Or clickbait titles and how they successfully bait me.
One of the previews for the episode of Dans l’Oeil du Dragon featuring Akroche Tatuk (my client and friend) had a super clickbait-y title.. loosely translated it said that crochet pays.
What’s the problem ?
- That emoji at the end. That ‘who would have thought’ emoji. So insulting.
That emoji, and some of the comments, ask how it could be that crochet would pay. But, to be able to make a living from this you need notions and hard work. To get to this company’s revenues, you have to work really hard. Why shouldn’t you be paid accordingly?
It’s something we come back to often. A lot of people are surprised that we attach a value to what we do, a price tag.
In her pitch, Jenn mentions that it takes her 20 hours to write a pattern. This is an estimate, and a low one at that. Those words, 20 hours, don’t paint a detailed picture of all that they contain: you need the idea to start with, and the notions to make it real, and the notions to write the recipe of how someone else can reproduce it, you have to grade it for different sizes, and have it tested by people who can understand those instructions, and revise the whole thing, and have it tech edited. Then you have to translate it and have THAT revised. You’ll need picture, and a template, and sales-platforms, and a community, and you’ll need to help that community with help and tutorials. 20 hours. HAHAHAH.
All of these steps have hard costs and virtual ones. So, how could we be faulted for charging for that work?
- Oh… and I don’t like the shorthand either.
Sure, it pays, but did you see all that is involved in getting to something you can be paid for? It’s A LOT. So when I read, in the comments, people saying ‘I’m on my way omg’ – I thought : ‘yes, come ! I want you here. But know that crochet is work. Hard work. Work that I love and that I hope to keep doing for a loooong time. And I want to help you live from it too. But be prepared for what that really means.
You’ll feel like an impostor often, and you’ll feel unappreciated too. Discouraged. You’ll never be done. You’ll often feel alone. Doing it all.
If you want to know more, reach out. I want to know you. I want to help you find a way to make money from your passion for crochet. I will never lie to you about all the work involved, but if you put in the efforts, I will be your most fervent cheerleader!
Julie
PS I purposefully omitted talking about the people that say we should give it all away because… art. Bye.
