Starving Artists

Is whining a long term solution?

Personally, I’m a bit offended when an author I subscribe to on Substack (or anywhere else) includes in their post a long diatribe about how they are going to “have to” put their content behind a paywall because they can’t pay their bills.  (In other words… it’s like a threat. Very unattractive!)  I’m often tempted to unsubscribe when I see what are often just envious content creators that haven’t landed in the big time on one of these platforms.

Sorry.  If you aren’t getting rich or finding fulfillment in your work, then maybe it’s time to change strategies. Or maybe you weren’t meant to make a lot of money doing what you are doing and need to seek out using one of your other talents to provide an income.  Or maybe you need to work another job while creating content.

In ages past, and most likely throughout history, writers and artists of any kind didn’t expect to “get rich” by sharing their heart with the world.  They did it because it was their first love.  They were so passionate about making sure the world heard or saw their work they would often work another job or live an incredibly frugal life just to be able to do what they love to do. 

It was only once we had magazines, newspapers, TV, and radio that it was *easier* for a content creator to get paid for their work.  Even then, most of them made low wages.  

People would submit hundreds of letters to the editor and editorials to newspapers and magazines hoping they would be seen by the right person and could land a gig writing a weekly or monthly column or article.   Bands would play gigs to audiences of just a handful of people or would play on the streets for donations.  Artists would often do caricatures and landscapes while in public so their work would be seen.

We are in a world now where a content creator just kind of expects to make a comfortable living by posting their content online in a world where they are competing with untold millions of other people expecting the same thing.

My advice?  Keep trying, but stop whining.   Whining is unattractive and turns a lot of people off.   If you truly have a message you want the whole world to read, hear or see you won’t care whether you get rich from it. 

We should always be sharing our talents because we love doing it first.  Because we feel deeply that others should be enjoying it second.  And, if we make a few bucks for doing it…. That’s just icing on the cake.