The other day I had a conversation with an artist from my church that has left me in doubt as to whether I should continue my art--or whether I am heading down a road to heartbreak. But then, again, SHE may be heading down the road to heartbreak as well.
She was selling calendars featuring paintings of area landmarks and I quite innocently asked what it cost to produce something like that. I was very frostily told "that's not protocol" to ask and that I need to contact the printing companies myself. But then she said, "Well, you being new, wouldn't know that."
So apparently it is not kosher to ask about the kind of expenses one might expect to incur should one wish to pursue a career in art. That apparently there is an unspoken, unwritten "protocol" that only those in the know know about and those who are not, well, too bad for you. Because you aren't going to find it out.
There is no shortage of information on how to get started on the creative process, whether it is writing or art, but when it comes to what to do with that output, the stream of information dries up to a drip. It's like there is a secret club whose membership is limited to a select few. Without that information you don't have a prayer of getting in, and they are not about to let you have that information.
Personally, I think that established artists and writers ought to talk frankly about the kind of money it takes to succeed in the business, so that those of us with limited means can make a decision about whether we ought to be pursuing such interests. The fact that many writers and artists mention receiving grants is a clue right there that significant money is often involved. Again, to get a grant, you have to know how to write a grant and what kind of money you are talking about. "Do your homework", she said. But how can you do your homework when you don't even know where to turn and when you are told, "that's not protocol to ask"?
But then she mentioned writing a book. Aha, here is something I know a little bit about, having tried it myself. She said that this book was her dream, her life. Yes, that was me, 20 years ago. She said, "I know it will cost a lot of money but I don't care. If I have to, I'll finance it on credit cards."
Oh, yes, lady, been there and done that. But there is one significant difference between me and you in this regard. You don't have time on your hands. She's 70 and retired. If she racks up major credit card debt trying to get this book published, she does not have the time to regroup her losses. And every day that those cards carry a balance, the interest accumulates. She will watch her payments go up and up and up and up and eat away at her pension and social security. I'm working, and I know what it is like to see those payments eat up my paycheck. Credit card debt is the absolutely WORST kind of debt to accumulate, with interest rates in the double digits. I am surprised she even is considering this method of financing her dream, Visa and Mastercard will be rubbing their hands with glee.
But I kept my mouth shut. After all, why should she listen to me? I'm new, I don't know the protocol. And maybe she will beat the odds and recoup the investment she is planning to make. But there are an awful lot of writers out there who don't. I have a friend who owns a used bookstore and every so often she will feature new, usually self-published books by local authors. I was admiring one such book the other day, a children's story. The author was asking $20 for this slim volume. That's because it cost him so much to produce it he has to charge so much just to break even. And with the way my friend's business is going these days, it may take him a while to see any money at all.
The moral of the story, I am afraid, is that if you are struggling financially, you probably have no business trying to break into either the writing or the art business. It's like the old saying, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it." Have I not learned from my earlier mistake? I don't know. But it sure is discouraging.
She was selling calendars featuring paintings of area landmarks and I quite innocently asked what it cost to produce something like that. I was very frostily told "that's not protocol" to ask and that I need to contact the printing companies myself. But then she said, "Well, you being new, wouldn't know that."
So apparently it is not kosher to ask about the kind of expenses one might expect to incur should one wish to pursue a career in art. That apparently there is an unspoken, unwritten "protocol" that only those in the know know about and those who are not, well, too bad for you. Because you aren't going to find it out.
There is no shortage of information on how to get started on the creative process, whether it is writing or art, but when it comes to what to do with that output, the stream of information dries up to a drip. It's like there is a secret club whose membership is limited to a select few. Without that information you don't have a prayer of getting in, and they are not about to let you have that information.
Personally, I think that established artists and writers ought to talk frankly about the kind of money it takes to succeed in the business, so that those of us with limited means can make a decision about whether we ought to be pursuing such interests. The fact that many writers and artists mention receiving grants is a clue right there that significant money is often involved. Again, to get a grant, you have to know how to write a grant and what kind of money you are talking about. "Do your homework", she said. But how can you do your homework when you don't even know where to turn and when you are told, "that's not protocol to ask"?
But then she mentioned writing a book. Aha, here is something I know a little bit about, having tried it myself. She said that this book was her dream, her life. Yes, that was me, 20 years ago. She said, "I know it will cost a lot of money but I don't care. If I have to, I'll finance it on credit cards."
Oh, yes, lady, been there and done that. But there is one significant difference between me and you in this regard. You don't have time on your hands. She's 70 and retired. If she racks up major credit card debt trying to get this book published, she does not have the time to regroup her losses. And every day that those cards carry a balance, the interest accumulates. She will watch her payments go up and up and up and up and eat away at her pension and social security. I'm working, and I know what it is like to see those payments eat up my paycheck. Credit card debt is the absolutely WORST kind of debt to accumulate, with interest rates in the double digits. I am surprised she even is considering this method of financing her dream, Visa and Mastercard will be rubbing their hands with glee.
But I kept my mouth shut. After all, why should she listen to me? I'm new, I don't know the protocol. And maybe she will beat the odds and recoup the investment she is planning to make. But there are an awful lot of writers out there who don't. I have a friend who owns a used bookstore and every so often she will feature new, usually self-published books by local authors. I was admiring one such book the other day, a children's story. The author was asking $20 for this slim volume. That's because it cost him so much to produce it he has to charge so much just to break even. And with the way my friend's business is going these days, it may take him a while to see any money at all.
The moral of the story, I am afraid, is that if you are struggling financially, you probably have no business trying to break into either the writing or the art business. It's like the old saying, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it." Have I not learned from my earlier mistake? I don't know. But it sure is discouraging.
