Artist-Entrepreneur Fridays: Artists’ Alphabet Guide to Writing

Aletta de Wal, Artist Career Training

Welcome to Artist Entrepreneur Fridays, where we talk about the fun, wild and scary ride of succeeding as an artist entrepreneur of all stripes and types and mediums. I’m introducing a new guest columnist, Aletta de Wal! She specializes in helping fine artists succeed in their careers. She’ll be posting regularly on “The Artist’s Alphabet Guide to Writing About Your Art” and other success tips for fine artists around writing. Enjoy! And let us know if you have a particular topic you’d like Aletta to address. Thanks!

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Introducing the Artists’ Alphabet Guide to Writing

I met Beth Barany for the very first time a few weeks ago at the end of a writer’s conference. Talk about ending on a high note! Her exuberance, enthusiasm and quick connection made me realize that she is one of those people you call a “force of nature.”

It was the very first time I had attended such an event, because, while I have been writing for most of my life to accomplish other ends like teaching, it’s only over that past 18 months that I have begun to grow into the role of becoming an author. It’s a work-in-progress – the book and the transformation.

When I got home, I went to Beth’s Blog and read the first post in the new Friday series on the business side of being a creative entrepreneur. I describe myself as equal parts artist, educator and entrepreneur, so this section caught my eye:

“You’re an entrepreneur when your main focus is making money. I know a lot of artists would like to make money from their art. “

Business Planning for Creative Entrepreneurs January 21st, 2011 | by Beth Barany

As Artist Advisor for Artist Career Training, my mission is to help artists become “creative entrepreneurs” so that they can make a better living making art and still have a life. Kudos to the visual artists reading this Blog! You have figured out what many artists have to discover – that there’s a lot of talking and writing involved in making money from doing what you love.

Let me put that into context.

In order to make money, you have to make sales. To make sales, you have to market your art. My definition of marketing is that it is simply a series of conversations designed to build a bridge between you, your art and your audience. All good conversations start by careful observation and astute listening. Leave those out before you communicate and all you are doing is broadcasting.

When I make art, I observe the thoughts running through my head about what I am creating. I keep a spiral notebook beside my work and write down words that will help me make a bridge from my process to my art work, for the conversation when people who ask the question “How did you make this?”

When someone looks at my art, they have thoughts running through their head about what it looks like, how it makes them feel, what it reminds them of and if they like it enough to buy it. I can’t get inside their head, so I ask them to tell me what they see, feel and think about what I have created. As soon as I can, I write their words down in my spiral notebook, for future reference.

My spiral notebook gives me what I call “writing fodder” to use when I am engaged in marketing conversations. These conversations take place in person, on the telephone, on the Internet and by surface mail.

Writing makes me think about letters, so that gave me the idea of developing “The Artist’s Alphabet Guide to Writing About Your Art.” The alphabet gives me a creative challenge – to fit what I have learned over many years about artists’ writing tasks into a structure of 26 posts. I am still working out some of the tougher, big-points scrabble letters, like K, Q, X, Y, Z – so send me your ideas!

With homage to Big Bird on Sesame Street, the next post will be brought to you by the letter “A”, as in for Art, Artist Statement, and Audience.

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Aletta de Wal inspires fine artists to make a better living making art in any economy. Aletta works with part-time, emerging and full-time artists who are serious about a career in fine arts. Aletta makes make art marketing easier and the business of art simpler. More information at: http://www.artistcareertraining.com/artmatters-newsletter/