The Great Recession changed many people’s lives, including mine. As the publishing world as I knew it collapsed – my longtime editor was laid off and I was orphaned – and royalties and book contracts disappeared and shrank, I knew I had to change.

I’ve written 26 books, but it didn’t really matter. I swore I would be a writer, no matter what it takes. That’s why I started my blog

If I was to continue to be a relevant writer, it was up to my blog to keep my writing and to also help support me.

Four years ago, I reluctantly and uncomfortably began asking to be paid for my work, I asked readers to contribute to the blog and my photography – both expensive to maintain – through voluntary payments and donations.

Although a very small fraction of my many readers (bless you) contribute to the blog, this idea has been a success. There are four million visits a year to the blog, and many of you have supported my work with contributions and donations and that has made an enormous difference in my life.

To be honest, I’m reluctant to ask for money for me when I’m asking for money for the Mansion residents and refugees so often. That money goes into separate accounts, it only goes to them, not to me.

This year, I am embarking on a $4,000 re-design of the blog, so necessary in order to keep up with the smart phone and Internet infrastructure changes and revolution. You cannot survive and grow online without investing in yourself, and keeping up.

Photography is not a hobby for me, it is my work, and it is also expensive. I take pictures of everything I write about.

The blog is the engine that supports all of my work – my photography, writing, Mansion work, refugee work, soccer team work. I realized this morning – actually Maria realized this morning – that I have not asked for support for myself for nearly six months or reminded people that that this is important and necessary for me.

So I’m asking for support now, and reminding people that the blog cannot grow and survive without it.

The subscription and voluntary payment programs are inexpensive, safe and simple to use. And safe.

No financial information of any kind is stored on my site or servers. You can cancel subscriptions or voluntary payments at any time, and easily (the program warns people of renewals a week before they are due).

One time donations can be given in any amount, and at any time through Paypal or any major credit cards. People who don’t use the Internet can also support my work by sending a donation to my Post Office Box – Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected].

Please consider supporting my work if you enjoy it or find it meaningful. In our divided culture, we are more and more turning only to people who agree with us, and that is not my way. Anyone is welcome here, and I don’t need to always be agreed with, in fact, it has never happened.

I hope the blog has always been a force for good and compassion, even if you sometimes disagree with me. That is the way a democracy is supposed to function.

If you wish to subscribe to the blog, you can choose three different monthly voluntary subscription programs – $,5,  $10 a month, or $75 a year. If you have no money or are stressed financially, the blog is free and will always be free to those who can’t pay or donate.

You can subscribe for free by inserting your email in the subscription box at the top of the Farm Journal Page .

And you can make a one-time donation at any time for any amount here.

I will never turn my back on the many people who have supported me from the beginning. But I have come to see that it is important to be paid for my work, just as you are paid for yours.

This is the new world of writing, and I am proud and happy to be a part of it.

I work hard on my blog, I write just about every day, often more than once, the subject matter has grown, and I believe deepened. I write about my life, spirituality, dogs and animals, rural life and the Army Of Good, a miraculous outgrowth of the blog.

People tell me it matters to them, and my readers are now all over the country, including Hawaii. The blog is also read in England, Australia, and New Zealand.

Since 2016, the blog has made a turn, it is dedicated to small acts of kindness, to doing good rather than adding to the dispiriting din of argument, cruelty and conflict.

I guess I need support to, for my own life and well being, and for the people I am now  trying to help.

I believe the blog has become more important every year, and I mean to keep it that way. If you wish to continue reading the blog and want it to continue, I would welcome your help.

I thank the very good people who have supported it from the beginning, in so many different ways. i will work hard to make you think, laugh, cry and learn.

And thanks.