track down a new feed, and I won't have to stress about its low downloads. 

This latter point was brought home to me recently when I realised just how difficult promoting 1956 as a separate podcast feed was. Hopefully, this sounds not too terrible to you guys - I know the idea of a new show is aesthetically pleasing, and trust me my OCD senses will be tingling, but at least the content will all be one in one place, and I should add that for you Patrons at the $5 or above, you will be getting all this content in your Patrons feed anyway!

My second point is where things get a little less happy. As you know, Poland Is Not Yet Lost has been in the pipeline for several months. After really talking it over with the wife and properly considering my options though, I think that I will have to postpone the release of Poland until 18th May NEXT YEAR. By that point, the Thirty Years War series will be winding down, after about fifty episodes, and you'll probably be ready for something new. 

I should add as well that yes, this meant that my original plan was to release TWO new history podcasts within a week of one another, and somehow expect to juggle the responsibilities of these projects and the regular show AND the Xtra feed AND the stress of trying to get a new job. It was just far too much to take on, and this isn't even talking about the efforts I'm making in blogging and to make WDF's social media better, as well as getting those books written and running a constantly available customer service for listeners.

I have a long habit of taking on too much, but it was only when I considered exactly what I was getting into, and how much I would have to do, and how stuck I would be in this position from late May, that I started to feel a gradually creeping sense of stress build up. Yet, because I had announced Poland so many times, in so many spheres, it was simply impossible to postpone it for a year. That was crazy - my listeners would go nuts, I told my wife, and nobody would trust me at my word. 

Anna then made the very reasonable point that you guys would surely rather have me as I am than watch me run myself into the ground with overworking. But then, I should be completely honest and say that I don't like this, and I think it sucks. I don't like not starting a new feed for the Thirty Years War, and I don't like postponing Poland. I told so many of you, even my parents, about Poland because I was so excited about it, and I still am, I want to share it with you guys now, and I want to do so many other things too...

But I have to be realistic. For crying out loud, I would be committing myself to three full-time podcasts, and even while I've done a great deal of legwork, that is still an incredibly stuffed schedule considering this isn't even a full time job!

There was also the emotional and psychological aspects of the strain. I started to become more irritable, less patient, less fun to be around, and more glued to my PC than ever before. I was still belting out quality content, but I wasn't enjoying myself because there was no feeling of 'ahhhh, that's done, let's have a rest now'. At one point I wrote two 12 page scripts in a day, recorded two episodes and was in the middle of editing one of them when I just got this blinding headache, and I asked myself 'what am I doing?' 

It later became an important practical question to ask as well, because in a sense that by May 2019 I will know whether or not Cambridge is a go, I want to have sufficient content ready to release to you all while I'm away, however long that all takes. By saving Poland till next year, I will be ensuring that you're all kept fed and watered, and that you won't miss me too much!

So I am genuinely sorry about Poland being postponed. I hate postponing things and not following through on commitments, and I really hate letting you guys down. I wish I didn't have to, but the bare facts are that I just cannot sustain this level of insane productivity if I want to still love history podcasting. That's something I never thought I'd say, but I have since lightened up my schedule a little bit, and I feel much better since. I won't be able to get as much done as before, but Poland is no longer hanging over me as it was, and I can focus instead on the much more manageable Thirty Years War. 

I would also wager that you guys would enjoy Poland more when it's released in a less crowded scene. I at least know that I will enjoy myself more making it, and that is a large part of the battle. My motivation and energies are returning, and I feel so much more on top of things than I did a week ago. I have to thank you all again so much for your support in all of this. I also have to ask that, for now, you keep the news of the Thirty Years War series and of Poland's postponement under wraps for a bit. I'm not sure how I'm going to present all of this in a State of the Podcast Address, but I felt it was only right to let you all know how I am and what's going on with WDF first.

So to summarise, in case you have forgotten after that essay:

• Poland Is Not Yet Lost will be delayed until 18th May 2019
• But that's ok because the Thirty Years War series will be releasing from 23rd May 2018
• However, that series will be releasing into the WDF feed, and won't be it's own podcast.
• Our Korean War and 1956 Patreon series will remain unchanged, so don't be worried about that!
• I feel much better now, so thanks so much for your support. It honestly means so much to me.

And that's it! Thanks for reading if you made it this far - you are all fantastic, and super appreciated by me even if I don't always tell you enough! 

But I should ask you in any case - and no judgement here by the way - were you really looking forward to Poland and are you really disappointed? Will the Thirty Years War fill this gap, or are you kind of stumbling blindly through all of this, 37 episodes behind, and aghast at the idea of me releasing still more content? I want to know, because I value your opinion and you keep this show going, so make sure to vote and comment your thoughts below. 

Thanksss again guys, you've been great
Zack
xoxo