Gift is for every man / a pride and a praise / help and worthiness / and of every homeless adventurer / it is the estate and substance / for those who have nothing else. - Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Today, I came across this post via Jo's blog, and it prompted me to share some thinky thoughts with y'all. From the blog, if you don't want to click links yet:
"Recently, one YA author opted to start a KickStarter campaign to fund the second book in a series. Stacy Jay Released Princess of Thorns via Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House) on December 9, 2014. Initial sales did not meet expectations so the publisher declined to pick up the second book in the series. As an aside, initial sales? The book isn’t even a month old! Sorry, now back to your regularly scheduled blog post. Stacy harbors no ill will towards the publisher, it was a business decision, nothing more, nothing less. Still, she had readers clamoring for the second book, so she launched a KickStarter Campaign to fund the creation of book two...An Internet kerfluffle ensued."
I will be honest with y'all: I have mulled over whether or not to do a kickstarter/gofundme type campaign for the Godspouse book that I'm working on, because I would like to pay for editing, and I lack the cash on hand to pay a reasonable rate for editing - $1/pg is reasonable, and I'm currently at 125 pages, and I'm probably about half done. I am one of those people whose words counts are low on the first draft and then I have to be prompted to fill stuff in by an editor or beta reader. And I am a vehement believer that every, everyone needs editing, no matter how much of a literary genius you are. There are a couple people that I can think of off of the top of my head whom I would pay for edits; they do good work, deserve to be paid for it, and they could use the money.
But I haven't, because there is a certain Cult of Free in Paganism that makes me cringe. People want well-trained Pagan leaders, they want good books on X subject, they want awesome events...they often don't want to pay for them. Or can't pay. And so the only people who get training are those who can afford it, and thus those courses/books/etc become more expensive because instead of people paying what they can afford, it's become an all or nothing proposition.
I don't like this situation at all.
And please don't misunderstand - I understand not being able to afford Xthing - I have a disability and I'm a single parent. I haven't received a child support payment in four months. My budget's been $400 short for four months, y'all. I've had the fortune (?) of being poorer than I am now, and so I know how to live within my budget, but it does not leave any room for extras. Like editing. Or a good book cover. Or clergy training. Caveat: if you know who my child's father is, please don't fling poo at him; this particular problem is bureaucratically induced.
My point is that I do a lot of free work. Pastoral counseling, in particular, and I have never been paid for it. I know some people here would point out that in other (mostly monotheistic) religions, that's not something that you pay for, but in those faiths, the pastor receives a salary and often a home to live in as compensation for their work. I live in a stable home, thanks to Loki's gifts and my ancestors' hard work. I am grateful for all I have been given, and I could still do more, if I earned more. Working a conventional day job is not physically possible for me. When this illness began, I had a definite period of adjustment and even grief in understanding that I would never again be able to teach children, not in the capacity that I did before - my immune system can't take being in that environment - too many germs, too many chemicals, dust, mold, all the things that my lungs hate. Being able to teach in my spiritual community has helped to lessen that grief, as I understood that I acquired that background for this work.
And make no mistake, this IS my job. I write, I do community work, I do pastoral counseling, I teach online, I teach in person. And I'd like to do all of those things better. In order to do so, I have to be willing to compensate the people that I learn from for their time and expertise. The prospect of doing that with no return is a daunting one, not just for me, but for anyone who's contributing to the community - writers, artisans, teachers, and ministers. Right now, we lack temples and congregations that would help offset those expenses. Rebuilding the temples and making sustaining communities is a long-term goal, and everyone interested and involved is aware of this - all I would ask of you gentle readers is that we not burn out those who are doing the work by not giving them anything back.