Sometimes excuses just feel good… like a favorite chair or old blanket that has kept you warm throughout the years.  Excuses make us feel better about why we do or don’t do the things we know, deep down, we probably should or shouldn’t be doing.  Excuses justify where we are in life, explain how we got the bad end of the deal, didn’t have the good fortune others did, and keep us safe… and stuck… in our current situation.

That’s where you want to be, right?  Safe & stuck? (hmm… well when you put it like that…)

I’ve heard all kinds of excuses (and made them too, don’t get me wrong!) for where people are or aren’t in their art business.  “Well so-&-so is successful because her husband is a marketing genius.  Mine isn’t…”  “I could do that if I didn’t have to spend all day wiping runny noses and doing laundry…”  you get the idea.  We could go on for years this way.

Apparently Alyson Stanfield has heard her share of excuses as well.  And genius that she is, she organized her book around the biggies that artists of all kinds face. (Not just artists who license their art – this is a great book for any artist looking to earn an income from their art.)

I read “I’d rather be in the studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion” a few months ago.  It was on my drawing table and my friend / business sanity manager swooped it up and took it home to read.  I just got it back with a warning:  “Now I understand even better what you should be doing to grow your business, I’ll be watching…”  (be careful who you loan your copy to!)

While some of the topics don’t really apply to my business, most did, and having another perspective on promotion, organization, and planning is never a bad thing.  The book has 16 Actions based on 14 excuses… how cool that by Action 15 we should be over our excuses and ready to just get ‘er done!

If you are an artist who is comfy-cozy in the studio creating but sweaty-nervous when it comes time to tell the world about those creations, this book is a must read. See if any of these excuses sound familiar:

• “There aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all.”
• “My art speaks for itself.”
• “I don’t know where to begin.”

That’s just the first three.  Imagine if Alyson could help you be better with those – fabulous, right?  Guess what? She can!

I could go on and on but I think I’ll stop now and let you decide. Suffice it to say I enjoyed the book, learned from the book and am implementing some of the strategies in the book.  CLICK HERE to learn more.

– Tara