writing Archives

The Art Biz ep. 51: Imperfect Journaling for Artists with Cynthia Morris

Peeking at artists’ journals is my definition of heaven. I love to see how ideas develop and change—how creative thought processes evolve.

The illustrations that often punctuate artists’ journals are a bonus that can’t be found in the journals of those less visual.

But don’t keep a journal to satisfy my whims. Keep one for yourself. Write things down in order to remember and reflect. And keep writing because it contributes to your art marketing.

I mentioned journaling last week as a vital part of writing your artist statement. In this latest episode of the podcast, I talk with author/coach/artist Cynthia Morris about journaling. It was recorded over Facebook Live.

Cynthia and I give you a framework to help you commit to a journaling practice and discuss how we use journals for our businesses.

We discuss the types of journals we think are best for this process, why it’s important to write by hand before moving to the computer, a structure for your journaling process, and how to use prompts to get your ideas down.

Remember that we recorded this as a video conversation with one another. Some things might not translate. For example, we did show and tell about our journals. That’s why I’m sharing the video here as well.

Here it is … my conversation with Cynthia Morris about an imperfect journaling practice for artists.

The Art Biz ep. 51: Imperfect Journaling for Artists with Cynthia Morris Read

The Art Biz ep. 50: Guidelines for Your Artist Statement

I’ve been dedicating this blog and my podcast to what you can do now—actions you can take—to stay in control of your art business while galleries, studios, and exhibition venues are shuttered. While art fairs, festivals, and open studios are canceled. In this episode I want to talk about a document you can revisit (or

The Art Biz ep. 50: Guidelines for Your Artist Statement Read

The Art Biz ep. 37: Publishing a How To Book for Artists with Carol McIntyre

Do you think you might have a book in you?

Why not do it?!

Writing a book could increase your credibility, contribute to your legacy, and impact many lives.

A lot of people think that writing a book is the hard part of getting your book published. Not to take anything away from the difficult work that goes into the writing, but it is only a small portion of the entire book publishing process.

I learned about the process when the first edition of my book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio, was published in 2008 and was reminded of the long book-publishing journey when the 4th edition was released earlier this year. There are so many moving parts and, like many businesses today, book publishing is a fast-moving industry.

Those moving parts come, of course, with an expense line in your budget, which means it’s very helpful to know what you’re getting into before you start down the book production path.

You really want to know 1) that you will be able to pay for the cost to publish and 2) at what point you’ll begin to make a profit. In order to accomplish that second thing (the profit thing), you also need a marketing plan specifically for your book.

I confess I didn’t talk to enough people.

My guest for this episode of the Art Biz Podcast is artist Carol McIntyre, the author of I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want. In the book, Carol teaches a step-by-step color mixing method for frustrated painters of all media who want to stop making mud and start mixing the colors they want with ease.

Listen now to hear Carol’s process and advice so you can avoid the sticker shock of publishing your own book.

The Art Biz ep. 37: Publishing a How To Book for Artists with Carol McIntyre Read

Writing A Guest Post for Someone Else’s Blog

Want more traffic for your website or blog? Write a guest post for someone else’s blog.

Guest posts broaden your audience instantly. You not only receive recognition on the other blog, but you’ll hopefully get a bit of traffic to your own. It’s free advertising and it’s more effective than paid advertising.

Think about it. If you paid for an ad, you’d get a small bit of space. With a guest blog post, you get about 500 words–a much larger virtual space + your images and credit. With a guest blog post, you’re being helpful to a community and generating good karma. Not so with an ad.

Write For This Blog

Please note: I no longer publish guest posts on this blog, but I’ve kept this here for 3 reasons:

It might help you pitch your story to other blogs.
I might write your story myself if it meets the criteria below.
I might want to interview you on the Art Biz Podcast.

From time to time, I feature guest bloggers who share their stories of success (or utter failure). Do you have one to share?

Writing A Guest Post for Someone Else’s Blog Read

Searching for Content for Your Artist Blog

In my last post, I made the case that your blog is a gold mine for you. What I didn’t say is that it’s only a gold mine if you are consistently committed to blogging and to improving with each post. You can only fulfill this commitment with rich content.

Searching for Content for Your Artist Blog Read

6 Tips for Recovering Your Focus

I’ve been thinking a lot about Focus lately – enough that it deserves a capital “F.” It’s not that I’ve never written about focus, but it seems more critical than ever to remove ourselves from the chatter of social media, family squabbles, and needy pets. We have to give ourselves space to focus on a project.

6 Tips for Recovering Your Focus Read

Avoiding Hype in Your Art Marketing: Why and How

Guest blogger Marcia Yudkin shares her marketing expertise regarding “hype.” Most people understand that when talking about “hype,” she is referring to an overexcited style of writing. Marcia offers help in understanding why and how you might want to keep hype at arm’s length.

Avoiding Hype in Your Art Marketing: Why and How Read

Art Bloggers: Write for Your Readers

Many artist-bloggers bemoan the fact that they don’t have the engagement they want on their blogs. If you’ve been wondering why your posts aren’t encouraging comments and dialogue, you probably puzzle over why you’re spending your time blogging at all. Let’s start with what an artist-blogger might want for her reader. While I encourage you to generate your own list, here are five things I want for my readers.

Art Bloggers: Write for Your Readers Read

Supply Your Why In Your Artist Story

Your artist story is an opportunity for you to connect with readers, followers, and potential buyers. Your brand revolves around it. Your artist story is your Why. In his TED talk, Simon Sinek famously says, “People don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it.” This is powerful stuff. Your Why differentiates you from other artists and entrepreneurs.

Supply Your Why In Your Artist Story Read

Save Time With Evergreen Content

How’d you like to save time writing and updating your sites? It’s easy! Make your content “evergreen.” Evergreen content is up-to-date whether it’s consumed now, next month, or three years into the future.

Save Time With Evergreen Content Read

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Your Artist Mailing List: Rethinking + Assessing