My Support is NOT for Sale

Although some people might obsess that everybody has their price, there are certain things that aren’t on the table, and for me, it’s my support. I give it freely and willingly and the more time passes, the more that seems to hold true.

Supporting others is not something that comes naturally to a lot of people, but I do my best to do so and do so with no agenda or intention because I know the power of real support firsthand. We’ve all had those days where nothing works, where everything goes wrong, where we feel as far from success as it can get. However, at least for me, it’s often been someone who chimes in with the right thing to say that keeps you moving forward or gives you the kick in the ass you need to do awesome stuff. They don’t write for any other reason except to say hi, check on you, and actually motivate you if need be.

THAT’S why my support is not for sale.

Because I know the power of genuine support and the change it can do in a day, week, month, year, or life. And because bullshit stinks from a mile away.

Being an indie author, I can attest to how much we strive for success and in how many ways we fail. Unfortunately for many of us, it can be a very common thing. Sales might not be there. Reviews might be few and far in between. Even something as simple as something we posted didn’t have the reaction we’d hoped for, and some of us find new ways of beating ourselves up. Yet for many of us, random people we don’t know offer support. People whom we don’t know in real life and who are kind enough to read us or follow up our online antics on our chosen platforms.

Yet there are those who make contact just to shove their product in your face. And I use the words "product" and "shove" with every intention. It’s not a work of art. It’s not something special to them. It’s a commodity, a means to an end, a thing, and they wave it and try to cram it down your throat. They also vary the tactics from being completely obvious to being downright deceitful just to gain one more sale, one more share, one more step towards what they perceive as success. The problem with this tactic is that I unfortunately know a lot of people with a LOT of heart and a LOT of talent. Genuine and generous people. People with no agenda. I’ve also met hundreds of readers thanks to the events I’ve gone to and the things I share online. Readers who write me later through Twitter, IG, Facebook, G+, the blog, or even send me an email. And they have no idea what a difference a little kindness makes, but it does. We get to follow each other on social media and I see what they get up to and when I see some of their projects, it’s easy to support them. Not just because they supported me in the first place, but because they have passions and it’s wonderful to see anyone truly go after a dream that is genuine.

That’s a key word: genuine. That's because I’ll never charge anyone a thing to support them, because when I support someone’s dream, that’s because they are genuine, they are going for it, and they didn’t coerce me into it. There are countless dreams out there. Good dreams. Genuine dreams. Dreams that you can help take one step in the right direction and quite often free of charge. You can help change a life with just a little support, which begs one final question: what’s holding you back from giving it freely?

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

Ps.: Last week on the Writer’s Edge, I had the honor to participate in a panel titled “How and Why to Support Fellow Authors”. It had Andy Peloquin, Joe Compton, Katie Salidas, Christie Stratos, and myself talking about support and why we do it. So if you want a deeper look into why some of us do the things we do and how we do them, check out the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XptAJ_xdWVM&feature=youtu.be