I know that to you, the art is the thing and you often feel the creative process is almost sacred, but you really need to know something: If you don't take time to let people know you are an artist who creates music, pastels, novels, short films or poetry, no one but your relatives will ever know you are an artist who creates.
Promotion is not a dirty word. If you do what you do to share it with folks, promotion will help those folks know about you.
Think about it: the most amazing novel, the most poignant of sculptures, the most ethereal of music can't be enjoyed if they sit in boxes in your garage or in the corner of your studio. Art is meant to be shared. Isn't that kind of the point?
Why is garnering attention from what you do on a creative level a bad thing? Even if it is a hobby and not your livelihood (and you never hope it to be), how is having people know about that creative thing you do necessarily a bad thing?
If you want to remain obscure and known for your work only when your estate publishes your manuscripts or gets your canvases curated after your death, then by all means, don't ever update your website, use social media to self-promote or follow other artists who do. Just keep complaining about how putting together a bio for an electronic press kit or tweeting a photo of you creating just takes too much daggone time.
But haven't you done that already? And how's that working for ya?
The definition of insanity, according to Albert Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. And he was a pretty astute guy.
Making art and letting the masses know about that art are not mutually exclusive. You can do both and still have time to create, have a life, sleep and do all the things "regular" people do.
If you owned a business selling widgets, wouldn't you advertise to let people in need of widgets know you're making he best daggone widgets around?
Why should your creative venture be any different?
Sincerely,
A Lover of All Things Creative
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