That's a really interesting piece, Joel.

I think you misunderstand the concept of patrons. When readers donate to one monthly, they do so in order to support a writer whose work they love to read.

Obviously to get that type of loyalty from one's readers, one has to be pretty good at what one does. One has to write reguarly, and one has to write good stuff. I don't see how, if one chooses a different payment model, it means that one isn't doing the work.