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Trust
6 years ago
General
You know what blows? Losing it in people you respect.
Been debating writing this for a while, wondering if I should bother at all: maybe its too mopey a subject, nobody cares about it, it won't change anything. It's thoughts such as those that stayed my fingers, but as I sit for another day, replaying the events in my head, I find myself unable to stop myself any longer. I'm tired of being the good, quiet guy about it.
Frankly, I'm owed. Have been for a long time.
I know callout journals aren't accepted here, thus names will not be named. I know artists struggle day in and day out to balance their craft with the demands of modern life, and I know well thst the creative process cannot be rushed. And yet, as I find myself once more reviewing transactions in my head and the staggering inequity between parties, I can't help but feel slighted.
After all, you were paid.
I know that life is tough, certainly personal circumstances can get in the way of any project. I know that its hard to run a business. And yet, I know that if this were any other industry, any other clientele base, that you'd have gone out of trade a long time ago.
Doesn't seem to matter. You were paid, and I'm left poorer for it.
I know social media can be hard in this day and age, and it's easy to get snowed in and inundated with post after post, status after status, that its easy for things to slip through the cracks. Messages go unread, emails unseen, DMs unchecked. But the fact od the matter is, when you can't take the time to even bother seeing to your customers, you should no longer be in business.
Doesn't matter though. After all, you got paid, and I can't so much as wring a singlr letter of acknowledgement from you.
I know life has its problems. Things come up, sometimes devastating. A polite society ahould be comprised of understanding and empathy, to pull togetherans help one another. When someone asks for help, that it be given. I listened when you talked, gave advice where I could. And yet I had to hold my tongue, even as I felt myself writhing with anger and a sense of betrayal, because it felt improper otherwise.
Doesn't matter. You were paid, and whilst I offered my ear to you, you offered me the silence of a cold shoulder.
I'm tired of being the understanding fool, waiting and hoping. I know there'a nothing I can do, that I can only be optimistic, but that has its limits and they have long since been surpassed. I know, after all, that artists don't deserve the drama levelled at them, but maybe consider the otherend of things.
After all, no matter the hardship before you: you got paid, and I'm left poorer for it. You gained money, I lost my trust in you.
Been debating writing this for a while, wondering if I should bother at all: maybe its too mopey a subject, nobody cares about it, it won't change anything. It's thoughts such as those that stayed my fingers, but as I sit for another day, replaying the events in my head, I find myself unable to stop myself any longer. I'm tired of being the good, quiet guy about it.
Frankly, I'm owed. Have been for a long time.
I know callout journals aren't accepted here, thus names will not be named. I know artists struggle day in and day out to balance their craft with the demands of modern life, and I know well thst the creative process cannot be rushed. And yet, as I find myself once more reviewing transactions in my head and the staggering inequity between parties, I can't help but feel slighted.
After all, you were paid.
I know that life is tough, certainly personal circumstances can get in the way of any project. I know that its hard to run a business. And yet, I know that if this were any other industry, any other clientele base, that you'd have gone out of trade a long time ago.
Doesn't seem to matter. You were paid, and I'm left poorer for it.
I know social media can be hard in this day and age, and it's easy to get snowed in and inundated with post after post, status after status, that its easy for things to slip through the cracks. Messages go unread, emails unseen, DMs unchecked. But the fact od the matter is, when you can't take the time to even bother seeing to your customers, you should no longer be in business.
Doesn't matter though. After all, you got paid, and I can't so much as wring a singlr letter of acknowledgement from you.
I know life has its problems. Things come up, sometimes devastating. A polite society ahould be comprised of understanding and empathy, to pull togetherans help one another. When someone asks for help, that it be given. I listened when you talked, gave advice where I could. And yet I had to hold my tongue, even as I felt myself writhing with anger and a sense of betrayal, because it felt improper otherwise.
Doesn't matter. You were paid, and whilst I offered my ear to you, you offered me the silence of a cold shoulder.
I'm tired of being the understanding fool, waiting and hoping. I know there'a nothing I can do, that I can only be optimistic, but that has its limits and they have long since been surpassed. I know, after all, that artists don't deserve the drama levelled at them, but maybe consider the otherend of things.
After all, no matter the hardship before you: you got paid, and I'm left poorer for it. You gained money, I lost my trust in you.
Artists who put themselves in the professional field really need to be responsible for some very basic level skills when it comes to organization and communication... or just stop doing business and return to amateur hour where they belong.
The number of professionals who treat customers like sources for micro-loans they might not even have to pay back (if they give up and stop asking for a refund) is infuriating.
I agree! It's one of those things where, well, once you start accepting money for work, it's no longer a "hobby". Granted, my degree is in music, but when I was studying, we had to cover elements of how to run a business in that field and how to conduct yourself, and I imagine much of the core ideas to follow are the same for any creative business. Communication is key, and you cannot, you cannot leave clients feeling like they've been neglected or in some way short-changed.
Yes, it's a hard career to pursue, and creativity comes and goes, but so many problems can be averted by simply maintaining an open connection with your clients. People are really, really understanding when it comes to things like hard luck or a sudden change in circumstance. Not only is it a benefit for the artist in that sense, it's also a benefit for the client. I've seen several comics and posts about how burnout can affect an artist, how pressure can make them want to just give up; I invite them to consider the client's side, doggedly chasing an artist for any sort of news, and constantly checking inboxes day in-day out hoping that maybe today's the day they have a change of heart.
Sucks on both sides, and it ends up with a resentful customer, an embarrassed artist, and nobody benefits. And all that had to happen was some words of "hey bud, sorry I'm lagging behind." Six, six words. Took me about two seconds to type, and could have saved so much shit on both ends...
As I said up there in the post; I paid. As it stands, they've had the benefit, I haven't. And that feeling of being so impressed with an artist's work, and so trusting in them that you want to hire them, only to have them stiff you is crushing. Worse still if you considered them a friend.
A friend of yours approaches you for work; it's a decent project and promises to net you a fair bit of money. You charge up front usually, but you know this person well enough, trust them well enough that they're good for the money, and you start work. After a couple weeks of silence, you ask about payment, nothing comes. A month? Nothing. Maybe after two months you get a hold of them when you see them online one day, and they tell you that they've had some life issues come up, and need more time. Sure, you get it, life sucks balls, and you don't press the matter.
Three months go by, and now it's back to nothing. You've got a completed project just sitting there that you spent time on, time that could have made you money had it been someone else, but this client just hasn't had a shred of decency to talk to you. You finally get a hold of them again, and they say that they just need more time to pay it. They just had to pay the rego for a furcon, and they really want to go, and they promise they'll have the funds in two weeks. Oh, sure, they can go to a con but not pay you?
That two weeks goes by and nothing. The cycle repeats, out to a year and beyond, to the point you're not sure you'll ever get paid. Now, an artist can say "Oh, I'd never do work without being paid in full first because it's a trust thing.". Fair, but then, why am I as a client having to trust that you'll do the work? You've got the money, there's incentive for you not to do it.
The sad part is, it's not an unspoken contract. It's an actual contract. An offer made, a consideration on both parts (art in exchange for funds), and agreement on both sides for these terms. Again, it comes down to shocking business acumen for artists to think that it's fine to get to that point and that going dark is the best way to deal with it, because it leaves people burned and pissed off. Two things no business owner wants in their client base.
And nah, dude, you didn't offshoot at all, you're sounding like you're in the same boat as I am, and it's a fucking choppy ride.