It's All About the Money (Yes & No)

Yes, I admit it, I'm a shameless marketer.

It's why I put the name "Marketing" in my business name. But no matter what business you are in, you have to market or you won't get paid. It's all about the money.

And not.

Let me explain.

Money is a tool. Money brings with it lots of good things: food, clothing, shelter, gas in the car, insurance, electricity, Internet service, phone service, medical insurance, and maybe even a movie or a dinner out. If you aren't marketing and testing, you aren't making money. And I don't work for free. Do you?

For some reason, people think if you are a writer, or an artist, or work in some business other than a typical "brick and mortar" business, you will accept anything that comes down the pike, like any amount of money someone will offer you for a job. That's ridiculous!

Try this: Call up a plumber and ask them what they charge. Then call them for a job and see if they will just take what you offer them. They will laugh at you, and then ask for their fee. All of it.

I called a plumber out of desperation this summer because our bathtub was plugged and wasn't draining. We tried everything short of dynamite to get it unplugged. Finally, I called the local plumber. They came out, put a hose down the drain, and blew the sucker clear. They were there about 15 minutes, maybe 20 minutes maximum.

The bill?

$90.

Did I try to tell them they should take only $30 because I have a friend who is a plumber who can do it for me for that price? No. He would have laughed at me asked me why I didn't call my friend the plumber.

I paid it.

Why? That is his fee and is what the market will bear.

Was I happy to pay $90 for only 15 minutes of work? No. But his fee is what it is for his field of expertise.

So, for those who think I'm just in this business for the money, you're right.

And if you think I'm in this business ONLY for the money, you are wrong.

I write because I have this insatiable need to put words on paper, or on the screen. I have a mind that won't shut off. It's like the bunny with the battery pack, it keeps going, and going, and going. I have tried to stop writing and it worked about as well as my trying to stop breathing. I became light-headed and sick and felt like I was going to die.

But I also live for the things money can't buy. The letter from a reader saying the words I wrote moved them to tears, or helped them reunite with an estranged loved one, or made them laugh so hard they fell out of their chair. Those emails, calls and letters give me goosebumps and I tingle for days.

Then there are those who tell me that I'm a hack. I'm high if I think I'll ever make it as a writer, or that they wouldn't buy my book if it was the last book to read on Earth.

Fine. I'm ok with that. I'm not going to make everyone happy all of the time, which is true whether I have pen in hand or not. It's part of the business. If you can't take rejection, and if you take it personally, you have no business being in the writing business.

It's a good thing I have a thick skin. And a never ending optimistic attitude.

So, yes, I have a challenge to sell 1,000 books by the end of the month and part of those sales is going to charity, but I'm not going to stop believing and pursuing my goal. If I make it, whoohoo, I'll celebrate.

If I miss the mark, I'll learn from the experience, and improve my efforts in the next promotion. But I'm not going to stop. Ever. This is my life, and this is what I want more than anything. And I want it for all the good things it will bring to me and those I love.

And I'm grateful to be able to pursue it. And I'm confident I'll not only meet that goal, but I will EXCEED IT.

See you at the top. :)