Customer Reviews

I Am A Professional Artist: The Key to Survival And Success in the World of the Arts

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I should have known by the bad art on the cover. I teach a class at a university on the business of art and periodically review these types of books to see if they should be included in my courselist... this book might work for someone who needs a morale boost or simplistic encouragement, but it was full of new-age cheerleading platitudes (20 full pages of this thin book are simply one-line quotes from the author enlarged to fill the page) and lacked anything concrete to help artists make the jump to "professional". I almost never go to the trouble of returning a book or writing a review, but I was really angry that anyone would print and distribute this book which seems to offer nothing new.

Interestingly, if you look at the reviews of 'How to survive and prosper as an artist' you will see that Gilli Moon has recomended her own book as an alternative. That's a bit questionable isn't it?

I Am a Professional Artist: the key to survival and success in the world of the arts by Gilli Moon is a small, motivating, interesting and valuable volume for anyone struggling to make it in the world of art. Author Gilli Moon gives down-to-earth, hard-news-type advice with no promises of success unless you are willing to get down and dirty. Along with sage advice, however, Moon prefaces her get-tough, get-working advice with all things encouraging.

And she knows what she is talking about. I recently saw Moon at a concert in Santa Monica and she is indeed a successful performer. Her performance is electrifying. Fields in which she is successful include singing, songwriting, recording artist, musician, actor, producer, author, painter and motivator, among others.

I Am a Professional Artist: the key to survival and success in the world of the arts discusses things all artists struggle with, but Moon doesn't just talk about the struggles, she tells us how to go about facing and overcoming obstacles of the creative soul.

Some steps to success listed under, "The Lessons I've learned," include:

*Learn from others, work with others, but "own" your art.

*Create a plan. Take one step at a time. Be careful not to do step 5 before you have even conquered step 1.

*Don't fear anything. Be courageous. Opportunity is yours for the taking if you really want it.

*Be creative with a business sense.

She also defines that question we all wonder about at one time or another, "When something changes your perspective, you're witnessing Art," she says, "Everything else is craft."

Not just a motivational guru, though, Moon stresses the need to get busy, keep busy, promote, learn, teach and re-invent yourself if you must, but most of all believe in yourself, your art and your abilities.

She encourages artists to take advantage of the Internet. "The Internet," she says, "is leading the way for Artist self-empowerment." Not only is it to be used for promotion, but also it is a tool that allows Artists to negotiate better deals. "Successful Artists run their own databases, their own offices, web sites, fan clubs and promotional affairs," and the Internet is a key ingredient of successes in these areas.

Filled with sage advice, encouragement, heart and energy, I Am a Professional Artist: the key to survival and success in the world of the arts is a must for everyone who wants to become successful in the Arts. Don't just buy it - read it. Don't just read it - do it.

One of the best ways creative people can discover a blueprint for prosperity is to absorb and emulate the strategies of successful artists. Gilli Moon is one of those artists. In "I Am A Professional Artist," she bares her soul and shares the attitudes and actions it takes to make a true impact as a professional artist. Highly recommended!

-Bob Baker, author of "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" and "Unleash the Artist Within"

I read this book from cover to cover the day it arrived. It is very informative and motivational. Gilli Moon is an excellent example to follow when it comes to being an independent artist. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a professional career in the arts.