It Took Me 30 Years to
Learn This Secret
By Richard Webster
I have always given, but funnily enough, I gave out of fear.
If someone asked me for money, I would always put my hand in my pocket. If they didn't ask, I would walk past without offering anything.
My thinking was that if someone asked, I had a choice of saying "yes" or "no". If I gave them money, it meant I would always have money. If I said "no," I was subconsciously attracting a lack of money.
So it was the fear of having a lack of money that made me give. Of course, although I was giving, it was always small amounts.
The Richard Webster Popular Fiction Award changed my life. It developed from a slightly boozy lunch I had with some writer friends. We were bemoaning the fact that authors of popular fiction found it hard to get published and receive any recognition. Writers of literary fiction received grants and other handouts to get their work published, but commercial writers received nothing. I announced that I'd launch an award, with a prize of $1,000. My friends laughed, and the conversation went to other things.
However, the thought stayed with me, and eventually I decided to go ahead with it. I must admit my motives were selfish. I thought that having an award with my name on it would increase my name and reputation, and that might help book sales.
I found a publisher who was prepared to publish the winning entry, and two years ago we launched it. I increased the first prize to $5,000, and added a second prize of $1,000. This seemed like a huge amount of money to give away.
To my pleasure, the award did increase my exposure, and I gave dozens of newspaper articles and radio interviews. I don't think any author has ever sponsored an award for other authors before, and this made it newsworthy. I felt good about doing it, but didn't expect any other benefits.
However, to my amazement, this award seemed to open a floodgate of money.
My book sales increased.
The foreign language rights sales to my books multiplied, and I received paid offers to speak all around the world.
My income, which comes entirely from my books, more than doubled in the first twelve months.
Naturally, I'm much more generous now than I used to be. I love giving money away. And the more I give away, the better off I become.
I wish I'd learned this secret thirty years ago. |
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我用了30年的时间才认识到
这个真理
作者： Richard Webster
我总是布施，不过滑稽的是，我是出于恐惧而布施。
如果有人向我要钱，我总是会将手伸进口袋里去。但如果他们没开口，我就会昂首走过，只当没有看见。
我的想法是：如果有人向我要钱，我就必须作出回答：“是”或“否”。如果我布施了钱，就意味着我总是有钱；相反，如果我说“不”，就会在潜意识里吸引“贫穷”。
所以说，我是出于恐惧而布施的。当然，我布施的也总是小数目。
“Richard Webster 通俗小说奖”改变了我的一生。这个主意源于一次我和一些作家朋友们的午餐；当时大家都喝了点酒，然后都在抱怨通俗小说的作家们很难得到发表的机会，更难以得到社会认可；严肃作家们有很多机会，而商业写手们却什么也得不到。于是我宣布：我要为通俗作家设立一个奖项，奖金为1000美元。大家听了都哈哈大笑，然后我们又谈起了其它的话题。
但是，“设立奖项”这个念头一直萦绕在我的心头；我决定去实施这个想法。我必须承认，我的出发点是很自私的。我只是想：如果有一个以我的名字命名的奖项，会大大的提高我的知名度，当然也会大大有利于我的著作的出版。
我找到了一个愿意发布获奖作品的出版商；2年前，我们正式推出该奖项。我将一等奖的奖金提至5000美元，另设一个1000美元的二等奖。这还真是一笔不小的布施支出。
让我高兴的是，这个奖项的设立，确实让我的知名度提高了不少——我被邀参加了数十次的报纸和电台采访。我想，可能是因为以前从来没有“作家赞助作家”的奖项，所以新闻价值比较高吧。我很喜欢这件事，但除了感觉良好以外，我也没有什么别的期望。
但出乎我意料的是，这个奖项为我打开了一扇喷涌金钱的闸门。
我的书的销量增加了。
我的著作的外语版税成倍增长，且不断收到从世界各地来的合作意向。
我的收入（全部来源于著作）在最初的12个月里就翻了一番。
当然，我也比以前更为慷慨。我喜欢布施，而且我布施得越多，就会越宽裕。
我真希望我30年前就学到这个诀窍。 |
