I am a regular reader of Chase Jarvis’ blog. You should be too. But today his blog was an especially good read, not only for Chase’s nuggets of wisdom (and if you know any creatives that jealously guard the “secrets” of their “genius”, send them there. It’ll be a bucket of cold water in their face when they realize how backward all their protectionism has been), but he linked to Kevin Kelly’s 1000 True Fans. This is an absolute must-read for any artist out there trying to feed themselves and their families with their creative output. It can feel alternately daunting and exhilarating to read, but in the end it’s an eye-opener. You CAN actually live a life (and make a living) doing what you love. All it requires is reaching out DIRECTLY to fans of your work. And therein lies the intimidation and the exhilaration. Many of us artistic types would prefer to just keep making work and let fans find us. We’re also notoriously bad at talking about our own work and come off either devaluing our work and ourselves or sounding like pompous jerks. On the other hand, by reaching out directly to fans we eliminate the need for the hand-holders of yore; the agents, publishers, gallerists, managers, etc. Exciting stuff. Go read it.
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by Seth
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