I have come to the realization that all the things I do are not unique. Let me explain, because I know a few of you are going to jump on that statement and start with the Sarah has no confidence thing, but that is not it.
I grew up reading about the great authors like Carson McCullers, the beat poets, Hemingway, who were part of a small society of people who created. They just were. They didn't ask to be. They didn't hock their wares. They created what they felt compelled to create and as the years went by it got attention. I know at some point they did send it to a publisher or editor and success didn't just fall in their laps. Today, you could write the best story ever to be set to paper, but no one would ever find it. Even if it was published in a magazine or Online it would still be stuck in the quagmire that is today's written word. The same thing goes for photography. There are so many photographers today. This is a wonderful thing, but at the same time, dilutes the art of it. I am not even sure that I am one to talk. I have never shot a film SLR, I have never developed in a dark room, I have never gone to school for anything that I do.
The point of this mini rant? I'm not sure. I was lying in bed, wide awake at 5am and these thoughts that I am writing to you now kept floating around in my brain. I am trying to muddle through this years round of giving up. I love the art of it all, but I am not good at the selling part of it. One reason is because I don't put the energy into it. I don't enjoy marketing so it looms over my head like a big dark cloud of what I should be doing. Another reason is the confidence thing, or lack thereof. A third reason would be the complete chaos that my life is at the moment. I have no order or organization and that is another daunting task that I keep putting off. I need a week with nothing going on to set everything straight, but that isn't going to happened, is it? Hmmm.
Okay, I have some organizing to do...I at least need to find my desk.
Talk to you soon,
Sarah McTernen
www.ardentphotography.com
http://ardentlife.etsy.com
http://smcternen.etsy.com
www.zazzle.com/ardentphotography
Posts
This may surprise you but perhaps a 'dance like no one is watching' philosophy may be appropriate? What I mean is your job as a creator of truth and beauty is only to do that, tell your friends and fans as them come but keep your focus on creating. Make art, find beauty, keep creating at a blistering pace. Just don't stop.
ReplyDeleteI think that the harder you work to find truth and beauty, the luckier you'll become in the end. Don't focus on your 'business', focus on making great work. There might be ways to jumpstart your luck or fame, but in the end I think they are more like shortcuts and dead ends. Consistently creating great work and building relationships is the only way to be successful.