Hey! Thanks for stopping by to learn a little more about me and this site. I’m Ken Crooker: Husband. Dad. Horror fan. Learning Scientist. Stationery junkie.
My (primary) intention for this site is to recount and share my experiences with various products, and to help others make informed buying decisions. I’ll post a random bit of nonsense here and there, but I mainly stick to fountain pens, ink, paper, and the thriving community that surrounds all these wonderful and beautiful things.
One thing you’ll notice is that I don’t have a regular posting schedule. I’m sorry for that. I’ve tried, but my non-blog life is pretty busy (crazy job, two kids with their own activities, a wife that works nights, etc.). I’m also one of the organizers for the St. Louis Pen Show (web site, social media, graphics, ink, and a few other things), so sometimes that eats up all my available free time. I’d like to post here more often (I actually do have a lot to say), but the reality is that my posting schedule is erratic and will continue to be that way.
Monetization Q&A
Hey Ken, do you monetize your site?
No. I do not monetize this site at all. I do not accept sponsors. I do not accept free products (even those on loan). I do not accept donations. I do not run ads. With the exception of one experiment, every product I review is paid for with my own money (although I might very well borrow something from my wife, my kids, or a friend).
Dude, why not?
Dude, this is my hobby. I collect (accumulate) fountain pens and I review them. I do it for fun. I do it to help others who also love this hobby. I find it relaxing and a bit of an escape to use them. I’m also a very good writer and I have the means to communicate my experiences with the world, so I see it as an opportunity to give back to the community.
But why not make a few bucks or get some free stuff while you’re at it?
I already have a job. It’s busy and stressful. As soon as I start focusing on profit or sponsorships, this site instantly becomes a second job. Actually it becomes a third job because the Pen Show is pretty much a second job already. Then I’ll have three jobs and no hobbies. Yuck.
Are you afraid your readers will develop a perception of bias?
Yes, absolutely. A couple years ago, I was watching a pen review video on YouTube. The reviewer raved up and down about how awesome a pen was, but it was clear during the writing demonstration that the pen was skipping and hard starting quite frequently. The reviewer never mentioned the skipping, but did mention that they received the pen at no cost. I asked a question about it in the comments, but never received a reply. I have no idea if that reviewer gave a biased review or just wasn’t bothered by the skipping, but I’m not going to lie: I lost trust in this person’s reviews. I don’t want to put my readers in that same position.
Is it really that hard to be objective?
I think there is a natural human tendency to be nice to those who are nice to you. And one thing I’m adamant about: I want to retain the right to be vicious. I tend to give manufacturers the benefit of the doubt, and I try to remain objective when it comes to problems or deficiencies in a product. But every once in a while I get a product that’s so overwhelmingly horrible that I get offended and go on a bit of an attack in the review. If you’ve ever read my review of the Schneider Glam, you know what I’m talking about. If Schneider had sent me that pen to review, I highly doubt I would have been that vicious. I don’t want to be bridled like that.
But everyone else is doing it!
I don’t begrudge anyone the opportunity to monetize, and I don’t automatically assume their reviews are biased because they monetize. This is my decision for me and my site only, and I have no problem with others who monetize. Most of the big pen reviewers accept sponsors and free products, and I continue to trust their reviews. I’ve lost faith in a few based on a disconnect between what they show and what they say, but I don’t project that lost faith on anyone else.
Other reviewers give away the free pens. Can’t you follow that model?
As I mentioned above, I did an experiment with a “free product” in the past, where I gave away the pen I received. Ron at Pen Chalet reached out to me to see if I’d accept a pen to review. I thought it was a cool idea, and he sent me out a Pilot Falcon. The pen was awesome, and my review of it was very positive (almost gushing, to be honest). But I felt really funny about saying all those great things about the pen (even through all of it was true). I kept thinking, “Will my readers believe what I’m saying if I got the pen for free?” Then I started questioning whether or not I was being overly positive because I didn’t want to offend Ron. Ultimately, the final review accurately captured my experience, but for me, that’s just no way to write a review, and I don’t want to experience that on a regular basis. I want to make sure that my readers have no reason to doubt my authenticity or accuracy.