podcast
The Autonomous Creative
how do they really do it?
So, are you just supposed to quit your day job? How do you actually make a living? Where do paying fans magically materialize from? Join Jessica Abel as she dives deep into the reality of life as a creative pro — the stuff no professional practice class ever really prepares you for.
Featuring cartoonists, writers, podcasters, small-press publishers, and creative professionals such as Oliver Burkeman, Alison Bechdel, Tom Hart, Alexander Chee, Gene Luen Yang, C. Spike Trotman, Tomm Moore, and many more. Listen, learn, and collaborate with us to make something great.
Host Jessica Abel is a cartoonist, author, and business coach for creatives, and the founder of the Creative Focus Workshop. She helps accomplished creative professionals finish their most important work and build expertise-based businesses that generate reliable income without consuming their creative life.
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There's no magic creative career fairy
You've got the creative skills, and you've got the ideas. How do you translate that into actually building a sustainable career?
Enter The Autonomous Creative: A talk show where we dive deep into the unseen reality of what it means to be a professional creative and to build a life around creative work.
Featuring
- Alison Bechdel
- Tom Hart
- Alexander Chee
- Austin Kleon
- Oliver Burkeman
- Sarah Firth
- Sarah Von Bargen
- Gene Luen Yang
- And many more!
— Crowdcast user APetty
"Such an informative and enriching conversation!"
All Podcast Episodes and Show Notes
How to build a self-sustaining creative practice without forced-march “productivity” culture
Listen to the episode: “My goal isn’t to win the hours. I want to be present.”Shelley Evans When a “good career” starts to feel like a bad relationship, walking away is just the start. After you escape the grind, you realize the grind is YOU, and the work has just begun. Shelley and Matt share…
From designer to course creator (without a huge audience): Marie Poulin’s journey to Notion Mastery
Listen to the episode: “And so I thought, why don’t I just try? I’ll just make a course on this. What could possibly go wrong? And then, sure enough, my whole business took a very sharp left hand turn.” Marie poulin What happens when you follow your curiosity down an unexpected rabbit hole…and it leads…
How to find clients and build your audience without relying on social media, with Meg Casebolt
Listen to the episode: “With relationships, it’s not about numbers. It’s about depth.” Meg Casebolt What happens to your business when you take an extended break from social media? Will it fall apart? Wither on the vine? What if the answer is…not much? Meg Casebolt is an SEO expert and the founder of Love at…
How to quit undercharging for your work, with Rauni Higson
Listen to the episode: What has been a game changer for me is flexibility because I love flexibility. But if you are responding to things that you don’t feel like you can actually say no to, then there isn’t flexibility. And what I’ve done now is design sort of big projects and it can all…
How to make more money without investing more time, with Samantha Clark
Listen to the episode: “The more I get into this, the more it strikes me that actually running a business isn’t that unfamiliar. The process is really creative. You just try something and then you see what happens. It’s an iterative process. It’s like writing a book. You don’t expect to get it right on…
How to move from intention to action, with ADHD coach Emily Zilber
Listen to the episode: “We’re often taught as artists the myth that having the passion to do something should be enough, without taking a step back and saying, what tools do I need to actually move from intention to action?” Emily ZIlber If you have a brain that doesn’t work the way it seems like…
How to end burnout and tap into creative flow, with Gabriela Pereira
Listen to the episode: “There were so many times where I would imagine that if I followed my passions enough, if I worked hard enough, if my work was good enough, somehow, you know, a fairy godmother would wave her magic wand and all the other things would fall into place…and they so don’t fall…
How to find (and actually talk to) your ideal clients, with Sarah Marie Lacy
Listen to the episode: That’s been a huge thing of just letting myself have that identity of “I am an artist.” This is a real job. This is actual work. I am allowed to make money. I am allowed to succeed and thrive at this, and I refuse to make myself small anymore. Sarah Marie…
How to stop waiting for permission to be a professional creative, with filmmaker Henry Thong
Listen to the episode: “I’m an all or nothing person. So when I get that resistance…it’s like a stubborn trigger in me that gets triggered and I’m like, you know what? I’m gonna use the frustration that I feel that people aren’t seeing what I’m seeing, or the resistance that I’m getting. I’m gonna use…
How to handle your creative business finances—even if you’re “not a math person,” with Shawn Fink
Listen to the episode: Do the thing. You might not be ready. It might not be ready. But put it out there anyway… …because that’s the only way you’re gonna know. SHAWN FINK On this episode, I’m joined by fellow business strategist and courage coach, Shawn Fink, for a wide-ranging and empathetic conversation about the…