Big changes are coming to At the Wellspring, at least in terms of the accessibility of the content contained therein. In short, I will be offering a subscription service that makes all of my writing and creative work more available and affordable, hopefully both for members and non-members alike. With subscription, then I shall also be able to reduce the selling price of my books so that they will be available even to those of less financial means. There are a number of reasons that have drawn me to this decision:
- The awareness that not all can afford to buy the books that I have written, and the desire to make them as accessible as possible by reducing the price. After all, Jesus said that he came to “preach the Gospel to the poor,” and the Church reminds us of the preferential option for the poor, that the poor are the first recipients of the word of God and often most sensitive and open to it. It has long hurt my heart that I cannot follow Saint Paul’s recommendation, “Freely you have received, freely give,” or again, “We preached the Gospel among you free of charge.”
- The choice that I have made to share much of my creative work, particularly in digital format, for free, whereas others make a living off selling it. For example the audio drama, as well as music and interactive fiction; all of these require a great investment of time and resources on my part, and yet I want them to be accessible to all.
- The knowledge that while for many the “gateway” of cost is prohibitive, others would be happy to purchase and indeed would wish to support the humble ministry to the Word that I seek to offer. This, combined with the fluctuating nature of book sales, which is not regularly enough to support our (meager) monthly bills, has stirred thoughts concerning another, better option.
All of this led to the idea gradually growing within me of a “subscription” or “patronage,” which would allow me to continue sharing what I believe God has entrusted to me, and to do so in a way accessible to all, while also covering the costs both of income and of artistic production and publishing.
One man who has long been an inspiration to me is the artist Salvador Dalí, who among other works designed the great Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, a majestic monument to God and his glory. And yet this artist who spared nothing in the pursuit of beauty, not counting the cost, died as a beggar—and I mean that literally. He was hit by a car and, because of his evident poverty, the police thought that he was a beggar, not knowing that he was the famous artist, and did not rush him to the hospital. Talk about the beauty of kenosis! “For our sake he became poor, that we might become rich.” He died as the poor that he identified with, yes, that he became, even though his heart was ravished by beauty and sought it always.
I desire to speak, to sing from my own poverty a ceaseless hymn in praise of God’s beauty and as a revelation of his love to his children. If you would like to support me in this task, this is my proposal. I have set up a subscription/patronage service on my website, and your support will both allow me to create and share more content more freely, but will also make certain benefits accessible to you. The following are the “tiers” of support and their benefits:
TIER 1
$15/month – Free downloads of all digital products—audio books, music, and ebooks. These are available in the “Member Content” section.
TIER 2
$25/month – All of the above and also a free print book of your choice per month.
If I receive at least $500/month in support, which is my goal, then I will be able to reduce the price of my print books close to the cost of production, so that they will be affordable to all. (For example, Sheltered Within Her Heart will be $3.50 or $4.00.) Otherwise, I will use whatever support given as best I can to make my content available, and to create more content, and reduce book price as much as I am able.
Check out the Subscription page on At the Wellspring:
Thank you for everything, and especially for being you, beloved child of God!
Joshua
