Writers work hard to keep their author contracts, sell books, and build their online platform to compete with each other. The difference between a writer who is writing for business and a writer who is writing as mission is vast.
The writer living on support is writing for a different purpose. They are using their writing to bring the Gospel to the farthest reaches of the world. Some writers who are missionaries are using their craft to share stories about the mission field. A writer writing for business is going to go after stories bigger publications will publish. Most stories from the field bigger publications will ignore.
- An unknown name won’t bring more readers.
- The story may not interest a large portion of their readers.
- They may not know how to sensitively write the story so as not to undermine what is happening in that area of the world.
The writer living on support doesn’t have to follow a marketing plan, but they still have to do some marketing. The writer on support shares that in common with the writer doing business. So, the next time you meet a writer living on support to share the Gospel and what is happening in the field, consider supporting them. Don’t feel competitive or put off because you are a writer, too; instead understand how their field is different than your field.
Do you have any objections to a writer living on support versus writing as business?