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Originally Posted by moz
How does this differ from the current model? I thought part of the "problem" was that publishers only want certain types of work and influence authors to provide that?...
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True, there can be little difference between the patronage model and the publishing model... except that, in many cases, patrons and subsidizers are willing to make decisions that are not based on a profit motive, but on the more socially altruistic motive of having supported an artist. This can provide for more artistic freedom than when a patron (or publisher) demands a specific profit in exchange for bankrolling an artist, with the risk of dropping that artist if they do not make that expected profit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by moz
Of course, except for self-sufficient authors you will always have that problem since they'll be trying to write what the audience is willing to pay for.
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Remember, if the audience doesn't have to pay for it, much of that pressure is off. As has already been mentioned in one or two places on this site (cue sarcasm meter), people are much more willing to take something that's free, so you will be exposing your work to larger numbers.
Mainly, this makes it harder for self-sufficient authors, if the only way for them to be read is for consumers to pay for their work... they will have to be pretty special and popular to compete with free works.