The Artist’s Dilemma

Yeah, but shouldn’t I be out there generating business?

That’s the artist’s dilemma. That it order to monetize our creativity, sustain
our career and support our lifestyle, we have to put down the pen, put on the
commerce hat and start pounding the pavement, spending most of our days trying
to get noticed, get liked, get retweeted, get interviewed, get booked, get
hired, get reviewed, get paid and get rich.

Which wouldn’t be such a problem, except for the fact that
most artists don’t care about the business of art. We just want to
express ourselves and share our work with the world.

Charles Schultz, the greatest cartoonist who ever lived, has
been my hero since I was a kid. In a number of different interviews over the
years, his self-proclaimed secret to business success – not cartooning success,
but business success – was simply drawing one good comic strip, everyday.

Everything else flowed from there. The movies, the
merchandising and the money were all direct dividends from that baseline
commitment to showing up at the desk and doing real work, every single day.
Getting his units up, executing more actual product and shipping more lasting
value, in the unique way that only Schultz could deliver.

We can’t ignore our enterprise, hiding behind a desk,
hoping our art will magically monetize. We still have to get paid. Artists who
don’t sell, suffer.

But if we’re concerned that we should be out there
generating business, always remember that doing the work is generating
business.

When in doubt, create.

That way, every cent starts as a sentence.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you created today?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “157 Pieces of Contrarian Wisdom,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

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