I know, I know: it’s not Sunday. So why am I sending you this?
A post by Doctor Hammer has inspired me to offer you an option for paid subscriptions. Don’t worry, my writing here will still be free. As Doctor Hammer put it: “If the ideas are good enough to pay for, they are important enough to share for free.” I agree.
What I’m trying to do on this Substack is not about “creating a business model.” It’s about writing essays I believe might lift people up, and leave them a tiny bit wiser, more grounded, more open, and better able to face this strange reality we find ourselves in. I see it as a contribution towards changing that reality into something better. A very, very modest contribution, if even that, to be sure. But a contribution nonetheless—at least that’s what I like to think.
The second and frankly more realistic reason is that writing here, although it can feel like a chore sometimes, makes me happy. Having a creative outlet in life that allows you to use and develop your talents in ways that you genuinely find interesting is such a blessing. Not to mention that writing on a regular basis tremendously helps me clarify my own thoughts and generate new ideas. That alone makes it worthwhile.
So I hadn’t really thought about offering a payment option here, or at least not in any serious manner. (OK, who doesn’t sometimes dream of getting rich by just doing what you love? Alas, I know for a fact that this is not how life works; we need the struggle, the grind. There is no free lunch.)
But in the interview Doctor Hammer quoted, someone made a good point: who am I to tell you what you can or can’t do? Who am I to forbid you supporting me if that’s what’s in your heart to do?
So here it goes: if you want to give me money for what I’m doing here, I will no longer stand in your way :-)
In fact, it wouldn’t be fair to stand in your way, because I know that sometimes, if you truly value something, you have the urge to give something back, in whatever form. It balances things out.
Another way of putting it is that donating to someone or something you deem important is good for the soul. Yes, this sounds suspiciously like dealing in indulgences, but we know it to be true, don’t we? It represents a bet on the universe that if you give freely, with no strings attached, while you won’t reap any immediate benefit (except perhaps feeling good about having done what you think is the right thing to do), the reward will come eventually. Not in any form you can know or anticipate, but in the form of something that will have a positive impact on your soul, in one way or another, at one point or another. It is an act of faith.
It also represents a choice: the choice of deepening the connection to someone or something you value—because that is what inevitably happens if you engage with it, whether by donating, commenting, sharing, communicating, talking about, or even just thinking about it.
OK. How does it work?
Simple. If you are already a subscriber, you can click “Upgrade to paid” at the top right while you are on Substack and logged in. Or use this button:
There are three options:
Monthly: 9 bucks (after a few months, I can buy a new book. Unless it’s The Matter With Things.)
Annual subscription: 70 bucks (after two years, I could afford another copy of The Matter With Things, yay!)
Founding Member: 150 bucks (whooah, I could buy another The Matter With Things right away!)
Of course, you can cancel the paid subscription anytime you want.
Thanks for your support, by which I mean, first and foremost, your engagement with my writing. It is a joy to see that quite a few of you seem to read almost everything I put up here, so I guess it means something to you. I hope it gives you something to ponder, and that it leaves you a little better.
Much love, L.P.K.
P.S. I’m thinking about starting a podcast here where I read out loud a selection of my articles, for the benefit of those of you who prefer listening to my thoughts while driving, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes… Stay tuned!
Addition Nov. 2022: My writing is still free if you are a subscriber, but I put a few of my posts behind a paywall. For full access to my archive, become a paid subscriber! You can use the free trial option if you just want to read one specific piece and then cancel, if you like.
If you just want to quickly give something back, you can also buy me a coffee :-)