Relying on Ourselves

Growing up, I lost count of how many times I heard the old adage, “God helps the one who helps themselves.” Now that I’m a ‘grown-up’, I can say in all honesty that I wholly concur. And that brings me around to the purpose of today’s blog.

After yet another discussion with the illustrator of our latest book, Tukaa’s Tale, we’ve concluded that even though we are self-published and heavily rely on word of mouth, we can’t expect much from, and maybe shouldn’t expect assistance from our friends, family and acquaintances. It comes down to, are we being too audacious asking them to buy copies of our book, then relying on them to give us an honest appraisal of our work by posting reviews on Amazon, etc.?

“God helps the one who helps themselves.”

Obviously, it’s a touchy subject, but one that I feel needs to be addressed.

If you’re a musician, author, artist, it’s difficult not to be excited when you have a new project to share with the world, especially when it’s something you’ve produced yourself. This is particularly true for those of us who don’t have the backing of a record deal, a publisher or a famous art gallery. The first people we go to are our family and close circle of friends. We think and hope that if they can get us started by buying our offerings, then leaving reviews, that the public will then catch on and carry us forward.

Let’s face it, most of us in this situation, don’t have the means, aka large bank accounts, allowing us to spend money on low-end, let alone high-end advertising, and therefore our works sit in a box, waiting for ‘the right person’ to come along and DISCOVER us. I guarantee that no one will come knocking at our doors exclaiming, “I heard about your ‘fill-in-the-blank’ and I want to buy thousands of copies of your ‘fill-in-the-blank’ and I’m offering myself as your sponsor!” We may dream about that after our heads hit the pillow, but no one in their right frame of mind waits for any such golden opportunity. They don’t exist.

It’s not that we’re feeling sorry for ourselves, but that we’re damn right frustrated, not knowing what course of action to take. And there are days, to be perfectly honest, of wanting to give up altogether. Ya, it might be a silly notion, but we can’t help asking ourselves, why write if no one’s going to read it? Why produce music if no one is going to listen? Why create artwork if no one is going to see it? Yes, of course, there’s the self-satisfaction of producing said works, and no one can take that away from us, but again, be honest, if you’re a creator, you want others to share in that experience.

One other problem, shared with me by other ‘creators’, is that half the time people don’t take you seriously. It’s like your five-year-old coming home with a painting from school, “Oh, honey, that’s nice. Let mommy put it up on the fridge…” In other words, they don’t think what we do is serious WORK. Most do not equate what we do with a job. It doesn’t matter that you spent six months working on a project because in their eyes, you didn’t sit behind a desk in an office building, so it doesn’t count. They might as well pat us on the head, “Nice hobby you have there. Wish we had time for such novelties.” ARGHHH!

So, what do we do? I’m afraid I have no answers, because if I did, I’d be thrilled to share them with my fellow artisans. Instead, the only thing I have at my disposal is this damned blog. Still, I’m grateful for its existence, because, who else would listen to my frantic rantings and pleas for help?