Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Book Review: Real Artists Don't Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age by Jeff Goins

This is the second book by Goins that I am reading and I like his approach to life and work in general; this book being no exception. We hear too much about artists not making any money and that being artist somehow excludes actually making a comfortable living. Nothing could be further from the truth. Artists an live in inspiration alone or they can, and that is what Goins suggests, approach making art like you approach a real job. You study, prepare and work hard at it to make it a success and make money in the process. While I am not an artist in real life, my family has had business based on crafts that combine artistry with making money and made a good living that way. That may be the reason why I agree with most of what Goins states in this book. As an artist you need to be good at what you do and form a little, as we call it in German, Ich-AG. A company focused on and run by you. You need to market yourself and your ideas and work.
I think this book does a good job of convincing anyone who wants to make a living in an artistic field, whether as a painter, author or even a blogger, full-time or part-time that the hours spent on the art do not mean poverty, but can be money makers if done correctly. To me as a part-time blogger they reinforced me in my goal to think of my blog and my part-time social networking activity as a creative outlet that still allows me to make money. This is a reassuring book for anyone that thinks starting a creative career means no money and poverty and instead contains good advice and some tools to get you start on making art a career by approaching it like a business.


available on amazon.com
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this blog is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

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