Self Publishing and Unemployment.
America is supposedly the land of the entrepreneur. But we have a curious attitude toward people in a number of positions in our society.
My wife and I have been self-something-or-others most of our adult lives. Mostly it has been self employed. That means we have to be self starters. If we don’t get ourselves moving, no one is going to do it for us. If we don’t make something happen for ourselves, no one will. Some of us are more comfortable than others with the fact that it can be all up to us to make our way.
In this environment there are many people who are then generally classified as being "unemployed" in one way or another. Here are some of them:
1. Self employed people
2. Housewives
3. "Retired" people
4. Publishers.
In the public mind it is clear that a person is employed if they have a job which has been made for them by someone else, where they are provided with a paycheck and benefits. If you receive none of the above then you are "unemployed".
Self Employed People
Those of us who are self employed and have created are own jobs are assumed to be available, at the discretion of others, to run errands and do other odd jobs since we are not actually "working". Even so, others assume we must have a pension plan or 401 K and will ask "What kind of a 401K plan do you have?" Answer, "None, I’m self employed." Or they are outraged that they now have to pay 15% of their health insurance premiums and ask, "How much are YOU expected to pay of your health insurance premium?" Answer, "All of it." We are truly to be pitied.
Housewives
The next class of the unemployed is the housewife. The debate about how much a housewife should be paid if she actually received a paycheck has been raging forever but it seems that employed people continue to wonder what housewives actually do all day. As if the children have been stuffed and put in a corner. Not to mention all the things that people in a marital partnership do as part of their lives together even thought only one nominally receives the compensation. It is assumed that housewives should be doing something directly remunerative and should be striving to "have it all". That means career, children, glorious fulfilment in their marriage etc.
Fortunately with the advent of the women’s movement we have gotten beyond the embarrassed woman who says shyly that she is "just a housewife". At least now she is more prone to say she is a "stay at home Mom" among other things. Still the suspicion lingers that she does not really do much and, therefore, is unemployed.
Retired People
The third class of people are "retired" people. When I was a child most men retired at age 65 and were dead, on average, at age 67. So unemployment or idleness was not much of a worry. It was all to be over soon. The old attitudes have lingered on for decades.
People assume that anyone past the age of 60 must be retired. The sad fact is that many people of all ages are bored or unhappy with their jobs. They assume an older person couldn’t actually be working or want to work. When I ask an older man what he does, I am asking about his skills, his history, his interests. I continue to be surprised by responses like, "I’m retired." Period. Total response. Does that mean retirement is a vocation and all prior history has disappeared?
I’m really struggling with the definition of retirement because I have no idea what it means anymore. We have several images of the retired person: 1. They sit at the end of a dock and fish 2. They play endless rounds of golf or 3. They ride around on their motorized scooter with grandchildren following behind on tricycles or in line skates. What a fulfilling way to spend your later years! Is it possible that some people might dare to do something gainful late in life?
My 100 year old aunt died recently and was "retired" for 35 years which means in her case that she actually did not do much of anything. Is that a model to be emulated?
Publishers/Self Publishers
Then last on my list are publishers. Nobody seems to know what publishers actually do. They don’t write. Authors write. They don’t edit because that is what editors do. They publish but no one knows what that is. Since no one can figure out what they do, they must be unemployed or at best slackers.
Isn’t it curious that in this land of the entrepreneur we have this attitude about people who are self starters, make their own way or in other ways are independent? As for me, I’m having a really good time watching people’s faces. They assume at my age that I am retired. Without really knowing about my life they ask me how I am enjoying my retirement. And then I tell them I am a publisher. That’s bad enough but then I compound it by telling them I am a self publishing publisher. Fortunately the bias against self publishing seems to be breaking down quickly. But most people still seem clueless about publishing and self publishing. I know I shouldn’t be making them uncomfortable. I’m a mean person. I also don’t like unexamined prejudices and stereotypes.
America is supposedly the land of the entrepreneur. But we have a curious attitude toward people in a number of positions in our society.
My wife and I have been self-something-or-others most of our adult lives. Mostly it has been self employed. That means we have to be self starters. If we don’t get ourselves moving, no one is going to do it for us. If we don’t make something happen for ourselves, no one will. Some of us are more comfortable than others with the fact that it can be all up to us to make our way.
In this environment there are many people who are then generally classified as being "unemployed" in one way or another. Here are some of them:
1. Self employed people
2. Housewives
3. "Retired" people
4. Publishers.
In the public mind it is clear that a person is employed if they have a job which has been made for them by someone else, where they are provided with a paycheck and benefits. If you receive none of the above then you are "unemployed".
Self Employed People
Those of us who are self employed and have created are own jobs are assumed to be available, at the discretion of others, to run errands and do other odd jobs since we are not actually "working". Even so, others assume we must have a pension plan or 401 K and will ask "What kind of a 401K plan do you have?" Answer, "None, I’m self employed." Or they are outraged that they now have to pay 15% of their health insurance premiums and ask, "How much are YOU expected to pay of your health insurance premium?" Answer, "All of it." We are truly to be pitied.
Housewives
The next class of the unemployed is the housewife. The debate about how much a housewife should be paid if she actually received a paycheck has been raging forever but it seems that employed people continue to wonder what housewives actually do all day. As if the children have been stuffed and put in a corner. Not to mention all the things that people in a marital partnership do as part of their lives together even thought only one nominally receives the compensation. It is assumed that housewives should be doing something directly remunerative and should be striving to "have it all". That means career, children, glorious fulfilment in their marriage etc.
Fortunately with the advent of the women’s movement we have gotten beyond the embarrassed woman who says shyly that she is "just a housewife". At least now she is more prone to say she is a "stay at home Mom" among other things. Still the suspicion lingers that she does not really do much and, therefore, is unemployed.
Retired People
The third class of people are "retired" people. When I was a child most men retired at age 65 and were dead, on average, at age 67. So unemployment or idleness was not much of a worry. It was all to be over soon. The old attitudes have lingered on for decades.
People assume that anyone past the age of 60 must be retired. The sad fact is that many people of all ages are bored or unhappy with their jobs. They assume an older person couldn’t actually be working or want to work. When I ask an older man what he does, I am asking about his skills, his history, his interests. I continue to be surprised by responses like, "I’m retired." Period. Total response. Does that mean retirement is a vocation and all prior history has disappeared?
I’m really struggling with the definition of retirement because I have no idea what it means anymore. We have several images of the retired person: 1. They sit at the end of a dock and fish 2. They play endless rounds of golf or 3. They ride around on their motorized scooter with grandchildren following behind on tricycles or in line skates. What a fulfilling way to spend your later years! Is it possible that some people might dare to do something gainful late in life?
My 100 year old aunt died recently and was "retired" for 35 years which means in her case that she actually did not do much of anything. Is that a model to be emulated?
Publishers/Self Publishers
Then last on my list are publishers. Nobody seems to know what publishers actually do. They don’t write. Authors write. They don’t edit because that is what editors do. They publish but no one knows what that is. Since no one can figure out what they do, they must be unemployed or at best slackers.
Isn’t it curious that in this land of the entrepreneur we have this attitude about people who are self starters, make their own way or in other ways are independent? As for me, I’m having a really good time watching people’s faces. They assume at my age that I am retired. Without really knowing about my life they ask me how I am enjoying my retirement. And then I tell them I am a publisher. That’s bad enough but then I compound it by telling them I am a self publishing publisher. Fortunately the bias against self publishing seems to be breaking down quickly. But most people still seem clueless about publishing and self publishing. I know I shouldn’t be making them uncomfortable. I’m a mean person. I also don’t like unexamined prejudices and stereotypes.
posted by Roger | 3:14 PM
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