The Art of Becoming a Successful Artist

There are two ways to become a successful artist – The Hard Road and the Bypass. Now I’m going to take you through them and leave it to you to decide which route you’re going to take.

Lets concentrate on writing, as that is my area of interest. Let’s just say that I have wandered along the hard road for a few years and I’m now considering the bypass. Anyway, a successful writer is a writer that’s had a number of books published by a reputable publisher, or one book published that has sold well. There are two ways to achieve this end:

The Hard Road – This involves writing lots. Churning out new manuscripts every two years, sending them off to publishers, and being rejected by the same publishers over and over again.  The writer must continue to develop their craft by developing their style and improving with every book. This can be achieved by natural progression, reading, seeking advice and studying. One day everything falls into place – A publisher reads one of your manuscripts, and wants to publish. Suddenly, all the hours spent behind the computer, all the hours thinking and tinkering, editing and envisaging, seem worth it. Then your book is published and put on the shelves, and if your ideas meet with interest in the public arena, then maybe, just maybe, the book will sell wildly and you will be a successful writer.

The Bypass – This simply involves by-passing all of the above. In a world where fame and celebrity is at a premium and anyone with such qualities is a highly sort commodity; in a world where such fame and celebrity can be achieved without talent, then it is possible to become a successful writer simply by becoming famous. Gone are the days where one had to be a successful artist before one became famous. Now one can become famous and a then a successful art career will almost certainly follow.

There are a few ways to become famous and so launch your artistic career. Get yourself on Big brother and tell your housemates and the public that you are a writer – keep telling the world that you have a manuscript waiting to be published – surely, once you have been voted out of the house, there will be a mad-capped race for a book deal from all the big publishers. I don’t even think that they would read what you have written before they sign you to a deal.

In the same fashion, you could become a you-tube sensation, or my personal favourite – do something outlandish, illegal or a combination of both which lands you on the front page and into a life of celebrity. Once there – just mention your penchant for writing and your new book awaiting a publishing deal, and again everyone will be racing for your signature. The success of your book is assured, as your notoriety will lead to sales, and thus you will have achieved your aims of becoming a successful writer.

NB: This same formula can be extrapolated to all of the arts, and creativity in the method of becoming famous can only add to your mystique, charm and thus commerciality.