S2/E2: Real Artists Don't Starve by Jeff Goins

This week’s book is Real Artists Don’t Starve by Jeff Goins, published in 2017.











The author is Jeff Goins, the man behind Tribe Writers, which offers group coaching in marketing for writers, especially bloggers and “authorpreneurs.” He also hosts a podcast called The Portfolio Life, which addresses similar topics. He writes a popular blog and is a bestselling author of five nonfiction books on marketing for creatives. He got his street cred by building a million-dollar business in three years by employing the methods he teaches other creatives how to do.







Most of the topics Goins addresses are around an artist’s mindset, but there’s a little business advice sprinkled throughout. He divides the book into three sections: Mindset, Market, and Money. I’ll include one thing from each section.



Three Things



1 Mindset – Goins challenges underlying notion that writers and other artists must stop thinking that writing is something you’re born to do or aren’t. As if fate came around and sprinkled fairy dust on some and not on others. In his mind, the real difference between a writer and someone who simply wishes to be a writer is gritty stubbornness. You have to believe in yourself before others will. But when you do, others begin to believe in you, too, which builds your confidence, which makes more people believe in your work, your vision. Gritty stubbornness applied to the belief in yourself and the commitment to see your dream through: It’s the pathway to everything.



2 Market – There’s lots of good stuff about the importance of community in getting more work out there and better work at that. But I’m going to zero in on another one of the concepts he talked about in this section of the book: practicing in public. It reminded me a little of my favorite chapter in last week’s book (Dear Writer, You Need to Quit by Becca Syme) which urged writers to stop (over) preparing and get to it. Goins version of this is to “Practice in Public.” Don’t wait until you’re perfectly ready for every challenge. Get better by doing the actual work and getting it out there in front of the world, for others to see, react to. It’s the path to improvement.