Official release date: February 3
Visit IdRatherBeintheStudio.com
TITLE
I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion
ISBN 978-0-9742725-8-0
264 pages
PUBLISHER
The book is published by Pentas Press, which is my company. That means I paid for all of the up-front costs and will do all of the marketing and fulfillment. You do me a huge favor when you order from me since other companies (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and the rest) charge a commission that’s as much as 60%. On the other hand, calling your bookstore and asking them to carry it is mighty helpful as well.
A quick note about the name of my publishing company. My grandmothers were very important to me and I wanted to honor their memories. However, I couldn’t figure out a terrific company name that came from the names Elsie and Edmonia. (Double-E sounds like a ranch!) Then it came to me. When Elsie died, a group of girlfriends brought over a giant Pentas flowering plant for my brand new garden. Not six months later, grandmother Edmonia brought me a Pentas plant the first time she visited my new garden. So, I have always associated this plant with my grandmothers and affectionately called The Grandmother Plant. And Pentas Press is named out of love and admiration for my hard-working, loving grandmothers. Click here if you don’t know what the Pentas looks like (and you should because they’re an anchor for any butterfly garden).
6 PRINCIPLES GUIDING THE BOOK
- You are in charge. You have control over words, prices, artwork, and your image. People will take as much power from you as you give them. Guard your power carefully. Accept 100% responsibility for your actions and make no excuses.
- Connections are critical to your success. Ignore meeting new people and maintaining relationships at your peril.
- Life isn’t fair. The artworld isn’t fair. No one owes you anything. Building a successful career and reputation is hard work. There are no shortcuts, no easy ways out.
- If you ignore the latest technology, you’ll quickly fall behind.
- Your artwork doesn’t speak for itself. The right language can help you sell your art. Sure, some art sells by itself, but have you ever heard of marketing anything without words?
- No one can promote your work better than you. No one believes in it more than you do. No one wants you to succeed more than you do. The motivation and ambition must start within you. Unless you are working with a coach or business mentor, no one is going to ask you to set goals. No one is going to tell you that you have to make a certain amount of money or achieve a certain level of success in order to be satisfied. You absolutely have to do this for yourself.
TABLE OF EXCUSES
EXCUSE: “I’d rather be in the studio.”
ACTION 1: Define success for yourself
EXCUSE: “There aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all.”
ACTION 2: Organize your information: It all has to go somewhere
ACTION 3: Live with routines to free your creative mind
EXCUSE: “My art speaks for itself.”
ACTION 4: Differentiate Yourself: The power of your artist statement
ACTION 5: Fill the Rooms: Speak and teach to become an expert
EXCUSE: “I have no idea where to begin.”
ACTION 6: Create a portfolio to knock out your competition
ACTION 7: Amplify your online presence: They won’t come just because you build it
EXCUSE: “I don’t want to bother people.”
ACTION 8: Send a killer newsletter that begs to be read and re-read
ACTION 9: Take advantage of basic communication rather than taking it for granted
ACTION 10: Follow up, Follow up, Follow Up (Did I mention you should follow up?)
EXCUSE: “I just don’t live in an art town.”
ACTION 11: Be a media magnet instead of watching others grab the spotlight
EXCUSE: “I’m an introvert.”
ACTION 12: Get involved rather than waiting for life to happen
ACTION 13: Share, don’t sell to build your mailing list
EXCUSE: “I’m not rich.”
ACTION 14: Save money and generate buzz on a shoestring
NO MORE EXCUSES
ACTION 15: Plan your attack on paper
ACTION 16: Maintain momentum day in and day out
LENGTH
about 70,000 words, 250 pages
Cover price is $24.95.
Visit IdRatherBeintheStudio.com
We used Minion and Frutiger fonts, lots of white space, short paragraphs, bullet points, and lists.
Cynthia Morris helped me develop a marketing plan and timeline.
Friesens is the printer.
1 thought on “MY BOOK: I’d Rather Be in the Studio!”
This is one awesome book loaded with advice, just like this blog is! I am very happy I found you online, Alyson, thank you!
Karisma
http://www.karismartist.wordpress.com