Marketing and Art Struggle
(What
if I’m not good enough?)
This is probably the number one fear of any
creative professional. After all, we are not creating necessities but
luxuries for the most part. As much as our art enriches our life and the
lives of others, it remains something that we (at least as consumers) could
probably live without.
When money is tight, luxuries such as
purchasing books, music, tickets to performances, and artwork are often the
first to go. We are not doctors, teachers, or even farmers–we don’t
create or provide a service that people can’t live without. As artists, we are
well aware of this fact which only seems to fuel our sense of self-doubt. At
times we can’t help but feel well. . . expendable
The cure for self-doubt is
surprisingly not success. The world is filled with famous and successful
artists, writers, and musicians that are still riddled with depression and
feelings of self-doubt. Unfortunately, for the majority of us, this is
not something that ever completely goes away. Instead we have to find a
way to live with this doubt and value the creative process as much as the work
itself.
I’m not original
enough (someone else is doing it better)
While it may be true that all the great
themes in art and literature have already been done before a thousand times
over, it’s always possible to bring something entirely new to the process.
Let’s face it,
writers and artists have been borrowing from their creative ancestors since
there has been a thing called art. Even Shakespeare borrowed almost all of his
work from other writers, but in the end, there is little question that he made
them distinctively his own.
" Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing."
~Salvador Dali
Trying to constantly reinvent
the wheel. Instead use it, we learn from it, model it, and then create our
own version of it. Don’t worry about being seen as an imitator. We have
all learned our art from those who have come before us. Embrace it and create a
version of it that is true.
People won't take me seriously as an artist
"Art is a hobby and not a real job"
“I’m afraid that my friends and
family will be disappointed in me”
The truth is that your career as an
artist is only as serious as you take it. Do you work at it as your “job”
or do you only work at it occasionally as your “hobby”? How much work do
you really put into it daily? If you were your boss, would you pay
yourself for the effort that you are currently making?
Having to deal with you friends and
family (especially parents) can be particularly tough when it comes to them
seeing you as a working artist. The bottom line however is that they
will take you and your art as seriously as they see you taking it. In
other words, if they see you putting in 10-15 hours day after day working not
only on your art, but marketing your art as well, they will begin to see you as
a “working artist” rather than just their kid who does art.
People will steal my work or my ideas
One of the biggest fears that artists
have when I ask about them selling their work online is that they are afraid
that people are going to steal their work or their ideas. While there’s
no doubt this does happen, far too many artists are using this as an excuse to
stay out of the online marketplace all together.
Yes, people steal ideas all the time.
You do it, I do it, and every artist under the sun has done it at some
point. We look for ideas that speak to us and then we use them
to spark our imagination. We’re not talking about these people, however,
we’re talking about the real thieves who simply take stuff off the internet and
pass it off as their own.
Although this is certainly a real
problem, you also have to realize that these artistic parasites are a very
small minority of the online population. 98% of the people looking at your work
online have no intent of stealing your work, they are simply enjoying it and
maybe, just maybe, they might be interested in buying it.
My work is never as
good as I imagined it would be
“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
At some point, however, you have to
let it go and move on. You have to accept the fact that even the greatest
authors, composers, musicians, and artists were still unsatisfied with their
masterpieces in some way. Perfection is an illusion that will eventually
consume you if you let it. Think of each piece that you create as a
stepping stone on a much longer journey. You will never get to the next
stage of development as an artist unless you are willing to set that piece
aside and move on to the next.
Just let it go, Live your art.
“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” ~Salvador Dali
