How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist: Selling Yourself without Selling Your Soul

by Caroll Michels

“Michels explodes the romantic notion of the starving artist.” —The New York Times “Michels is a tough but compassionate advocate, savvy in the ways of the world and the demands on artists in this materialistic society.” —The Miami Herald Written for fine artists ready to launch their careers as well as experienced artists who wish to relaunch their careers, How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist, Seventh Edition, an acclaimed guide, empowers artists to take control of their careers to create a fulfilling life and earn a decent income. In this newly revised edition, Caroll Michels continues to demystify the inner workings of the art world and challenge the status quo. New chapters discuss such topics New business models for Going to the extreme The use of social media and website development as marketing and publicity tools and what does and doesn’t work The confusion between the “art-buying public” and the “general public” and their differences New suggestions for establishing and calculating prices for artwork Neighborhood gentrification and the growing challenges of securing a reasonably priced live/work space How dealers find artists, how to negotiate with dealers, and how to understand a dealer’s agenda Using her own experiences as an artist as well as the experiences of her clients, Michels crafts a must-read guidebook for anyone interested in embarking upon a successful career as an artist.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 2018

Reviews

[Teragon Bearyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had some helpful stuff even though I don’t really consider myself a fine artist.

[Satoita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight forward direction on having a career as a fine artist.

[Rachel Pieters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

As a fine artist, this really is a goldmine when you're trying to navigate the waters of your career, whether it's all new to you or you've been working as a full-time artist for years. Michels has first-hand knowledge of all the various aspects of the business end of having a successful (whatever that means to you) art career and is very clear and honest about the advice she gives, and always with what's best for the artist and their career in mind. My copy has sticky notes scattered throughout marking things I want to note and excerpts I want to write down, and it was instrumental as I organized my first solo exhibition (which I orchestrated myself) and I've learned of all sorts of avenues for possible income streams and opportunities as I go forward in my career that I would have never thought of.

This an absolute must-read for every artist really trying to buckle down and make their career something that works for them.

[Whitney Reid Drebot · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️ | 🍏

Read this for my Senior Seminar class for my college Art & Design degree.

This book was fine. It was very geared towards fine artists that are looking to exhibit art rather than artists who want to work in “art jobs”. As a book cover artist/graphic designer a lot of the chapters seemed a little irrelevant to me. But that’s maybe more of a commentary on my professor selecting this book for a class full of all kinds of artists within the art department, rather than a commentary on the book itself. If you’re a fine artist looking to exhibit in galleries it might be a great read for you!

I also am just not the biggest non-fiction reader so I wasn’t engaged like I would be for a novel. But it beats regular textbook reading so I’ll give it that!

[Fabricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best book on the subject I've ever read. Most of the books out there are not really about the fine art world but they don't make this distinction when they give advice to artists. Making that distinction in a book is especially important for the self taught artist who may not have the background to understand the various paths an artist can follow, and how certain advices found in many books can actually be harmful to their careers.
It's a book you will want to read again and again.

[Ollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely wanna purchase this book for my collection. This was so incredibly helpful. I don't even consider myself to be an artist in the selling world, but there were still a ton of useful information in here. And the appendix of resources is reason enough to buy this book.