Sometimes writing a blog post is about finding a problem I once struggled with and have learned how to manage it better. Sometimes it’s a problem I perceive others having difficulty with, so I research and try to normalize the problem and find some solutions. This post started with someone else’s problem, but my research quickly made me realize this is a problem for me, and I suspect this problem includes creatives around the world regardless of language, gender, religion, economic or societal background.
Who and What is a Creative
A creative is someone who uses a particular medium to express something they feel or think. They are creators who cannot stop doing their thing without denying a piece of themselves.
You don’t have to be an artist to be creative.
You don’t have to want to sell your creations nor to make your craft a business. No matter what media you create with or why you do what you do, being a creator is a very special thing. Our ability to see the world differently, our ability to create, is a gift. Not everyone can do what we do.
Collectively, we are not a small part of the world’s population.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) “cultural and creative employment accounts for up to 1 in 20 jobs in some OECD and European Union (EU) countries. It is particularly important in cities and capital regions, where it can account for up to 1 in 10 jobs.”
The National Survey of Artists 2024 created by NORC at the University of Chicago released a report that stated: “The survey defined the US population of artists and “culture bearers” as those who have a dedicated professionalized practice, irrespective of how they earned their living. Potential participants were screened to ensure they met criteria related to their creative practices, engagement level, audience, external recognition, and time commitment. The NORC researchers found that 18 percent of US adults qualify as artists or culture bearers.”
Perceived Value
Unfortunately, the world, often including ourselves, treats that gift as if it is not very special. They treat our products as if they have little value. Even in societies that recognize creativity is good for society and the economy, the every-day variety of creators (meaning the ones that aren’t Stephen King or Gerhard Richter or Faig Ahmed). Those who carve out time for their passion are expectedto undervalue their products. They expect us to give away our creations for free or nearly free.
Very few seem to recognize how valuable creative products are. Fewer understand the high cost of being creation. Often, creators themselves don’t recognize what it costs to create.
Why Talk About This?
It’s not a subject we creatives discuss. We might bemoan the fact that we can’t sell our products or that we have to give them away, but we don’t discuss the actual costs and the genuine reasons why we undervalue our work.
Reasons Creatives Underprice Their Work
A lot of creatives have subconscious fears that move them to underprice their work. Many also lack business skills and knowledge, which leads them to offer low prices. These fears and lack of information or skills lead to a variety of thought processes.
- Often creatives, especially if they are newer at their craft, have poured their hearts into their work and desperately need validation from someone (a stranger to them) who sees the value in their work, so they underprice their products hoping to find that validation.
- There are some creatives who depend on income from their work and will cut prices to get more money in their pockets.
- A few creatives are seeking attention; they want to become superstars in their field and will set their prices low, hoping to attract a superstar number of customers.
- Many creatives lack confidence in their work. They don’t believe their work is special or valuable, so they underprice their work out of fear that no sales means they are unworthy imposters.
- Some creatives have poured so much of their identity into their work that the prospect of not selling it feels like a personal attack they must avoid by setting low prices.
- Some creatives fear that higher prices will scare away potential customers.
- And many creators buy into the business world’s insistence that creative labor should be free or at a deep discount to get exposure that will lead to future sales.
I have to confess to having fallen into some of these groupings, particularly the lack of business knowledge and skills.
Creatives need to be realistic about the cost of their creations so they price them appropriately. No, most of the time we creators cannot price our products anywhere close to what it costs us. But we should know why we do what we do, understand our markets, our costs, our goals, and have enough business skills and knowledge to set our prices intentionally.
I hope creatives do not see this as discouraging. I love being an author and a blogger. But there is a personal cost to what I do, to what any creative does, regardless of how they earn their living.
The Cost of Learning and Unlearning
These days there is a lot of “free” learning available if you have access to the internet. Unfortunately, within that free learning available there are a lot of charlatans, many people who mean well but who may have no business knowledge at all or don’t understand their way isn’t the best way for everyone, and in the echo chamber that is social media a lot of information gets twisted and deformed in the way of the old game of “telephone.”
Habits from the day job can bleed over into your creative work. Misinformation and misunderstood information abound. The cost of “unlearning” can do a number on one’s self-esteem and one’s belief that they can do this thing they feel driven to do.
Learning and unlearning take practice. Lots of practice. And that takes lots of time.
Time Costs Creatives Pay
Learning craft skills and business skills takes away precious time with loved ones, keeps us from relationships that might have developed, or simply from socializing with peer groups.
Sometimes I am engaged with a family member, and I see or hear something that triggers a thought about my work. Suddenly, I’m off in my own thoughts, or I physically step away to record my thoughts before I lose them. I try to stand and write my notes, intending to return to the family activity, but one thought leads to another and I am off recording thought after thought, lost to my family time.
The same can happen when I decide to get some exercise or fix a healthy meal. (I cannot tell you how many meals I have burned because I stepped away to record a thought.)
The Costs to a Creative’s Health
Sometimes I’m in the flow and do not have any sense of time passing. The siren call of work has got me. I don’t feel hunger or thirst or nature’s call until one of those urges manifests as physical weakness or pain.
That too has a cost to my general health. Based on social media and other accounts from other creatives, I know I am not alone in this.
Energy Costs
The amount of mental energy used in a creative pursuit is enormous.
The acts of creation take brainpower, an energy that scientists have been trying to understand and measure fairly recently. Creativity isn’t just right-brained activity. It uses many parts of the brain. Scientists believe creatives use the part of their brain where daydreaming and idea creation happen simultaneously with the executive control functions (evaluating the ideas). It’s no wonder that creative people feel exhausted.
Unfortunately, exhausted people can say or do things they wouldn’t normally. And that can damage relationships we have and would dearly love not to damage.
Not only is there the mental cost, creatives often have to work multiple jobs, sacrifice rest, and foregoing comforts in order to create.
All of the above takes physical energy too. Each person’s mental and physical energy has different limitations, but those resources are finite. Pushing past them, as creatives often do, can exact other tolls.
The Emotional Toll
Self-doubt, anxiety, perfectionism, depression, and burnout are emotional tolls many creatives pay in their careers. Some pay these tolls only during specific phases of their careers; others never escape these emotional costs.
To create, we often have to be emotionally vulnerable. That can be a toll we pay as well.
There is criticism that we get, whether we want it or not.
There is also an emotional toll to being available to our public. Everyone’s aware of trolling and flame wars on social media, but there are also emotional costs to creators who sell or speak at events. If we’re lucky, we get fan mail, but we can also get hate mail. No matter who is receiving trolling, hate emails or social media posts, we are all human beings who feel the pain associated with that.
Sometimes the toll is too great. If that creative cannot afford therapy, they may live a painful life, or give up their creative endeavors completely.
The Financial Costs
Formal education, even online classes, costs money. Sometimes, lots of money. Books to educate oneself can cost a lot of money.
We not only need education, but we often need mentors or tutors to help us learn some aspect of our art. If we’re very lucky, we may find mentors who do it for free. They can also be another necessary investment. Some creatives need an ongoing service or mentor, like writers need editors.
For most creative work, there are also specific tools that we need. As an author, I need a quiet place to work, a computer, programs to create books, programs to format books, and programs to publish books. There are tons more things I have paid for in order to produce the best books I can. I know there are creatives out there who require much more expensive tools and some who require many, many more tools than I do.
I haven’t yet discussed the cost of the materials we use. Nor the fees for access to the internet or organizational fees. Nor any fees associated with getting our work prepared to sell. For example, an independent author pays for covers and editors, and advertising. Traditionally published authors (those published by a publishing company) often end up paying for some of those things too.
Most times, there are costs to displaying one’s products. There are table fees, rents, and membership fees. Not to mention sales tax. Yes, there are costs to simply putting something up for sale. Even when it’s “only” a digital product sold on the internet.
Creatives often suffer from chronic financial instability. If our creative product is our only income, we often have very lean months or years with an occasional burst of income. Even if we have another job, the financial instability of being a creative still exists, though their “day” job may keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables. See all the other costs above.
The Legal Costs
Ah, the modern world of laws to make society civilized. Tax laws, intellectual property laws, retail sales laws, licensing disputes, business laws, and much more often cost creatives dearly because we don’t have the specialized knowledge. Lord help us if we end up in a legal dispute over intellectual property rights or other business disputes.
Are There Perks to Being a Creative?
Oh yes. Being creative is a choice. Every creative person has their own reasons for being creative, but there are definite perks I think we all share.
Learning Perks
I love to learn something new. Specifically, I can get completely absorbed learning new writing techniques, or how to better describe things, or how to write in a new-to-me genre. I feel accomplished when I learn something new, and that’s a deeply satisfying feeling to me.
Emotional Perks
Creatives have an innate need to create. Without their creativity, they feel changed, broken.
Early in my career, I attended my very first writing conference. One of the writing instructors asked us to write one or two sentences about what writing means to us. This is what I wrote: “I suppose I could survive without writing another word. I would rather live than simply survive.” I feel that way to this day.
For me, writing (creating) is a state of great joy and satisfaction. When a twist in my path takes me away from writing for a time, I feel like I am a different person, a lesser being. It’s almost as if I cannot breathe or feel. When I am writing, I feel whole. It completes me in ways nothing else does. And every time I get a complimentary review or a shared post or a letter or comment from a reader, I am filled with joy and gratitude and satisfaction. When something I’ve written moves someone or when a total stranger’s review shows they “get” what I have written, I know I am doing what I am doing what I should be doing.
I don’t know it for a fact, but I believe many creatives feel the same way.
The Perks of Managing Your Time
Time often doesn’t seem to exist when I’m writing. That’s a good thing for me, but not so good for family and friends.
I had to learn to manage my time better. As terrible as it may sound, I schedule time that I set aside to be with family and friends. Later, I learned to schedule time for me to replenish my creative energy with rest or reading, or a walk in nature. I protect those scheduled times with family and for myself as fiercely as I protect my writing time. Valuing my time with family and even by myself is a gift I give to my creative self.
Protecting Your Health
This was something else I needed to learn to do. It’s something I continue to work on improving. But I can say that today I am a healthier person that I’ve ever been before. I’ve learned what my body needs to be healthy. No two people need exactly the same thing. To learn what you need to be healthy, listen to your medical professionals, professionals (and not the latest fad), and professional physical trainers who know modifications your body needs. (Be very careful of any information on social media. Check credentials of anyone offering advice or the resources they used—see my resource list below.)
Protecting Your Emotional and Mental
This one took work. Deep, personal work. It also took a tincture of time. I’m better at recognizing when I’m pushing myself too hard. I take breaks and do physical exercises and work on my emotions and mindset. This is a perk because I get to feel better about my work and my self.
You may not need deep work, but awareness is important. Take care of your emotional and mental health. It’s a skill I wish all humans learned to do from kindergarten on.
Managing Your Financial Costs
First, I have had to get clear and accept that there’s a financial cost to most of what we do in modern society. But when you do something you love, you find a way to cross these hurdles. Working toward excellence is a never-ending job for me. I always have to take a moment to consider the financial costs against the benefits I see in whatever I am purchasing. The monetary costs will always be an issue. But the intangible value I receive from doing this creative work is more than worth the financial costs.
Accepting and Preparing for Legal Costs
I view my writing as a business and understand that all businesses have some legal issues to deal with in some way. I had to learn what city, state, and national laws apply to my writing from regional lawyers, official websites and occasional calls to government agencies. So far, I’ve not had to fight a legal battle. God willing, my awareness and legal setup will protect me from such a thing. But I know what to do if I face legal issues.
Obligatory Disclaimer
I am not a lawyer, a tax accountant, or able to advise you on your business needs in anyway. This article is written with the intention of helping creatives see the value of products of their creativity and understand that a creative business owner must answer questions like these in order to protect themselves, their families, and their business. Please see professionals with current knowledge about your area of creativity in your location to help you find the answers you need.
Final Thoughts
When I began thinking about this post, I thought it would be entirely about the financial costs of doing business as a creative. My research opened my eyes to the other costs.
I hope it’s opened your eyes as well. Not to discourage any creative who read this, but so you’ll be aware. Aware enough to find ways past the costs. Aware enough that perhaps the next time someone talks about some creative product costing too much that you can gently educate them about the many unseen costs to creativity. And aware enough that you can see the perks you get from your creative pursuits.
For me, I’ll always choose being a creative even if I have to manage all of these costs.
Were you surprised by any of the costs? What costs or perks did I fail to mention?
Resources
The Art-Beat podcast, hosts Cliff Latham and Gralan Early
Brainzmagazine, “The Cost of Creativity.”
The Business of Being Creative, “The Cost Of Creation”
“The status of artists and cultural and creative professionals”
Image Credits
Featured Image by Tumisu from Pixabay
Second image by geralt from Pixabay
Final image purchased from DepositPhotos