5 Mistakes I’ve Made as a Writer: #2

I Gave My Work Away

Today seems as good a day as any to talk about why I’ve re-valued some of the work that’s done within the book industry, in particular the children’s book industry. And why I’m not working for magic beans any more.

First, an important distinction. I’ll always donate blood, sweat and tears to this industry that I love and that won’t change. I’m brimful of privilege and in terms of barriers — now, let me count — I have faced zero, zero barriers to working in the industry or to getting published, even when I moved to the other side of the world. I’m white middle-class neurotypical cisgender university-educated: open sesame! I’m even called Emily and grew up surrounded by books: it’s tricky to tell us all apart. Love to see that Venn diagram some day. While I try not to take my privilege for granted, that’s not to say I never do. But there’s a lot of free labour needed in this industry and many ways to use my privilege. When something needs doing and it’s for the greater good, it’s my chance to give back and I’ll drop everything to do it. 

But.

But volunteering your time in some circumstances can too easily turn into devaluing your work overall. Being a passionate advocate for children’s literature means identifying where your industry is being devalued and who’s doing the devaluing. Too often, I’ve realised, it’s me. It’s me devaluing my own work. When I do that, by extension I’m devaluing the work of other children’s book creators. Indeed, giving work away for free is rife in our industry.