If you've been following the conversation over "free" that's been happening for a few years, you know the dialogue heated up significantly when Chris Anderson (of Wired) released his latest book, FREE (Amazon link). The implication is that once a product is digital, pricing becomes arbitrary and potential price point is broadened (subject to the perceived value of the product) because now the physical cost of distribution is practically nothing. (Phew.)

I've been chewing on this for about a year now, because I think this conversation has significant implications for anyone who creates things for a living. (Probably most of us reading this.) How do you place value on the work you create? And as content becomes "free-er", how do you determine whether your art, your thoughts, your perspectives, are something you should charge for?

It's easy from a business perspective to prove "if you buy our widgets, you'll save 25% per year on supplies." It's more difficult to say, "if you use my art/thoughts in this campaign, then your business will improve by XX%." I think that this dissonance and the lack of connection we often feel between the work we do, the value we create and the paycheck that magically shows up in our bank account can cause a certain amount of block for artists and creative pros.

Sometimes it helps to remember that what we are creating is value, not products. The value of what we make is higher  than the cost of materials on which its printed or the time it took to write the concept. It can be a difficult thing to hold to, but it's important to remember that a tremendous amount of value can be created in a very short amount of time. We shouldn't be ashamed for that. It's the beauty of the creative process at work, no?