The warnings of pursuing anything in art is proceeded with an explanation that artists don’t make money.
One of my favourite science fiction authors, Philip K. Dick, didn’t see success with his work until after his death. He spent most of his life on the poverty line and only in his last year or two did he receive his due (selling the film rights to “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” aka “Blade Runner” had a big part of it).
Yet, this is a peculiar because people are constantly seeking entertainment that can only be provided to them by the artist. Today, more artists than ever have been making a living (sometimes a great living) off their work. Should the artist heed their calling, they will find their fan base.
I think this boils down to two issues:
- Artists are horrible at business and business people who pitch in to support artists (agents are a big group that come to mind) only have a vested interest in themselves – not the artist
- The artist thinks the world owes them
The first one is two issues merged together.
Artists who are looking to make money off their work sometimes have little understanding of business and expectations of clients. I’ve worked with artists, as have my partners, who have paid contracts to execute their vision for some work and then just not do it. I’m told this is very common.
Other times, they put their trust into people to represent them, only to find out said person has royally screwed them over. A prime example of this recently is the great author, Chuck Palahniuk.
To this, the artist as abdicated responsibility for themselves, which is strange to think about considering their livelihood is on the line. Or perhaps there’s a naivety that the other person is really committed to the artist’s well being and not just their own pocket. My experience as a professional magician has made me jaded about agents in general, who I deem to be nothing more than a revolving door of people who are willing to stab you in the back at some point.
The second point is perhaps the most common.
“My art is brilliant and good art should stand on its own and if the world can’t see that, they’re stupid.”
I tend to hear some form of that sentence at least a dozen times a year. It would be exponentially more if I hung out with basement artists – those who do art in their basement and refuse to show it to anyone, but somehow expect the world to recognize their brilliance and pay them for it (with money or fame).
The harsh truth about art is it isn’t always recognized, or recognized within a person’s life, and it will never get recognized if it sits in the basement.
I write because I love it, I’ve been working at the craft and find joy in producing work. The world has moved on from following bloggers (mostly) and I still write here because I’m living in a golden age where I can write on a platform is visible to the world. No one needs to give me permission to do it and I get to work out my thoughts and practice my craft, in public, almost every day.
I write fiction because it’s fun – nothing more. I’ve made some money off it, which I think is incredible because people are paying me for having fun. However, I don’t depend on it to feed my family.
At some point, if I’m looking to push it along further, I’ll spend more time taking responsibility for my work and focusing on the business side of things.
The successful artist happens as a result of dumb luck (very rare) or taking responsibility for their work (most common).
If you’re looking for dumb luck, get ready to starve.