From a Whisper to a Shout
Image Description: A person standing in shadow against a blue sky with a megaphone. Photo by Juliana Romão on Unsplash
Now that the Creative Resilience book is out, it is back to the blog. Or back to the slog, as the case might be. As I noted in my previous blog post, for me, the hardest part of making art is not the making of the art. It is mastering the art of making the art connect with its audience and maintaining the same level of energy that was there while making the art.
Marketing. Branding. Self-promotion. These words may strike fear or disdain in the hearts of many artists. They feel a bit shameless, a bit self-centered, and a whole lotta awkward. My face in this photo betrays my discomfort with the whole process.
Image Description: Author Erica Ginsberg, a woman with brown curly hair and a blue shirt, holding up the book Creative Resilience next to her face while looking at it a bit uncomfortably. Photo courtesy of the author.
These words are also necessary because most of us are not making art only for our own delight, but also to resonate with others. To spark a conversation. To be a provocation. To make a difference, whether to a single audience member or to a movement. I actually devote two chapters in the book to what we sometimes refer to as external forces – those who may influence your art and those whom you seek to influence with your art.
Yet getting out there with the book still doesn’t come naturally for me. In the past two weeks since the book was released, I have sent emails, updated the website, did an interview (see video below), held a book launch, gotten the word out on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and even started creating more TikToks. On the latter, I still don’t quite know what I am doing, and perhaps, in reality, none of us really know what we are doing when we have to be out promoting ourselves and our work.
But that is no excuse for not doing it anyway.
This reminds me a lot of my time doing fundraisers and outreach for nonprofits and projects fiscally sponsored by nonprofits (oh yeah, in addition to the book getting out in the world, I’ve been raising funds for The D-Word, a global online documentary film community that is turning 25 in the coming year). One of my biggest takeaways from the world of nonprofits is that we need to face the awkwardness of outreach head-on. Asking folks to invest in an organization, an initiative, or project is more than a financial agreement. It is asking them ultimately to invest in themselves, a cause you both believe in, the value they or loved ones have received from the cause. I will never forget hearing that the number one reason why people donate to causes is not even the cause itself, but rather because someone asked them to support the cause.
Asking is the answer.
As the musician Amanda Palmer wrote in her book The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help:
“There’s no “correct path” to becoming a real artist. You might think you’ll gain legitimacy by going to art school, getting published, getting signed to a record label. But it’s all bullshit, and it’s all in your head. You’re an artist when you say you are. And you’re a good artist when you make somebody else experience or feel something deep or unexpected.”
So, through coming to terms with the art of outreach, while the ask itself may be awkward for some of us, the meaning behind the ask is why you need to ask: to help make somebody else experience or feel something deep or unexpected.
In my case, I could track how many books I sold online or at the launch event. I could measure how many people came to the launch or read my blog or open my emails or react or share my social media posts. But none of those compare to making a connection with a single person. One person said coming to my launch event was a reminder to get out more to support fellow artists and be a part of community, something that many of us may have gotten out of the habit of through the pandemic, family commitments, and the daily grind. Another found resonance in how the book “beautifully captures how the creative journey is filled with joy and meaning, but let us be real, it's also a path strewn with challenges.”
I too face those challenges, even (and maybe especially) now. In the midst of my own challenges of confidence, I read a chapter from the book about failure and was struck by how the audience responded to that. Yes I was rewarded with book sales, but more importantly with an engaging Q&A that reminded me how much this book was needed in the creative world.
It also reminded me that, when we want to share our art with others, but shy away from promoting it or putting a value on it, we are ultimately doing ourselves and our audience a disservice. We may view it as merely equating art and commerce, something that can feel very taboo. Yet, if we stop thinking of outreach as only about selling a product, and more about connecting with others, the marketing aspect of the work may become easier. As artists, we have something to say. We have something that may resonate with other people. Yet they may not even realize it is there if we remain quiet about it.
So here are a few asks:
Get the book for yourself or someone you know would find it beneficial. If you order the paperback or eBook today on Amazon, you can still get it before Christmas. (And, if you would prefer to support independent bookstores, it is also available on Bookshop.org) Or you can use that gift card to get yourself the book as part of your resolutions in the new year (even though you know I am not a big fan of resolutions, I do know the turning of a year is often a time when folks commit to making positive changes).
Write a review of the book. First and foremost, I’d love to know what resonates with you. It reminds me I am not writing in a vacuum but for real people who are going through your own ups and downs with the creative process and creative life. Secondly, reviews help bring the book to the attention of others who might also find resonance in the book. In the case of Amazon reviews (which don’t require you to have gotten the book on Amazon), having 50 or more reviews/star ratings increases the algorithms for the book being suggested to potential readers. Even sharing your thoughts on social media can help bring the book to the attention of others.
Come to an event or help make one happen. If you are in the Washington DC area and missed the launch event, you will have another opportunity on January 17 when I will be coming to Docs In Progress in Silver Spring, Maryland for part of their Docs Reads series. This will include a reading, signing, panel featuring several artists featured in the book, and time to connect with other folks. I am working on more events in the coming year in other places so if you have connections or suggestions of where to go, that would be great. This could include bookstores, libraries, arts centers, community centers, universities in person or virtually.
Have some artwork of your own to promote? Post it in the comments. I’d love to hear what you are working on and am sure other readers would love to know too. It’s time for us all to shout it from the rooftops!
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