Excellent info for freelancers and indie artists of all stripes, whether you’re the client or the artist. If you’re hiring, always pay your people. If you’re being hired, always get paid.
It’s very sad when art is devalued as something frivolous. Artists, your time is just as valuable as anybody else’s.
I keep this video on my bookmarks bar. One of my friends made me a beautiful cross-stitch of those three words and framed it; it hangs on the wall just behind my computer at eye-level. Whenever I lose the plot (in a book, or in life in general) I look up from the screen and remember what I’m doing, and why. I often finish blog entries or writers’ circle announcements with this iconic phrase.
If you haven’t watched it yet, I recommend it. Even if it doesn’t do for you what it does for me, it’s some solid advice for all artists, be they literary or otherwise.
Have a most excellent day, and make good art.
I trust you.
I’ve had people, many of them friends of mine give me a pained expression, full of well-meaning worry for me and my livelihood, when I tell them I am self-publishing. I tell them that the book publishing industry has changed. It’s a brave new world full of new opportunities for artists to connect directly with their audiences.
Yes, it’s frightening to take that leap of faith and do something outside of long-standing tradition. I’m doing so, and Mz. Palmer’s TED talk here is precisely why.
I don’t want to connect with a publishing house. I want to connect with you. I don’t fancy giving 80% of my money to a middle-man to stand between my readers and myself. I want people to be able to enjoy a good fantasy novel for no more than three dollars and to be happy with that investment.
That’s why I have decided to put forward my art this way; I trust you.
heythisismyjob.com 