in honor of creatives everywhere, selling prints, beats, and whatever your pieces are – shine on. between self doubt, lack of Support, cost of producing and just.. living, it can be extremely difficult to do your best work in a way that is sustainable and lucrative. (i had to link my friend’s new song in right there because i’m living for it right now). anyway, i want to write on something that’s been scratching at my sanity lately.

a chunk of my generation of creatives, be it career creatives or dabblers, are latching onto this new narrative of entitlement that makes me cringe. this is in two ways:

1. you think your friends are supposed  to throw money at you for your work just because they’re your friends.
2. you think the whole world should know/care/accept how much it costs you to produce your work, and be ever-willing to pay top dollar for said work, because they know/care/accept how much it costs you.

not only do you think one of, or both, those things, but you’re angry about it. you tweet rant about it. you condescend those who verbally, not monetarily, express support for you. you chit chat in your creative friend groups about the measly non-creatives who “just don’t understand” and huff and puff about your acrylics and canvases and photography equipment and instruments and blah. blah. blah.

my reply to this chunk of my generation of creatives:

1. your friends might not care about your work at all. that’s okay. they don’t have to consume your work because they’re your friend. they can support you in countless other ways. friends ≠guaranteed customers.
2. (unfortunately, but actually) no one cares. people will buy your work because they are moved by it and think it is quality, not because they know/care/accept how hard it must be for you.

the point about all your whining and anger with the modern, young art consumer is this, absolutely, positively, no one cares. and no one should. here’s why.

art is something that feels personal to the artist, I get that. my poems all feel like my vital organs. but guess what, your art does not feel personal to the viewer  – it feels like a product. and it is a product. especially if you intend to earn money for it. once you decide to earn hard dollars for the art you produce, you have a responsibility now to not only produce good work, but to operate as a Business entity. that is what you are now, a business. wendy’s does not get to say to burger-buyers: “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH BEEF AND WAGES AND MAINTENANCE COST? STOP COMPLAINING AND BUY OUR BURGERS”. apple does not get to say “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO DEVELOP iOS AND MAKE iPHONES? SHUT UP AND BUY OUR STUFF”. no business on earth gets to say that. no business on earth gets to whine about potential customers not liking their pricing, or not wanting to pay what they think their product is worth. so you shouldn’t feel like you get to, either. what businesses have to do is adjust their price schema to fit their target markets. so for you, decide who you’re targeting, build a deliberate, thought out, standardized pricing strategy. decide on a marketing strategy. do research into how to operate as a fully functional sole proprietorship – that is what you become the minute you want to make money for your work. your friends are your friends – not necessarily your target market. aside from them plainly using you for your talents and abusing the work you do, stop getting upset with them for supporting you in ways other than buying your work. sometimes, they simply don’t care about your work enough to pay for any of it – and that’s okay. some of my absolute best friends don’t ever read my blog or poetry, and it’s okay, because they just don’t care for this type of thing. i don’t send off angry tweets about them being “fake” and not “supporting” me – my asking for their support through consumption of my work is different from my asking them to support me as a companion and friend. consuming your work is not the only way people can support you! you are more than the art you produce.

with that said, i am not telling you to settle for selling your work for less than you think it is worth. nor am i telling you to become a passionate business magnate. all i’m saying is, this neo-starving-artist logic has to go. i’m sure your work is worth what you think it is. and i’m sure your talent can feed you and build an empire. act like it. operate like it. monetize it. but bring it up to standard, polish it, and know that there will be countless people who don’t care about it, want to buy it, or think it’s good – and that’s fine.