Yesterday, I spent seven hours at a craft fair and didn't sell anything. Not one book. Not one cookbook. Not one candle.
It's not that I didn't have plenty of traffic. People looked through the books, walked away with cards, filled out their contact information on recycled Vamp Fest tickets and folded them into my "music box." A few fans stopped by just to be friendly and supportive. A crowd gathered around the woman who won my Bryony basket, "ooohing and ahhing" over its contents.
But sales? None, the very first event I worked all year that did not result in a sale.
I did, however, sell two books today out of the blue. So go figure.
So why am I publicly admitting my failure? Because artists rarely admit it.
Actually, I've only met two artists ever that were humble enough to share the hard truth about how well they do at certain events. One was a discouragaed vendor I'd met at Witches Night Out. She was working her second show and had sold nothing at her initial one. Maybe the first venue was not right for her product, or maybe it was just the luck of the evening, but at Witches Night Out, she sold hand over foot. The second artist is a fantastic illlustrator. He had recently returned from a Wisconsin show without selling a single piece of artwork and didn't mind telling that to me.
I've sold copies of Bryony at some unusual venues, places where my only intention was to hand out cards to passersby and create awareness of the product. Yesterday, though, was not my day.
Do I care? Sort of. Enough to make me quit? Absolutely not.
I am publicly announcing it, however, because I want artists to know that, whatever successful sales figures they might read online about OTHER independent artists, (which we always seem to seek out when we hit our low), the hard truth is this.
Sometimes people want what you're selling and sometimes they won't. It's not personal because past sales, no matter how slim, prove you have a market for your art. Unfortunately, when you're just beginning to place your works (and admit it, your ego, for all true artists leave parts of themselves behind in their art), you need to experiment with many opportunities until you discover the best places to find your audience.
And that means taking some hits.
So what?
It's not that I didn't have plenty of traffic. People looked through the books, walked away with cards, filled out their contact information on recycled Vamp Fest tickets and folded them into my "music box." A few fans stopped by just to be friendly and supportive. A crowd gathered around the woman who won my Bryony basket, "ooohing and ahhing" over its contents.
But sales? None, the very first event I worked all year that did not result in a sale.
I did, however, sell two books today out of the blue. So go figure.
So why am I publicly admitting my failure? Because artists rarely admit it.
Actually, I've only met two artists ever that were humble enough to share the hard truth about how well they do at certain events. One was a discouragaed vendor I'd met at Witches Night Out. She was working her second show and had sold nothing at her initial one. Maybe the first venue was not right for her product, or maybe it was just the luck of the evening, but at Witches Night Out, she sold hand over foot. The second artist is a fantastic illlustrator. He had recently returned from a Wisconsin show without selling a single piece of artwork and didn't mind telling that to me.
I've sold copies of Bryony at some unusual venues, places where my only intention was to hand out cards to passersby and create awareness of the product. Yesterday, though, was not my day.
Do I care? Sort of. Enough to make me quit? Absolutely not.
I am publicly announcing it, however, because I want artists to know that, whatever successful sales figures they might read online about OTHER independent artists, (which we always seem to seek out when we hit our low), the hard truth is this.
Sometimes people want what you're selling and sometimes they won't. It's not personal because past sales, no matter how slim, prove you have a market for your art. Unfortunately, when you're just beginning to place your works (and admit it, your ego, for all true artists leave parts of themselves behind in their art), you need to experiment with many opportunities until you discover the best places to find your audience.
And that means taking some hits.
So what?
No comments:
Post a Comment