Unknowingly Supporting Trafficking

(I posted this little post on my other blog, dedicated to ending slavery, 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves: 27 Million.  I'm still struggling how to manage having a website dedicated to my authorship and writing, but then have a blog about human trafficking.  I should probably reference the other blog more often, eh?  Which is why I'm copying this post to this page.  It's a quick summary of my approach to ending trafficking and it's a quick read.)

One of my major arguments in my book is that we all unknowingly support human trafficking in some way.  The uniqueness of my argument is that I say it is not only the things that we do that support human trafficking, but the way that we think and talk, too; our very attitudes contribute to slavery, whether we like it or not.

There are more tangible ways that we contribute to slavery, too, of course.  I don't focus on the tangible so much as I should, though that's partly because I truly believe that if we can change our very beings to be aware and compassionate of the humanness of others then tangible acts would become unnecessary.  In helping think about the tangible, my fiancee pointed out this article to me: Unknowingly Supporting Trafficking. 

If you have been concerned about slavery for awhile now, you may have thought about how buying clothes, chocolate (or coffee and other goods) that's not fair trade, and fruit can contribute to trafficking.  You've probably also given thought to the massage parlor industry, especially considering that this blog and my book have talked a good deal about some of those.  Still, it's worth the reminder that slaves are working in various industries that produce what we consume.  The article is a quick read so I hope you'll read it.  I don't have anything in particular to add to it except that I hope you will think long and hard about how you consume products: just because consuming products does not bring us face-to-face with another human being does not mean that we can stop being aware and compassionate of the humanness of others.

A Celebration of Breaking Even

After the event at Faith United Methodist Church on January 31st, I am now nearly breaking even financially with the self-publication of my first work, 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves.  One of the things that I have talked to my fiancee about is how hard it can be for a writer/artist, or anyone really, to continue doing what they love for the sake of doing what they love when financial considerations come into play.  Are we good enough people to not care about money, to do what it is we love without any seeking after money?  As a Christian, and as a Christian writer, I have to say that any seeking after money lessens our potential, even if the money seeking is secondary.  To be the best that we can be, as a person and as a professional in a vocation, we should only do what it is we want to do and then let the money come to us.  In real life this is a hard principle to follow, since we're often in need of money any way we can get it.  But still, I have written a book: do I sell that book because I want people to read it and possibly gain something from it, or do I sell the book because I want to make some money?  Does it matter?

Well, first of all, I think that breaking even is an event to be celebrated. Whether I am writing for my own financial well-being, my own satisfaction, or for the betterment of the world, breaking even means something: I've sold about 150 copies.  Stop the trains! 150 copies!  No way!  That must have killed at least 10 million trees!  Okay, so 150 copies is not 1,000 copies, nor is it 10,000 copies.  I'm not setting any records.  And let's say only half the people who have bought the book have actually read it.  That means a mere 75 people have read the book.  Though that number is much smaller than a writer with big dreams may like, it's still something to be celebrated.

In the case of 27 Million Revolutions, I know that many of those 75 people have found the book helpful in some way.  A student in Florida asked me to record a little talk for her, one of my brother's friends was strongly moved by the book and started up a conversation with me about the book, and residents of my former hometown have said that they are starting to be more aware of slavery in the news and in their daily lives.  Those are just a few examples.  As a writer, what else could you ask for?  As a Christian, what else could you ask for?  People's lives are being changed for the better.  Yes, the numbers are small, but if the impact is large, how can I or anyone else complain?

Self-publishing has had the unintended consequence of forcing me to think about finances a little too much.  For any budding writers out there, self-publishing will have the same negative consequence on you as well, unless a financial boom is why you are writing.  But I suppose I am choosing to ignore all the more serious questions and just remember that breaking even with 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves means that a good number of people have been positively impacted and influenced by reading the book.

Here's to hoping that celebrating this milestone will lead to more lives changed, bringing us closer to the end of slavery.  If you want to help change lives and make the world a better place--aka, a world without slavery--recommend 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves.  It's already worked wonders in a number of lives.

Finally

About eight months after I had originally hoped to publish (that's what we call naivete), I am finally getting 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves onto the presses.  It has unexpectedly been a very emotional ride, which you won't hear about for months and months, but suffice it to say that my first ever serious publication is not quite as exciting as one would hope.  At the end of the day, though, I feel successful.  Now, selfishly, I'm most worried about selling the friggin book; of course, I'm also worried that, once having sold the book, that readers will find it somehow useful, helpful, meaningful, or whatever positive 'ful' word you can insert.

Of my trusted readers of this blog, if you want to buy a copy (it won't be available on Amazon for about ten days, and when it is it might be a couple of dollars more expensive) e-mail me at jlucy.wilde@gmail.com and then we'll go from there.  Happy reading!

Finished!

I'm finished with life, damnit!

No, no.  But just a few minutes ago I finished the first draft of my book on my bike trip last summer.  You can all bow down metaphorically to me now.  I'll give you a slight pause to do so....................  Ok, now that you have properly praised and honored me I'll continue.

The first draft is just over 50,000 words.  Think back to your college application days when you may have had to write a 250-500 page essay and you'll get a sense for how many pages 50,000 words is.  It's not a ton by any means but a good amount.  It's especially a good amount considering how rough the draft is: notes are everywhere reminding me to add information here and a stories there; I left almost all of the first chapter for later.  Anything that did not immediately come to my mind or, for a piece of information, not immediately available in my face, I left for later.  Also, I plan on returning to my blog and journal from the days I was on my trip to see if I simply forgot certain ideas or stories.  My estimation is that when I'm done I'll have written at least 60,000 words, which will form a nice little book.

Even if I still have lots of work to do, adding and then editing everything, it is good to have gotten through to the end.  Until I finish a work to the end I always work sluggishly because I'm constantly thinking of new ideas but have no idea where to put them because I haven't finished yet, and the question, "When will I ever finish this friggin thing!?" weighs more and more on my mind until, indeed, I get through the first draft.  So you might not think a barely finished, not at all polished work of writing is worth celebrating, but for me it is.  The process of adding may take a little while, but I love the process of editing and that never takes me long.  By the end of October, then, I should be all done.

Because my hard work reached a milestone today you can darn well expect me to take a little break from writing.  So you might not see another post here from me until the weekend.  Adios, amigos.