5 Week Push for Your Art Goals

Caught you!

You were looking at your calendar. You're counting the days until a fresh start. Thanksgiving … Christmas … New Year's Eve … and, at last, January 1. Or, rather, January 2 because no one works on the first day of the year.

©Rose Tanner, Fleeting Moment. Oil on linen, 9 x 12 inches. Used with permission.

Maybe you're lamenting the fact that it's the end of the year and there is much left undone. (Incidentally, the core message in this post applies regardless of the time of year.)

You had big plans last January, right? Big goals for your art. That's when you were wearing rose-colored glasses with glitter on them and sipping the New Year's Kool-Aid.

Now you'd rather think about next year and give up on this one. You are so ready for a fresh start. After all, the holidays are upon us and, if we're being honest, very little gets done during the holidays what with all the baking, decorating, wrapping, card-writing, shipping, egg-nogging, and Hallmark-movie-watching (no judgment).

Stop This Nonsense

If this is you, stop it. This is unproductive, and it's no way to run a profitable art business. You can't make progress or maintain momentum if you're effectively writing off more than 5 weeks at a stretch.

Five weeks is plenty of time to make an impact. It's plenty of time to get sh*t done. It's plenty of time to cross a few things off your list.

Every day is precious.

©Jennifer Anderson Printz, More Than Faithful Contrivance. Graphite on Epson Ultrachrome Inks mounted on panel, 17 x 52 inches. Used with permission.

Every day presents an opportunity that you can either grab with gusto or thumb your nose at.

High achievers don't write off weeks at a time because they prefer the excitement of a New Year to the hard work of the current one.

Reevaluate Your Priorities

If you find yourself looking forward to the New Year rather than putting your whole heart into finishing this one in style, you have some difficult questions to answer.

Do you really want an art business? Is being profitable important to you?

Are you committed to your work and sharing your message with the rest of the world?

What are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve your goals?

What habits or routines are you willing to change to make room for your art career?

©Pamela Talese, Artichokes in Glass Bowl. Oil on gesso panel, 6 x 8 inches. Used with permission.

Once you are clear that your art business and career are top priorities, you can dive in. Recommit yourself to a daily schedule. Take ownership of one thing you wanted to get done this year.

End-of-Year Push

Back in September we asked our clients to create a push goal: What is one thing you will achieve in the next few months?

Notice that we didn't ask them for push goals (plural) but for a push goal (singular). We asked them to focus on one thing they could mark off their list.

Our request had a caveat. The push goal couldn't be anything new. Now is not the time to add new goals and projects to your already busy schedule. It's time to commit to finishing something you started.

You can do this exercise at any point in the year, but it is especially relevant right now. And you don't need months. Try it for yourself.

©Karen Lynn Link, Steel Storage Tanks Near Dacono. Acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12 inches. Used with permission.

Look at your calendar again. You have 5 whole weeks to focus relentlessly on one big goal you wanted for yourself. Think of how proud you'll be to apply yourself in this manner … to not give up on yourself just because of the date you see in front of you.

What will it be?

Stay focused on your goals and gain momentum in my Art Career Success System and community of ambitious artists. Get started today for just $99.

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Publishing a How To Book for Artists with Carol McIntyre

Do you think you might have a book in you?

Why not do it?!

Writing a book could increase your credibility, contribute to your legacy, and impact many lives.

©Carol McIntyre, Silent Truths. Acrylic on board, 24 x 30 x 1.5 inches. Used with permission.

A lot of people think that writing a book is the hard part of getting your book published. Not to take anything away from the difficult work that goes into the writing, but it is only a small portion of the entire book publishing process.

I learned about the process when the first edition of my book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio, was published in 2008 and was reminded of the long book-publishing journey when the 4th edition was released earlier this year. There are so many moving parts and, like many businesses today, book publishing is a fast-moving industry.

Those moving parts come, of course, with an expense line in your budget, which means it’s very helpful to know what you’re getting into before you start down the book production path.

You really want to know 1) that you will be able to pay for the cost to publish and 2) at what point you’ll begin to make a profit. In order to accomplish that second thing (the profit thing), you also need a marketing plan specifically for your book.

This week's podcast guest, Carol McIntyre holding her book, I Just Want to Paint! in front of one her paintings at her book launch party.

I confess I didn't talk to enough people.

My guest for this episode of the Art Biz Podcast is artist Carol McIntyre, the author of I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want. In the book, Carol teaches a step-by-step color mixing method for frustrated painters of all media who want to stop making mud and start mixing the colors they want with ease.

Listen now to hear Carol's process and advice so you can avoid the sticker shock of publishing your own book.

Music by Wildermiss

Highlights

You will hear Carol and I talk about the following.

• Where the idea for the book came from and how she got encouragement to make it happen.
• How the book fits into Carol’s vision for her art business.
• The difference between print-on-demand books and self-publishing larger quantities.
• The must-have book specs that led Carol to work with a Chinese printing company.
• An account of all of the people Carol hired to help her in the publishing process, and the role of each person.
• What it costs to publish a book.
• What Carol’s profit is per book depending on whether she sells at a local bookstore, from her website, or on Amazon. Spoiler: Support an artist and buy direct from her!
• What Carol wishes she had known in advance.
• When and how Carol began pre-selling the book and the brilliant thing she did to keep early buyers happy when the book was delayed.
• The additional marketing she is doing to promote the book.
• Why it’s critical to have people around who support you during the long process.
• Carol’s very honest disclosure of experiencing burnout and how she got back on track.

Mentioned

• Colorado Independent Publishers Association
• My podcast with Helen Hiebert, Carol’s accountability partner, about multiple income streams
• Carol’s color-mixing course on BluPrint (formerly Craftsy)
• Carol’s book, I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want

About My Guest

Carol A. McIntyre’s first run-in with the “color police” happened when she was in kindergarten. Her teacher asked the class to choose two favorite colors that went well together. Carol spoke up. “Red and orange,” she said, whereupon the teacher declared, “No, these two colors don’t go together!” She grew up and proved her teacher wrong.

Early in her painting career, she was surprised by the lack of easy-to-understand color theory classes. This motivated her to develop a simpler way to mix color which, in turn, would empower artists.

Carol has helped over 3,500 painters see and mix color differently. She is an award-winning artist who is a signature member of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and holds associate memberships with the Oil Painters of America and the American Women Artists.

Follow Carol on Instagram.

Music by Wildermiss

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Publishing a How To Book for Artists – Podcast with
This episode is sponsored my signature business-building program, the Art Career Success System, a program I have perfected for more than 17 years working with artists.

All of the lessons you learn in the Art Career Success System are tasks you will do over and over again throughout your art business and career. That’s why it’s a SYSTEM.

In the ACSS you will build a strong foundation using my video and audio lessons, worksheets, and transcripts. And you will be part of a community of artists who are forward-thinking and forward-moving.

Join us now and get your business in shape.

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