I cringe whenever I consider putting content behind a paywall. I mean, I get it; everyone needs to eat, pay the bills, and provide for their households. Without paid subscriptions or Patreon supporters or what have you, some people wouldn’t be able to operate in their gifting. I wish I could financially support more of you, and your work is worth it.
But I’ve never felt comfortable placing my writing behind a paywall. I’ve debated it a few times when paying the next bill is an act of faith. Yet God has always said no, and He’s always pretty clear about it:
Your writing needs to be free (your novels are a different matter, mostly).
I always try to respect my readers’ time, and not simply put out something in order to put out something. Whatever I feel Jesus lay on my heart to discuss or teach about is important, and if it’s important, it’s important for everyone — not just those who are willing to pay me.
It doesn’t stop me from arguing with Him about it, though:
But other Substackers have members-only content. Shouldn’t I follow those How-I-Grew-My-Paid-Subscriptions-Overnight templates?
No.
But how are we going to pay the bills?
I’ll take care of it.
But hooooow? When?
Just do what I call you to do.
So I write an article, praying it’s aligned with His priorities, with SEO dialed in as best I can make it, relevant hashtags to milk the algorithms, a beautiful thumbnail under a catchy title led with a compelling hook—you know, all of the standard writerly things, even em-dashes because they’re awesome—and gently set it into the swift river of competing articles, wondering if it will make a difference in someone’s life.
It will do whatever God wants to do with it, and maybe, just maybe, it will generate some money to enable me to put out the next thing. Maybe it will even allow us the flexibility to address other matters, like helping a friend through a hard season, or tackling several unfinished or barely started books still in patchwork manuscript form on my computer.
Maybe my writing will spark someone to turn to Jesus, or to give up that thing that’s been holding them back.
Maybe it will encourage a guy to confess his addiction to his wife.
Maybe it will give someone a greater understanding of a historical topic, generating deeper examination of how we should respond. The continuous loop of history provides countless lessons to learn for those willing to apply them.
Or maybe something I write will just make someone laugh, providing them with a little levity on an otherwise crappy day.
And do you know what? It’s become increasingly clear to me that that is what most people are attracted to: Simple, easy distraction that encourages them. The vast majority of my subs came from a handful of videos I saw somewhere and posted a Note about—a guy catching an alligator in a trash can, firefighters rescuing ducklings, a teacher welcoming kids into her classroom with hugs, dances, and fist-bumps. These are things that make people smile, and they want more of that.
We need more of that. Not necessarily the flippant, drive-by endorphins released from Facebook-style twaddle, but conversations and images that bring out the greater natures you and I possess via the Holy Spirit living within us. Things that spark us to love better, and care about things that He cares about.
People are drawn to beauty, to warmth. We glorify Jesus in the process of sharing that, and I want to do more of it. I want to join Him in doing what He does, available to all free of charge.
“You need to find out what career you should be pursuing. Everybody’s good at something, but so often people do things based on what other people’s success is, and not on what their gifts and talents are…some people are just negative, negative, negative. They can always figure out why you can’t do something, but they can’t figure out how you can do something, and we really need to be positive influences in our spheres of influence. And that’s what I would tell that 25-year-old: first find out what you’re good at and find out how you learn; learn how you learn and throw yourself into a career.”
— Dr. Ben Carson, The Tucker Carlson Show, July 2024
I’m not going to lie. It’s pretty frustrating to spend weeks and hours researching a complex topic before finally publishing a 3000-word article only to receive the sound of crickets. Meanwhile, a Note featuring a video ripped from X, ripped from TikTok, gets 7K likes over a weekend.
But I’ve learned to be okay with it. It’s not about me, or my writing, or my subscriber base. It’s not about my bank account or bottom line. It’s about following Him, writing His words, and trusting Him to use it however He chooses, even if I don’t make a dime.
Follow me, He says. Write my words. Teach my truths.
Copy that, Sir. Here we go again.
You can follow me on Telegram, Substack, Truth Social, GETTR, Gab, and X. You can subscribe to receive new posts to your inbox for free, as well as get information on our books and other endeavors.
My wife and I are a donor-supported ministry. If you enjoy our work, please consider a paid subscription in the amount of your choice. Or if you’d like to make a one time donation feel free to Buy Me A Coffee, or Zelle to contact@vinceguerra.com.
Or if checks are your thing, you can send us a gift to the following address:
Vince or Shannon Guerra
PO Box 298086
Wasilla, AK 99629
If you enjoyed this article, you may enjoy these as well:
The modern war series of books is available at vinceguerra.com or online wherever books are sold:
And just for fun, here’s something that I legally can’t make money from, but it’s awesome: The Dread Pirate Roberts my fan fiction sequel to The Princess Bride.
