What’s in it for me?
It’s sad that so many people feel that way now. What’s in it for me? This holiday season, as I question the gift of giving, I have many answers for the question What’s in it for me?
For instance, as an author, I sometimes retweet promos on other authors that I really don’t know. I also host authors on my blog on books I might not have read. What’s in it for me? The fact I have helped someone else, a fellow author, an artist, who has worked hard to get their creation, their book, noticed. It might not even be a book in the genre I like to read, or a book that I’d like if I did read it, but some of my followers might read it or notice it. It’s a gift for me because I love to help support my fellow authors, and it’s a gift for that author because even if one person notices it, that’s a big deal!
This also has to do with non-authors. How many of you are creating something? Whether you’re making a quilt or a gingerbread house, your creation matters.
Sometimes it’s the gift of giving a small donation so a child you’ll never meet is given renewed hope.
Sometimes it’s the gift of giving a smile, a minute out of your day to chat with someone who just wants to feel important in this big bad world.
Family can be the most loving and the most critical. They want the best for you and swear they’ll support you, but many don’t follow through. Why? Is it because they’re scared of you succeeding? Because they’re just too busy in their own lives to pay attention? Are they, in fact, jealous because you’re stepping out and doing something courageous? Or do they think you’re aiming way too high? (I believe there’s no such thing in aiming way too high!)
I know it’s not just me because I’ve had several discussions with many authors on how their family isn’t supportive, or claims to be supportive but doesn’t follow through. And I don’t like to talk about myself, so I can be in a room full of hundreds of family members at a reunion, and if each one of those family members were to buy my book, it would help my sales tremendously. But getting out there, talking about yourself and your book is frowned upon on so many levels.
Authors are people. We have many private break-down sessions during moments when our art, our creation, is getting the best of us. Sometimes, we wonder what it’s all about, then we remember that it’s about creating something we love, even if we’re the only ones who love it. We do want to be noticed, we want to know that what we’re doing matters, but ultimately we’re doing it because we love it, even if no one else in the world cares.
The gift of giving is crucial at all times of the year. Just giving a few minutes of your time to notice, listen, pay attention to someone who really needs you at the moment. Not just at this holiday season but during the entire year, year after year.