Around 30 years, or so, ago I was approached yet again by a well-meaning person who enquired if I should be so kind as to ‘dash off a quick cartoon for his Mum’s birthday’.
A friend of mine who was good at woodwork but who had only one arm – the other having been lost in a freak accident involving a dredger and the Bristol Channel, was often asked if he could whip up a quick seat (sic) in the boat that he had just bought.
People who are good at things tend to be asked to do ‘favours’. This means: “Do It For Free’!
My friend’s response was usually along the lines of, “Go down to ‘Dodgit Tyres’ and ask them for a free set of rubber because they are ‘good at it’! See what answer you get from them?”
Perhaps a polite request to ‘Apple’ for a new computer because they are ‘good at it’?
Souls such as my friend, sadly now deceased, and I are expected to cough up requests gratis on a regular basis.
Why?
Because people love what you do – until they have to pay for it.
It doesn’t matter if you write words or music or play an instrument or, perhaps you draw cartoons or paint. You may carve or make porcelain or ceramic figures but, for them, you will be only too happy to do it for free.
Someone will expect you to do it for them for free.
I have written several books. One of them is called ‘A Simple Guide To Understanding Jet Engines’.
Several people have asked if there are any free copies available. Some of them are ex-friends who think that I wrote it for fun and that it took only a few minutes to complete and, thus, am able to pass out copies liberally.
There is no understanding of the time taken to complete this work. There is no understanding of the years of experience both with engines and in teaching about engines that have gone into those pages. There is no comprehension of the cost of printing or cover design or editing or proof-reading…
My friend had years of experience and knowledge about woodworking – especially on boats. All that was irrelevant.
‘Just a quick job…’
More recently a person asked me to do a complex job on a part-time basis also for free. He was under the impression that he was ‘giving me something to do’ and, therefore, doing me a favour. He was upset when I asked him how much he would pay me for this undertaking.
This was followed up with a request for a few quick Saturday morning’s work with some apprentices…
I went to see his Boss, told him the situation. Boss asked how much I would charge. I told him and he signed off on it immediately – other fellow now very upset that I had gone behind his back AND to receive payment!
To go back to the beginning.
The birthday card for Mum. I explained that it would be £10 for A4 and £5 for A5. More if he wanted colour since I am colour blind and would need to hire an assistant to help me with the colours.
“No need for all that trouble – just a quick cartoon…” he insisted.
Explaining that there is no such thing as a ‘quick cartoon’ I shrugged and walked off.
A couple of days later I gave him this:
He was upset.
It was free.
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