With apologies to the late Heath Ledger.
If yer good at something... Everyone WANTS you to do it for free.
It hurts to have to say no to people who want you to write for them. It hurts to say, No, I won't do a performance on your show, which will take up my time and will make me really feel good. Because, I won't get any money for it.
(Tired on the flip)
I like to write. I like to perform. From what I gather from my feedback, I'm fairly decent at it.
I'd like to do it for ever. I'd like to spend every day trying new creative avenues, and trying to improve my crafts. (Plural, There are many other things I want to do.)
But I can't do that, because nobody wants to pay for it. Oh, they want to SEE it. And they want to enjoy it.
They'll pay millions to a random person to be offensive on reality tv, but the idea of paying someone to work hard at a craft that they have a natural talent at is abhorrent.
Witness the standard Rethug tactic of attacking the NEA whenever they can find somebody whose idea didn't work.
Why? Because it's not really "Work". Oh, it's HARD, and it requires skill, luck and ingenuity to get creative pieces done, but it's not really work.
Here's my question. Who decided that people who enjoy hurting others get paid for their fun? I mean, corporate stooges who flash their smiles at the camera while waving money like rap stars without restraint get paid for that. Sure seems to me like they're enjoying it.
But the sad thing is that to be a financially successful artist in any medium means that you have to NOT do what you love. You have to actively withhold your work from people and demand payment before you show it, let them read it, perform your piece.
And thus, the gatekeeper, the people who withhold your work from the public at large, become the most powerful people. It's not the Writer, it's the publisher who makes all the money, because they're the one who decides what will sell. If they decide that badly written pornographic Fanfiction will be the bestseller, it will be the bestseller. That novel that you poured your heart and soul into? It MAY get a paperback release if it's really really good. One that Walmart won't buy, and Amazon will sell... somewhere... if people search for it.
Of course, you could self-publish, and essentially, do what you love for free. But that won't pay the bills. Because, nobody who is successful, does it for free.
This is just a bitter, tired, late night rant, by a tired, bitter, artist. But I'm tired of working for free. The worst part of all is, that companies are actually trying to get more people to work for free. Nope, not kidding. Just look at software companies, and their new policy of unsourcing It's the same scam as the publishers, but now, they do it for any job that has a possibility of fun.
I envision the same thing happening to so many professions. It would work if they can shift the window, Juuuust enough.
Like to Teach? Well, we pay a few model teachers big salaries, and demand that parents give their time for free. After all, they like kids, right?
Like to talk to people? Well, we don't really NEED counselors any more, now do we? There are tons of people who will listen and who have the basic skills.
Like the law? Public Defenders offices don't need to be paid anymore! Not when there's lots of out of work young lawyers just out of school! Hey, maybe they'll win a big case, and someone will pay them to do it for them!
And so on, and so forth... It's something I am seeing more and more. The idea that if you work for free, someday you'll get paid for it.
The truth is, they want you to work for free. And if the corporations and 1% of this country have their way, you'll ALWAYS work for free.