You may have heard this terminology while working on your resume. Skills that you have learned in one job or position are transferable into the next stage of your career. So learning in any capacity is helpful in the climb upward.
In the last few weeks, I have been assisting fellow author, Kaye Lynn Booth with the Book Cover Art Event being held on Facebook. Sunday we will find out if we have made it to the 3rd Round. So be sure to vote for Delilah in the coming days!
As I was looking around the internet and on Facebook writer's groups for some advice and help, I was confronted by the question: why is it YOUR responsibility to do this Book Cover Event?
I was struck by the negative tone. My responsibility? I hadn't thought of it exactly in those terms. I had been having fun with the project.
That seemed to be the crux of what I have been discussing here on my site about the corporatization of the writing craft. For decades writers have clamored to get their books published through the big publishing houses. The stepping on each other for a chance at publication has damaged the community as well as our camaraderie.
I see this corporate philosophy in writers' groups. I have had to recently excuse myself from one because the political climate became offensive to me. I said my peace and moved on. There was backlash of people unfriending and unliking my pages because writers have been embolden by the politics of ego. For people who write about the human condition, some writers are oblivious to it.
No, it is not all right to make fun of other people, push your political ideology, or sexual/gender issues onto other writers because the administrator deemed it a "Safe Space." Safe for whom? If I had run an experiment to see how the same group would have responded to political statements and bullying from the opposite side of the spectrum. . . yeah, the reaction would have be epic.
The corporate philosophy of fight amongst yourselves for this one spot on our list is over. Writers need to reevaluate what the writing craft means to them. Is it push come to shove, or learning what being in a community actually means?
Back to the question: why is it my responsibility? Isn't it everyone's? We have allowed ourselves to believe we have no responsibility to the bigger, wider world because corporations want to keep our thoughts, dreams, and aspirations small: a publishing contract. When in reality, the writing craft is about transferable skills.
My book cover art for: Delilah, written by Kaye Lynne Booth is a stepping stone into that wider world. I have gained as much as I have put into the project. I may not get anything of monetary value through this exploit, but I have received other rewards of learning new skills, obtaining a nomination, and understanding the fundamentals of online book events.
I could not have gotten any new and viable experiences hiding behind my keyboard and screen.
Now I have transferable skills to assist me in my own solitary endeavors on Undawnted, and the expansion on Sonoran Dawn Studios.
When will the writing community at large step out of the shadows and back into the light?
I don't know about you. . . but I sure do like to win.
Have a great and wonderful day.
