fnnch

Very few artists make $1m selling art Very few artists then turn around and write an essay explaining exactly how they did it "How to Make a Living as an Artist" by @fnnch is a must-read for anyone with a passion that they want to turn into a career. My favorite lines: 1) "If you cannot accept and embrace the simple fact that you are running a business, you are totally hosed." 2) "Most people, at least at first, must do it all. Most artists do not want to do it all. They want to just make art. I am sorry." 3) "The goal of thinking of your art practice like a business is to help you make more art." 4) "I did not know how I would make a living when I began making art. I felt like I was in a fog, groping around, and trying things. Doing this caused the fog to dissipate until it was clear how I would make a living." 5) "if you want to be a professional artist, repeatedly creating work that people do not want is lunacy." 6) To the question, "how can I abandon what is in my soul?", I say, "Is that all that is in your soul?" 7) I am not saying you should attempt to pander to the masses, and in fact I do not believe this works (more on that below), but you should explore your interests until you find something that interests other people as well. 8) "The key to making money as an artist is having a brand. Most of art's value is brand value." 9) "much more rewarding for you and your fans is the adjacent familiar. It is like pop music. People like to be pushed, but only slightly." 10) "Growing tired of painting something people love is a good problem to have. Do not worry about it until it happens." The essay isn't just for artists. His essay reflects a lot of what I've experienced starting @MentavaInc: I founded the company to teach reading, but that occupies less than 1% of my time now. People accuse us of teaching reading to make money, but the truth is that we make money so we can teach kids to read. The entire essay is excellent, and well worth your time: essays.fnnch.com/make-a-livi…