The REAL Price Of Free, Free Trade And No Tariffs

In addition to being a blogger, this writer has a few other talents (and sources of income).  See, life in America ain't cheap, despite all the free stuff.  Especially for people who are producers. In the spirit of the people who have to have multiple part time jobs to make ends meet - and Italians who live this way as a cultural thing - this writer:

• Publishes on multiple blog sites
• Writes romance novels
• Hand-crochets hats, scarves and more
• Sings at church, and for funerals
• Dog sits older, arthritic and sick pets at home while their humans are away.

For the purposes of discussing "free" stuff, we will leave out the dog sitting as that is a personal service, and cannot be replicated by cheap crap and volunteers.  Many people aren't willing to pack a bag and sleep over at the dog's house.

One would think that with all these part time "jobs" a living could be had.  In a few years, maybe, once the novel writing is established and this writer has about 20 paying titles out.  (As of now, there is one free, and three for which I charge.)  The secret to success in novel writing, specifically romance, is to write a series and not charge for the first book, the one that hooks the readers.  In my first series, I did that.  My first published novel has been downloaded well over 41,000 times in about 15 months.  How many readers made it through that first one is another story.  (Don't know the answer to that.)  The second book is out about 10 months and when I checked last has sold 994 copies.  The third came out three months later, and is sitting at right about 400 sold.  The fourth is just out a couple weeks, and I'm seeing 57 sold.  

Really, for a first-time author and zero marketing other than a Facebook page, that isn't bad.  But still, writing books is a lot of work.  And, just like everything else, people will read that which is free long before paying for a book, even if it is less than $3.  (BTW, the majority of my readers live in Australia and Great Britain.)

Okay, so I save cash by doing my own book covers. When I can afford to hire a graphic designer, I'll have them done by someone who REALLY knows what they are doing.

I love to write, but my first talent, and the one I spent tens of thousands of dollars developing, is being a classically trained soprano.  Really, the gift of song and music is one given by God.  There is no other way to put it. Being the good little artist, I learned all the classics, spent time in the parish choir, even years in one of the big civic choruses, and...well, let's just say the time has not paid off.  The bread and butter of classically trained musicians, for the most part, church gigs, weddings and funerals, are not as easy to come by as one might think.  It takes multiple jobs to make a living, and, get the wrong pastor, and the source of income will dry up.  Not only that, EVERYONE has a family member or friend who sings, which is fine, for special occasions.  It's when pastors expect cantors to double up and volunteer on a weekend along with choir duties that some of us get cranky.  (And what makes it REALLY maddening is when the parish is annually in the black.)

I get it. Church music and passive entertainment not in a concert or theater venue isn't seen, necessarily, as production.  And at church, anyway, we are all supposed to contribute our time and talents.  No, it is not making durable goods. It is the art that feeds the soul.  In the USA, where FREE is somewhat expected in life, it cheapens the product, especially when professional level work is eschewed for that which is free.  Which brings me to hand crafted art and wearables.

I started out crocheting for a friend who was looking for something specific in a newborn beanie hat.  Two years later, I have an inventory worth a couple thousand dollars between materials and time spent developing the patterns and actually making the items.  Are people willing to buy the stuff?  Other than a few relatives, not exactly.  In fact, giving it away is regularly suggested.  I was sitting with a sibling before a surgery working on a piece, and one of the nurses said, "Tis the season for giving!" The yarn alone on that masterpiece was $15.  A baby beanie...even on eBay people won't pay $5.  They want a better bargain. 

This experience is why this paragraph from accordingtohoyt.com really resonated:

Well sparky, it’s like this. The farmers are going hungry too. They get a pay day once or twice a year, and that’s from selling their crop. They have to make the payments on all their REALLY EXPENSIVE equipment, pay their employees, including the guys that are demanding $15 an hour as the new minimum wage, out of that one or two paychecks a year, and pay their mortgage, and put enough back to feed the family for the year. So they (like any prudent business man) insure their crops. If they don’t sell, or are destroyed, the insurance pays off. (not anything like full value, but enough that maybe they don’t lose the farm this year) If they sell at a loss, the insurance doesn’t pay. And if they give the food away, not only does the insurance not pay, but who’s going to pay the truckers to take it from where the food is, to where the mouths are? (Yes, I have a point, and I’m getting there, I just need to give you the back ground)

Well, the thirty or so shiploads of hay that I saw all date from about the same time frame. So here’s another layer of people hurt I theorize( if there’s any WA, ID, MT, or NB hay farmers that read this and can tell me of a different reason that millions of dollars of hay was allowed to mold, I’m all ears) all because of a strike that didn’t, in the end, really get the rank and file union member much of anything. (It got the union more power though, and that’s what’s important… to the union)

The implicit understanding of this being the price of doing business in the United States has been lost with less and less people being in business for themselves.  With zero tariff, the true value of goods has also been lowered as expectations are that we the people just buy the cheap stuff from China, and we can buy all new next year.  Yes, we are a generous people - and that is a good thing - but at a certain point, it harms those who depend on their own creativity for a living.

This is something we have lost and really need to get back.

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