by Linda | Mar 1, 2012 | my creative journal
We don’t like to talk about money, not just creatives, but everyone. It’s uncomfortable for whatever reason.
Art of Money – Tara Gentile
We’ve all been taught that it’s not so polite to talk about money. I don’t know why, but the subject is taboo. It’s too prying to ask someone how much they make a year. It’s pompous to announce how much profit you’ve made from a great product release.
We are always reluctant to reveal numbers and figures.
Maybe because we aren’t making enough for our efforts and it’s embarassing. Or maybe because you don’t want to shine the light on your monetary success for fear of resentment or targeting by scammers.
Whatever the reason, the lack of discussion makes us all a bit clueless when it comes to understanding money. In a hush hush environment, we are bound to make incorrect assumptions. The more we don’t talk about something – the lack of education – the more problems come out of it. No surprise that creatives always have a hard time pricing their work and services. There are no perfect formulas or a widely accepted rate standard. Actually, there are professional rates published in the Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (link to Amazon.com)
… but it doesn’t apply to all the creative work that is done today. Also depending on your lifestyle and location, worth and pricing seems to change.
I think that being clueless means that we don’t know our own worth. Money is an important and necessary part of our lives. We need money to survive, even it it’s not everything of course. It’s just another element that shouldn’t be pushed under the carpet or banned to underground communications.
It’s nice to know that many folks are opening up and discussing the topic of money. Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income actually posts his income reports on the internet, sharing the sources in detail. Maria Brophy has just written a post about how money is commitment. Tara Gentile’s book, The Art of Earning, opens up a conversation on the topic of money and wealth.
I hope that one day, I won’t hesitate so much to talk about money, numbers and figures. I want to know my self-worth and treat money as just another “thing” in life. No taboo, no shame, no fuss. I hate the “starving artist” term and I would like “thriving artist” to replace it. If you think about creatives of all types – the passion, joy and empowerment of their work should be the thing that comes to mind. Not the starving, you can’t make a living or struggling lifestyle notions that are usually brought up in conversation.
What’s your relationship with money? Do you often hesitate to talk about it? How would you like it to change? Let’s talk about money.
by Linda | Feb 23, 2012 | my creative journal
Last week, I wrote about my doubts in offering digital downloads of my artwork and the dilemma of wanting to get my work out into the world, but still retain ownership and rights. Although I do not know if there is a huge market for digital downloads of artwork, people seemed to like the general idea – even though they shared my concern for piracy. Offering the print quality source file for sale, brings up immediate concern of attracting copycats and scammers in this world. Some might even say that it goes against the “fine art print” aspect of Art.
The topic of infringement in the art world has been discussed and blogged about so many times. Every now and again, a shocking infringement case will surface and our little world is rattled up with fury. I certainly cannot make sense of how people can blatantly copy and not feel and know in their bones that it is wrong.
But then again, there’s a whole lot of people in this world driven to do bad things. There are many reasons, albeit not justifications… but it doesn’t change the fact that there will always be risk involved, in all facets of life. We fear so many things, but we can’t let that fear control us and bind us down. We can listen to that fear, but then… we figure out what we will actually do.
After much thought and consideration, I’ve decided to offer my Girls With A Message series for sale as digital downloads. (Note: no longer available online)
We live in an everchanging landscape and I want to embrace the technology that we have available to us. This will be my little experiment and I certainly have my reasons for taking a chance. I know there are those who don’t even consider digital art as a true art form. However, it’s always a question of time and education for people to accept new ways. Instead of concentrating on all my fears and worries, I want to look forward to all the pros in this situation.
- Digital downloads = instant gratification
- Reach anyone in the world with an Internet connection
- Unlimited quantity to spread, so everyone can enjoy my work
- No shipping fees for you the customer
- No packing materials for me to fuss with (I live in Italy and 99% of my supporters live out of this country)
- With the source file, you can always renew your prints – just print it again!
- Variety of applications since one could print on paper, cloth, transfer paper…
- Or even use digitally as your desktop, screensaver, phone wallpaper…
- Easy to change the size in proportion with digital files, print at 100% size or a mini copy to use as notecards
I certainly don’t want to encourage piracy, because the digital copy is for personal use only. I’m doing my part in officially copyrighting and registering my work, but I know the risk is there. I think the digital format makes it easier for people to mis-use the work. But that isn’t going to stop the rise of the digital revolution. Ebooks are everywhere and so convenient – taking over the publishing the world.
The funny thing is that I’m already offering my work digitally. I design digital scrapbooking products at CatScrap and have my own digital stamp shop. Why the hesitation for art prints? I have to admit, there must have been some kind of haughty, snobby, worth-more thought in my mind… and I realized that it’s silly. It’s all my work and I put the same passion into my efforts, no matter what the end result becomes. I’m already out there in the digital world, why not go full force?
And in a way, I would love for my girl illustrations to spread like wildfire. It’s funny how the messaging is urging me take the leap as well. Ultimately, the whole point is to spread all the positive and motivational messaging. I hope that people who support me, would simply direct interested parties to buy their own copy of the download. It’s really the same situation for any kind of product that can be scanned and ripped off. The risk is not stopping people from releasing their work and becoming successful. I figure the best way to combat the fear, is to work on getting my girls out there and known. There will be no question that I’m the illustrator and ultimately, to be recognized for one’s work… that is a great feeling of success. I believe true fans will come back to the source. I also believe that if I put my good intentions out there, it can’t be a bad thing. Good things will come out of it.
I’m going to let go of fear and shoot for stars… please wish me luck.
Update: Currently you can find products in my Zazzle shop!
Also, here are some articles around the topic of copycats and copyright for artists:
Pikaland – Copycat Lessons We Can Learn
Fine Art Views – Don’t Fear The Copycats
Kate Harper Blog – Fear of Getting Your Art Stolen? Look at the Numbers
Protecting Your Art: Interview with Alyson B. Stanfield
EmptyEasel – Copyright Information for Artists: How Copyright Laws Protect Your Art
Tara Reed – How copyright infringement is like stealing my sandwich…
by Linda | Feb 16, 2012 | my creative journal
I must admit that a calendar alert popped up a few minutes ago reminding me to blog. Last week I had made that big declaration and subsequently sort-of, kind-of, forgot about it. Granted I did write up a bit of a plan for my various efforts and updated my calendar as well. That’s why the reminder popped up…
However, some freelance work came up and I didn’t have time to follow-thru said plan. I actually spent most of my non-working time, scrapbooking. I do feel a bit lame and you’ve probably never witnessed such immediate failure, after a semi-dramatic declaration… but instead of beating myself down, I took advice from karenika’s blog post about slipping. I am hereby admitting my failure and probably, lack of willpower, if anything else. It’s okay though, not the end of the world.
I can start heading down the right path now. I don’t need to wait until next week for a fresh start. We often do this with diets… “I’ll start on Monday. Seriously.” In fact, I actually did schedule my newsletter and it prompted someone to ask me about printable art. So I’ve got somewhere to start now, something to work on that people are actually interested in buying. One important creative business – or general business tip – is to work on those important items that actually lead to sales – closure – cash! I know it sounds all salesman-ish, but it’s simply true. If you have a hard time prioritizing, go with your survival instincts. That’s exactly why my freelance work takes precedent, because I get paid for those hours of work. Must eat. I really do like food.
So back to my issue of pricing for printable art. Previously, I had not considered offering my artwork as a downloadable PDF. Countless hours were spent researching about printers and paper – how to make beautiful art prints at home. Then more countless hours were spent researching companies and wondering if the commission was fair and if it would be profitable in the end. Most all my current customers are not from Italy, so offering downloads eliminates the cost of shipping as well. This option can prove to be a really smart path to take.
Of course, I still wonder if people would buy printable art. Would the value of it be dampened because it’s digital and printable and easily transferable? How much would people pay for such a thing and what kind of watermarks or signature would I include? Lots of questions in my mind. This is the problem I must tackle and to hold myself accountable, I need to figure this out by next week. I don’t want to add it to the list of things that never gets done. Why do I hesitate to give this option a try?
I worry that my art will be easily pirated? But do the people who buy my art… do that kind of thing? I might be worrying about things that I don’t need to worry about. What do you think about pricing for printable art and the whole deal? I know that the latest technology is actually in 3D printing… so perhaps it’s inevitable and actually cutting edge to offer digital products of this sort?
Please me out here. Please let me know what you think in the comments below – whatever your thoughts are, I would really love to hear them.
by Linda | Feb 9, 2012 | my creative journal
I was surprised to look back at the date of my first creative business 101 post on this blog… almost a year ago. The unfortunate feeling though, is that I’m not very far from my original struggles. I’m still working to license my art, however I’ve actually added on some other ventures as well. Reading through the comments from people made me feel like I failed them all. It’s obvious my attempts to focus are futile. I can’t help but want to do more. The problem is that diverting my efforts causes chaos in my brain…and scarce results in real life. Taking on more than I was planning to, gave me an automatic excuse to fail as well.
I could go into a deep analysis of what this all means and how my actions are probably unconscious attempts to sabotage myself. Perhaps because I don’t really want what I think I want? It doesn’t really matter though. The obvious solution is to just concentrate on doing one thing and get some damn results – or some definitive answer with measurable proof. But I don’t have the willpower to focus in that way. I often get distracted by a new shiny idea, derailing my own plans.
I’ve been thinking a long time about my struggles and I just need to suck it up already. I know it must be weird to be pep talking myself on the blog… but here I am typing this. I’m tired of not being able to do it. I want it all. So I’ve decided to swing to the other side of chaos. I will do it all…yes, call me crazy now and try to send me virtual shaking-you-with-2-hands vibes.
This might very well be the beginning of another failed experiment. Oh well. I’m going for it anyway. One aspect that has really helped me, is accountability and regular check-ins. So I’m going to be posting weekly and spilling my guts on how things are going. How I’ve been successful or how I’ve failed and fallen flat on my face. It will be my own fault, no matter what lame excuses I come up with. I hope these blog posts will not be used to analyze my psychological state in the future… hehe…
So why the sudden push? I suppose everyone hits a point where they need to make change. And often, change works the best when done in an epic manner…some kind of great gesture is needed. It helps with momentum anyway. Plus, I’m finishing up a project this week and should have no excuses to not be carrying out my creative business plans. So there.
As I mentioned previously, doing it all means that I have plans for about 3 people. I’m going to attempt to do them all as 1 person. I don’t really think I’m super human, but at the same time I also don’t think it’s impossible. So there. (I have no idea why I’m typing frantically, as if needing to answer back to a bully…maybe the fear inside of me is the bully I’m speaking to.)
And now, I just have to muster up the courage to publish this post. Wish me luck.
by Linda | Jan 31, 2012 | my creative journal
When you need to check yourself and really get planning and organized, use a weekly planner printable page to start.
I’m sitting in my room and it’s the last day of January 2012. I try to ignore the feeling, but now and again I get that numbness of realizing how old I am, how much time has passed already, and how little time there is left. Yes, I know it’s a bit morbid, but those thoughts pop up every now and again.
Download Cute Bird Weekly Planner Page PDF
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I would like to blame it on the snow outside and how everyone is grumbling about the troubles of bad weather. I would blame it on hormones and some kind of biological funk I can’t control. Maybe it’s the winter blues? I could blame it on something, but what’s the point? I realize that it’s totally okay to freak out a bit and worry about things. The bright side is that it means I’m alive and thirsting for more. There’s energy, perhaps misdirected, but it’s there.
Last year I started blogging creative business 101 posts, sharing my progress of building a profitable business. I was happy with the general progress, the accountability, the momentum of it all. Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon when the holidays rolled around. I totally lost my momentum and it’s the last day of the first month of the following year now. Jeepers.
I’ve been watching videos, reading blogs and listening to podcasts (all under the guise of researching) and slowly, but surely, realizing that I am failing myself. It wasn’t a dramatic or sudden epiphany – it was a bonk on the head in slow motion, because it took me so long to maybe, perhaps, snap out of it.
I have been avoiding those reality checks and simply brushing the surface with others, in attempts to avoid the truth. Total FAIL. This is when the Ice Cube song suddenly started to play in the soundtrack of my life, Check Yo Self.
No matter what the circumstances are in life, no matter what crazy huge mistakes I might have made, I always have the opportunity to check myself. That ultimately means I can change course and move forward in the right direction. And if you think about this rocky road of life, we always have to change course. Change with the times, because we never can predict how things will go.
The worse thing is stagnation and inaction. That’s how I’ve been feeling and it sucks. It’s about time to check myself out of this situation.
I’ll be taking some time to re-align, formulate a plan and actually use the resources that I have at hand.
Do you need to check yourself about something? I hope that by sharing the free printable, it might help spur some action in you as well. Sometimes you need someone to shake you to your senses, but sometimes it’s just a very slow and gradual realization. All that matters is that you want to move forward…
