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Worth

December 10, 2007

susan_preston_worth.jpg

I've received a smattering of emails chastising me for the decision to charge a $2.95 entry fee for my annual Advent Calendar ~ a couple of which have been surprisingly ill-tempered. For the record, I did not intentionally tiptoe into my own creation and steal the advent calendar away from anyone this year. And, no matter what anyone might think, my heart has not shrunk to the size of a walnut this holiday season. The thought that I've become the Grinch personified, although it might have innocently popped into a few people's heads, has no basis in reality. All I am trying to do is build a business, and sometimes, you don't know if something will work or not until you've tried. The jury is still out, but I must say the nature of anger and blame is interesting to me, and I have a feeling I will learn a lot from this.

On the one hand, the complaints are a testament to the quality of my work. The idea that anyone would be moved enough to contact me personally when their Advent Calendar supply has been cut off is actually a compliment. Maybe I could have gone about it in some other sort of way, and perhaps sometime in the future I'll get the recipe right. This is actually a third stab at recouping my costs... one year, I put advertising inside the calendar, and was lambasted by a bunch of viewers for "cheapening" what I had created. Two other years, I put a tiny "donation" button directly beneath the calendar, and I came away $50 richer as a result. Four years ago, a client asked me how much it would cost for me to produce an advent calendar from scratch... build a new one from the ground up. The figure I quoted, which I low-balled because I thought it would be fun to produce another one, was prohibitively high for any of my client's budgets. Let me put it this way, a new MINI Cooper is comparative in worth to this project, which has been lovingly pruned and supplemented over the course of nearly a decade. To me, it is priceless.

Perhaps this is why suddenly charging for it is so upsetting to some... or maybe it's just that I value my work more than some of my viewers do. Maybe for a certain percentage my work is only worthwhile as long as it is free. All I know is I can be sure of only one thing, the authenticity of my motivations. Before the criticisms, my calendar had worth, and the opinions of those who visit does not change the love and care that went into it. Nothing can change that.

I'd like to ask the handful of people who sent the frowny faces and outraged sentiments how much value they place on my work... or any artwork they admire for that matter. Is it only worth seeing if it's free? Is a Starbucks Gingerbread Latte, which costs more than what I have requested, more inspiring than the work I've put my heart into all of these years? According to my self worth, three bucks is a steal for my creativity... it will get you the keys to something I cherish more than anything else I've created. Honestly. And... if the market does not value what I put forth, then perhaps the advent calendar will float away just like Happy Days and The Jetsons did. After all, everything is impermanent, nothing lasts forever... not even interactive advent calendars.

Learning to charge for one's work and setting a proper amount for it can be a spine-tingling thing for many artists, including me. We're sensitive creatures, often relentlessly questioning not only the value of our work, but the personal value we perceive is attached to it. The culture doesn't do much in the way of celebrating the fine artist, so it's up to us. Learning to value your own work is a life lesson for any artist. I do not suppose to think my little advent calendar has or ever will rock the world, but it is important for me at this moment in my life to receive something in return for my efforts, even if it's just me giving myself the present of honoring my worth, which is a priceless present to gift oneself with. This can be a hard lesson to learn, because if you don't value yourself, no one else will.

There is gold within me, and there is so much gold within you! Do not give yourselves away too freely, for the value you place upon yourself is the value the world will reflect back to you. The "right" decision is a fluid and changing thing, depending on where the world and its circumstances finds you.

Be blessed. Be happy. Be deliriously joyful this season. If I could give a gift to you all, it would be the realization that you are worthy of your own love, compassion and attention this holiday season.

Posted by vincent at December 10, 2007 06:47 PM

Comments

I am sad that something meant to bring joy has been tarnished with such mean spirited words. sigh. Such is life I suppose. So much for peace on earth and good will.

Best wishes in your ventures. It's o.k. to value your work. And yes, it's also o.k. to ask others to value it as well.

Posted by: s'mee at December 11, 2007 12:55 AM

Beautifully said, Susan! I pray the Grinches of today become angels as they read this, placing value not only in the work of others, but in their own work as well.

Posted by: jzrart at December 11, 2007 08:08 AM

It's not only OK to value your work...it's imperative. If you don't value it then who will? Perhaps some people just don't realize how much work goes into something like this...we're so used to having things just pop effortlessly onto our screen with a click of the mouse that it's easily forgotten how much work went into it getting it there.
Keep on giving yourself the value you deserve!

Posted by: Kate I at December 11, 2007 12:47 PM

"Be blessed. Be happy. Be deliriously joyful this season. If I could give a gift to you all, it would be the realization that you are worthy of your own love, compassion and attention this holiday season."

Amen, amen, AMEN! Blessings to you Susan.

Posted by: jayne at December 12, 2007 06:22 AM

I also struggle with what to charge, between making a living and giving my clients good value for their money.

I am a wedding and portrait photographer as well as a wildlife photographer, and often find myself either competing with the Kmarts or the 10k per event people. I can't do either.

I like your drawing attention to all of your work vs the cost of a latte. People have gotten so used so shelling out $4 for a cup of hot milk and coffee, but other things are too expensive.

I wish you all the best in your business!

www.caravinsonphotography.com

Posted by: Cara at December 12, 2007 09:39 AM

I'm sorry so many people felt offended that decided to charge for your work of art. I know I often struggle with "should I give it away out of the goodness of my heart or should I try to make back what it cost me to produce or do I charge what I really think its intrinsic value is?"

It's so hard for an artist to decide these things because we are just not wired this way. I think you should do what you need to do and go from there. Those that don't like paying less than a cup of coffee for your creative work can go to google.com and get inspired there.

Posted by: HeyJules at December 12, 2007 12:05 PM

You go girl!!!

Posted by: janet at December 12, 2007 10:16 PM

You are worth it, and your work is worth it. As someone who used to create digital graphics for scrapbooking, I an tell you that all to often people in the digital realm expect everything for free. It's an unfair and unrealistic expectation. The fact that your creations are virtual make them of no less worth than the little boxed Advent calandar at Target. In fact, your work is of more worth because you have put your heart into it.

Posted by: Sandra at December 22, 2007 07:50 PM

You are worth it, and your work is worth it. As someone who used to create digital graphics for scrapbooking, I an tell you that all to often people in the digital realm expect everything for free. It's an unfair and unrealistic expectation. The fact that your creations are virtual make them of no less worth than the little boxed Advent calandar at Target. In fact, your work is of more worth because you have put your heart into it.

Posted by: Sandra at December 22, 2007 07:52 PM

So much to respond to here. I certainly agree that your work has value. Still, it is always hard to raise prices, particularly from zero. Here you have been giving away your intellectual property for years, and now you have the nerve (the nerve, I say!) to stop doing so.

Realistically, your clientele (can't really call them your market if they aren't paying) can be expected to object if you change the terms of the deal. You can ignore the backlash if it is a small enough number--without guilt, please.

Or you can keep trying to find a mix that works. Is there a way to make the calendar a loss leader that drives purchasers to other products? I don't know what the cost implications are, but you could consider having a static calendar that has few or no changes from past years, with a separate subscription based calendar that has all your best bells and whistles of the new year. Definitely, there should be a "please contribute" button on this one.

How are your cards doing? You could think about requiring a subscription to purchase those. I'm not sure if this makes sense or not, but the idea is to make being a subscriber have "cool" value--subscribers are insiders.

I think it's great to give away stuff for the holidays or just for no reason at all. But I also think that most of what you do professionally ought to be appropriately compensated so that you can appropriately compensate your landlord, your grocery store, and all those other people who don't give stuff away.

Personally, I am behind the curve this year, but even today (Christmas Eve) I will be contributing to your awesome advent calendar.

Thanks for all you do and Merry Christmas to you!

Posted by: Karen at December 24, 2007 12:04 PM

Rereading...the please contribute button should be on the free version if you had two versions...

Posted by: Karen at December 24, 2007 12:06 PM