Creative, Not Famous: The Small Potato Manifesto

by Ayun Halliday

Few artists achieve fame and fortune, but that doesn't mean your creative life can't flourish. Writer, illustrator, zinemaker, and playwright Ayun Halliday interviewed dozens of creative people and shared her own experiences to produce this rallying cry for the "small potato"—someone whose focus is making cool, meaningful work and living a creative life rather than achieving wealth or celebrity. Sections range from the practice of artmaking to wrangling self-doubt to DIY marketing and self-promotion. Along the way, Halliday shows that your art can bring you satisfaction, success, community, and a modest income—without losing sight of your reasons for doing it in the first place.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Comics

288 pages, Paperback

Published February 8, 2022

About the author

Ayun Halliday is the Chief Primatologist of the long running, award-winning East Village Inky zine and author of the self-mocking autobiographies No Touch Monkey! And Other Travel Lessons Learned Too Late, The Big Rumpus  Dirty Sugar Cookies: Culinary Observations, Questionable Taste, and Job Hopper. She collaborated with illustrators Dan Santat on the picture book Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo, and Paul Hoppe on Peanut, a graphic novel for young adults. Luddite vagabonds may remember her as the author of the analog guidebook, The Zinester's Guide to NYC.  She is a regular contributor to Open Culture, and freelances both articles and illustrations to a variety of other publications.

Ayun's latest books are Creative, Not Famous: The Small Potato Manifesto and its interactive companion Creative, Not Famous Activity Book: An Interactive Idea Generator for Small Potatoes & Others Who Want to Get Their Ayuss in Gear

She lives in East Harlem with the playwright Greg Kotis.

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a warm hug from a 30 person panel of artists and creatives, all of whom you'd want to grab a cup of coffee with and see perform. This is not a book of advice of how to make it big, but this is a book of advice of how to enjoy making art for the sake of making art, and offers a variety of perspectives and stories to support its manifesto. The "small potato manifesto" has earned a very important place on my coffee table, and may be a circulated book in my friendly book swap:)

[Sandye · Rating 5 out of 5]

had a bunch of growing taters around , 20-21 variety, and they were all very attracted to this book which was prominently displayed on the table. after much positive browsing ensued i felt that this book would make a good primer for the beginning creatives. as i am on the other end of that spectrum i may have to reread this manifesto endlessly--for hope or consolation.

[Lisa Vihos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am halfway through this book and I cannot put it down. Halliday's compilation of thoughts and experiences of creative (but not famous) people is so wonderfully inspiring. It makes me feel like I am not alone. Her sense of humor is contagious and I find myself laughing one moment, and then tearing up the next because what she shares about the creative life is so touching and true. I have literally been telling all my other creative but not famous friends about this book. We all need it! If you have read this far, you need it, too.

[KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fertilizer for the small potatoes doin’ it. The fact that it includes thoughts and quotes from a group of artists emphasizes the communal nature of the successful small-potato community. As a visual artist, I couldn’t always relate to the bits shared by the theater and music artists, but it was interesting reading nonetheless. I think I need to make a poster of the full manifesto for my wall.

[Katie Weber]

So good! Definitely recommend to anyone who just likes creating for the sake of creating.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun read for any age. For a few decades I trained teens/young adults to become entrepreneurs. I’ve retired from that position but I’d assign this book. It’s well written pragmatism for the creatively inclined and joyful at the same time. Highly recommend.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pocket-sized book that is part inspiration, part encouragement, and part commiseration for creatives who thrive on DIY. Making art can feel isolating at times, and Halliday brings together the experiences of creatives from several disciplines to share their expertise, achievements, and struggles. Halliday herself has been a zine publisher for over two decades and involved with independent theater for even longer; her familiarity with these two creative worlds is apparent by the variety of artists she brings together as well as the hand-drawn, zinely elements of the book’s layout.

As a small potato myself, I found much of the advice relevant if not completely new to me (confession: I read a lot of books about creativity); I was at first skeptical of the inclusion of some creatives much more accomplished than myself, but I think that inclusion says a lot about the amorphous nature of what it means to truly “make it", how success feels to you vs how it appears to others, and how it can feel like you still have a ways to go even if you've been at your craft for a long, long time. There are a lot of books out there about creativity, and this is a welcome, scrappy addition to the club. The world can always use more art, so we’re lucky to have this book encouraging a new crop of makers.

[Jennifer Kanke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me feel a whole lot better about a lot of stuff that's been dragging me down.

[Katta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and inspiring book full of tips and quotes from creatives who have kept creating through life’s ups and downs without the resources/burden of fame.

[Bookish Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to art, entertainment, and culture, we’re all aware of the big bananas. They’re well-known actors, filmmakers, artists, musicians, singers, and writers of all kinds. These big bananas include Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Andy Warhol, and Dorothy Parker.

But for every big banana, there are countless small potatoes. These people are just as talented (maybe more so), but have yet to grab the brass ring of fame and riches. However, these people have important tales to tell, and Ayun Halliday chronicles their stories in her latest book Creative, Not Famous:The Small Potato Manifesto.

Halliday is the creator of the zine The East Village Inky. She’s a theater geek who boasts of many plays. And she’s written several books. Creative, Not Famous is her latest.

In Creative, Not Famous, Halliday shares the insights and experiences of visual artists, playwrights, musicians, singer-songwriters, zine makers, actors, filmmakers, and all kinds of talented and expressive types.

These small potatoes talk about the challenges they face like the lack of money and time. They are brutally honest over the jealousy they feel when a small potato becomes a big banana. They discuss their inspirations and celebrate their achievements. For these small potatoes, being creative is as important as drawing breath. It’s part of their DNA.

And though some of these small potatoes may not be household names, their work is well-known. Halliday’s husband, Greg Kotis, has won an Obie and two Tony awards for the musical Urinetown. Singer-songwriter, Nick Balaban, has written music for the children’s TV show Blues Clues. And Todd Alcott co-wrote the animated film Antz.

Just a little spud myself, I found Creative, Not Famous inspiring, reassuring, and relatable. There’s a sense of community amongst small potatoes. We have to be support each other in a world that often ignores us, and if it recognizes us, it can be quite dismissive. This pocket-sized manifesto can be tucked into a knapsack or handbag. Creative, Not Famous is a book of encouragement and advocacy for small potatoes everywhere.

Originally published at The Book Self:
https://thebookselfblog.wordpress.com...

[Carrie Pomeroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find this book so affirmative, fun, and inspiring! It has helped me feel less shame and more acceptance about the fact that I, like Halliday herself, tend to work in a lot of different forms and pursue many different interests and projects at once. She helps me see that there are many other creative people who work that way, and that as long as I'm happy creating, I reallllly don't need to worry so much about how my work or my process compares to the work or processes of people I consider much more successful than I am. I just need to focus on "doin' it," as Halliday encourages, whatever "it" is. I really appreciate the interviews, the art, the irreverent conversational tone, and the tips about how to keep a creative practice going, work up the courage to share creative work, and promote the work once it's out there.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ayun Halliday's Creative Not Famous is a balm for the every day creative. The Small Potato Manifesto offers sage advice in lots of areas, but I particularly liked the first part of the manifesto: "We relish the freedom of our relative smallness without hope of wealth." Well, ok, I mean, I would like a litttlllleee wealth once in a while. The idea of the small potato here isn't that the ideas or the creative act are small, but that we small potatoes- the underpaid, the unknown, and the un-famous, which is most of us, are making the things, and we keep doing it, when we're tired, after working our day jobs, when we put the kids to bed, etc. It's the drive to create and connect, and Halliday, who is a lovely human and a long time creator put the perfect book together to remind those of us who create, to keep going and "get 'er done."

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your creativity needs a pat on the heinie, the Small Potato Manifesto is an excellent place to start. Filled with outrageous ideas (you don't HAVE to get famous) and brimming with kindness, the book is a priceless gift to anyone who loves to create but worries they're not good enough, or that their creations will never find an audience. Highly recommended.

[Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and encouraging with just enough kicks at pants.

[Sarah Guldenbrein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very encouraging, glad it exists, but very performance arts heavy and boy oh boy is that not my bag.

[Ahimsa]

I appreciate the intention but this feels so neurotic, like dozens of Woody Allens trying to relate to you. Not for me.