Website Fine Print | Core Commitments

A message from Skylar Dates:

I find mission statements a tacky, corporate way to virtue signal through a bunch of nonsense jargon that tends to be mostly vapid, hollow promises companies abandon the moment the dollar signs get big enough. That said, I appreciate, to a certain degree, what it is they are setting out to accomplish, insofar as having a few guiding north stars to direct the spiritual mission of an entity. With that in mind, I’d like to share with you the closest thing The Lemonade Stand Massacre will ever have to a mission statement.

I call these my ‘core commitments.’

In an increasingly expensive, capital driven world, I one day hope to find a way to pay my bills through my writing. One core commitment I make to you, reader: the beating heart of this publication, two essays and two short stories every month along with their accompanying recordings, will always remain free. Once a week, we’ll sit down, chat about spooky things, read a story together, and I’ll never charge for that. Because let’s be honest, this isn’t Grey Goose vodka at a rooftop bar in Manhattan. It doesn’t think that highly of itself. This is the free beer someone hands you at a tailgate party and says ‘hang out for a bit.’ 

There may one day be paid memberships for additional stuff people find cool and interesting, and I will endeavor to keep those things as accessible as possible.

But the main squeeze will always be free.

A second core commitment I make to you is that I will always write the newsletter you receive every week. I do have dreams of one day bringing you the writings and authorings of other great craftspeople who love horror and philosophy the same as us. Especially as other projects I put my weight behind (you know, like writing books) take up more time. But when it comes to the weekly newsletter, the little ‘hey how are you,’ that will always come from me.

I say this because a newsletter I used to enjoy immensely that was written by someone who inspired me, has transitioned to another writer. While that writer is still incredibly talented and accomplished… they’re not the reason I signed up for the newsletter in the first place.

So, for as long as The Lemonade Stand Massacre is in existence, the newsletter comes from me, and only me.

My final core commitment regards artificial intelligence and generative AI models. They will never be used for any of the content in this publication. Not by me, not by anyone I partner with. This isn’t about taking a moral stance against their usefulness, that’s a conversation for other times, but rather about a personal philosophy regarding the beauty of the craft and the wonderful agony of creation.

You wouldn’t buy a piece of furniture made by a machine if it was pitched as ‘hand crafted by an artisan,’ would you? Well, the same principle applies. Bumps, dings, imperfections and all, I won’t shy away from the humanity of rough edges. A.I. turns everything slick and predictable. It flattens. That’s okay for some things, but it's against the fundamental ethos of this project.

Hence, no A.I.

Eventually I’ll start holding live writing streams so you can see my messy, disgusting, human process in action, but that’s down the line.

Here’s the mission statement distilling all of these things into two big, bloated sentences the way corporations like to do. Consider this the TL;DR.

‘The Lemonade Stand Massacre’ is a publication committed to bringing its audiences original works of horror, fiction and personal essays, drafted and crafted by human minds for as many human readers as possible. It will always serve up fresh pulp to anyone who stops by, and remains dedicated to the free access of its core materials, regardless of growth or expansion.

Finer Print

Skylar Dates [The author] maintains all pertinent copyrights to the works published here. They may be presented upon request. No material in The Lemonade Stand Massacre may be reproduced without the express written consent of the author, except in short excerpts, properly cited, in reviews, analysis, or essays wherein the citing author does not make any claims to the material being their own. We respect your right to your works and originality, respect ours.

Finest Print

The author remains resolute in the pursuit of the following authorial accomplishments, in no particular order. First, is to guest host an episode of Ghoul Grumps with Dan and Arin. Second, is to receive a casual shoutout from Sabrina Carpenter, à la ‘Hey, have you read this story by Skylar? It’s pretty good.’ Third, is to earn enough from writing and writing craft to purchase and donate ten-thousand e-readers, pre-populated with public access classics and library apps, to low income students to encourage reading, imagination, and artistic inspiration. The author retains the right to change these pursuits at will, mercurialy, and without explanation.