creative business
How to go from making some money to making a living as a creative, with Matt Madden
Listen to the episode: I’ve been thinking and talking a lot with creative people about how they make a living, how they struggle with money, and what they might do differently to bring in a reasonable income. It comes up in virtually every coaching call. I talk about it with friends. I ask people rude…
Read MoreHow to make it as an artist: Stop following the rules
Yeah, that’s me on stage with podcasting stars Roman Mars and Glynn Washington, with my comics projected 20 feet tall onscreen. It was 2015. It was a pinnacle of my artist career. Yet I had no idea how to truly make it as an artist. That’s the problem with looking at the outside of someone’s…
Read MoreRaise your bar for risk: do something scary and don’t die
I’ve got a vulnerability hangover. I recently finished a launch campaign for my new course on building an audience and marketing specifically tailored for creatives who (think they) loathe marketing. You might not know what I mean by a “launch campaign” (I sure didn’t, the first time I found myself running one, back in early…
Read MoreHow to stop trying to do it all — 5 steps to choose the best project (and chuck the rest)
The Autonomous Creative Collective is the community of current students and alumni of the Creative Focus Workshop. Cartoonist, teacher, and graphic recorder Lisa Frühbeis went through a shakeup of how she works and thinks that hit Level 7+ on the Richter scale. The result? Lisa faced down her fears and scarcity thinking to say no…
Read MoreAuthentic Visibility: Growing your audience without selling your soul
The secret to becoming known for the work that you care about most without selling your soul or wasting all your time on humiliating “self-promotion”? Authentic Visibility. Let’s do a little thought experiment. Let’s say you’re working on something big. A nonfiction book about women warriors throughout history. A graphic novel about surviving brain cancer…and…
Read MoreImperfect mortals: What really makes a creative community work
A year ago, I started an online creative community. (The Autonomous Creative Collective) It was just luck that I took the dive and committed to convening an ongoing online support system (for serious creatives who’ve taken my flagship course, the Creative Focus Workshop) just in time to provide the kind of deep, flexible, empathetic comradeship…
Read MoreHow to accidentally build an “Authentic Personal Brand” when the whole idea makes you gag
Heeeeyyyyy! Check it out! I’ve got a brand-new website! I’m proud, I’m happy… I’m definitely completely sure it’s not finished…but I’m going live anyway! Ever heard the phrase, Imperfect Action? It means take action before you have every detail nailed down. It means take the jump. It means Dare to be Bad. Imperfect action is…
Read MoreMaking better comics: 12 years and 12 hard-won lessons learned
The point of being human is to try things that are incredibly difficult, to reach for heaven, even if it exceeds your grasp. That’s who we are. That’s what makes it all worth it.
Read MoreHow to build a sustainable work process that produces results WITHOUT burnout
Jennifer Shiman came back to her career in animation determined to have a better relationship with her work. “This is an opportunity to really create not only a sustainable way to earn a living, but a sustainable work process, which is necessary for my health.”
Read MoreWant attention for your work? You need a hook. (Video lesson!)
I admit it; like just about everyone, part of me still clings to the fantasy that if I just make awesome stuff, and keep on making more of it, somehow I’ll get discovered (how? by whom?), and my work will sell gangbusters (where? how?) without me having to lift a finger. The audience’s attention will…
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