Let's Go Again: A Philosophical and Practical Guide for Indie Creatives

We’re entering a new society, is what I said, and then laughed at hearing myself say something so extreme, but… It’s what I truly believe! Dominant narratives are losing their zing, filmmakers (and audiences!!) are more discerning than ever about Hollywood’s ultimate goals, and something new and non-dependent is rising like a perfectly baked soufflé. For the cost of an oatmilk matcha (pre-tip), yo...

Fair warning for indie artists: this episode may cause an extreme bout of optimism about the future. And not because the big institutions are coming to save us. And not because the government is funding art as if it’s a societal good. And not because somehow the American economy now works. Nope! None of those things, as far as I can see, are on the horizon. But this week’s episode of Let’s Go Agai...

ALERT THE PRESSES. You can make a body of work that reveals you to be an unpredictable genius pop star at age 42, if you so choose. Do you so choose? If this is the year you want to stop grinding against the rickety machine that someone else built and always breaks down right before you’re supposed to get paid… and instead you want to heroically hurdle yourself into space at rocket-speed toward yo...

Hi! IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR INDIE ARTISTS: What’s the difference between the independent artist who spends all their brain power on trying to “hack the system” to gain more followers and an independent artist who says whatever they want, whenever they want, how they want, with no algorithmic rhyme or reason and can still sit back and watch their career and audience grow? If you think it’s “right pl...

You’re back. I’m back. GOTTA ASK YOU THIS: Instead of giving up on getting an audience to see your art because you’d rather scoop your cat’s litter box for all of eternity than research SEO keywords for another second , What if “making content” felt more like divulging secrets to your best friend? What if content marketing was as easy for you as pickleball is for Serena? What if your content (non-...

Fellow compatriot of the Independent Class! We meet again! BIG IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR YOU: What is the difference between an independent artist who is speaking into the void and feeling bitter because even their mom has stopped liking their social media posts 😟 and an independent artist who is regularly revved up by their own ideas, has weekly brain-exploding back-and-forths with their community,...

Cue the air horns! SEASON TWO OF LET’S GO AGAIN HAS ARRIVED! This season of LGA has a very specific flavor: let’s call it Ghost Pepper. It might sting a little, but it’s also going to clear your sinuses and reveal that your lungs have about 15% more capacity than you originally thought. The deep breaths will just be that deep. With this season, I have one very specific intent: to convince as many...

We're telling the future! Spooky stuff! Once a quarter, we're taking a look at the trends popping up in art, business, and marketing and understanding how to use them in our indie art. This quarter we're diving into the Authenticity Trends marking every corner of the online and media landscapes. But don't worry, to hop on these trends, you won't have to overshare on social medi...

There you are. Facing the cursor. Waiting for Lady Inspiration to strike. Knowing that your precious creative alone time was bought and paid for by racing through your tasks at work, ignoring calls from your mom, silencing the group chat, consuming illegal amounts of caffeine, and forgoing lunch. But now that you have the creative alone time? Nothing. Nada. Your brain is as empty as your ex's...

From social media, to advertising, to community-building, how to make it as an indie artist is going through a massive transformation. There are so many ways to break through as an artist that weren't possible even just 5 years ago. In today's episode, we'll break down the Big 3 Changes making this new paradigm possible. You'll finish the episode having gained clarity on how you ca...

How do artists manage their time? How do you get things done when you have a million ideas and a million other pressing responsibilities? And how does time management improve your confidence and ability to create work? All of this in today's episode about the three "Creative Neglect" time management principles to help indie creatives do better work. Plus, your Qs about the writing pr...

No one wants to fail. Unfortunately, it's a 100% necessity if you want to succeed. But when you know how to fail better, iterate quickly, and double down on what failure teaches you, you become well on your way to turning those losses into wins. In this week's episode, we'll explore how to fail better, 4 ways to transform failure into success, and how to integrate failure as part of ou...

The Transition Era. It's a tough one. When you're in between gigs, or looking to change careers, or trying to figure out how to make money as an artist, the career decision making process can easily go from exciting to exhausting within one Google search. There are so many choices. So many options. So many opinions from experts telling us what path we should follow. But for so many of us,...

Artists are storytellers. But perhaps the loudest and most powerful stories we tell are the self-defeating ones inside our own heads. Whether you're talking yourself out of being creative, building up a strong self image, or facing your inner critic, your self talk is running all the time. Queen of Self Talk, author and speaker, Katie Horwitch, is on the show today sharing what self talk is, h...

Art jobs aren't like other jobs. There's no clear ladder toward success. You can follow all the career growth advice you want, but careers for creative people are just...different. They're non-linear. They're nebulous. They're cyclical. Sometimes they feel directionless. And that's because an artist's career path is more like a spiral than a straight line. It can make i...

How do artists make money? Ah that old chestnut. We're going to discuss this in depth today. But please be advised: this episode is not a get rich quick scheme. There are no 10 steps to follow. But, what you will find in this episode could change your whole relationship to money, inspire a ton of ways to make money as an artist, and help you figure out the precise income level that would feel...

Art, money, success. All these things seem to have everything and nothing to do with each other. In part 2 of our 3 part series on artists and money, we're discussing how shifting industries are shifting the path for artists' careers. We'll look at the fall of commercial prestige, the rise of artist to audience connection, and we'll try to answer the question "how do artists m...

How to make money as an artist is an evergreen topic. There are so many factors that affect our ability to make income through art. Systemic, temporal, personal, global factors. But when the path is cleared, and the ways to make money as an artist are clearly laid out before you, if you believe in money myths, you're still going to feel stuck. In this episode, I walk you through 4 myths I lear...

If the best teacher is hindsight, the second best teacher is someone else's hindsight. And when that someone else is a dynamic thinker and artist, even better. In today's episode, we're going to take pocket theories (helpful little theories of the creative game) from some of the greats and apply them to our own work. These creative philosophies will touch on how to ask for money, a han...

Talent is elusive. It's alluring. To some degree, we're all desperate to be talented. Being called 'talented' feels like winning. It feels like that secret voice inside our heads saying, "You're special! You're special!" might just be right. But the nature of talent isn't quite what we assume it is. In this week's episode, I'll talk about the three rul...

Traditional goal-setting is all well and good, but what if there was a faster, freer, more fun way to achieve even our loftiest goals? What if we could feel a sense of ease in going after them? In today's episode, we explore the Jungian concept of Archetypes — what they are and how to use them to reach even our biggest goals. Also, I share some advice director Mark Mylod (Succession) gave at a...

Art is magical. Art is whimsical. Art is mysterious. And yet, it would be great if we could get a business plan. How do progress your indie art career? How do you get paid? How do you grow as an artist? The answers to our most challenging questions are rarely one size fits all. More often, the answers arise from asking those questions through a dedicated practice. In today's episode, we'll...

If you haven't noticed, it's not 2003 anymore. Crazy, right? But that's good news for creatives who want cool indie careers that feel aligned, profitable, and high impact. How to make money as an artist has shifted away from the institutions bestowing fame and fortune onto us, and shifted toward the artist being in control. From the most successful artists in the world to currently unk...

Raise your hand if you've ever asked your best friend in the middle of a sobbing existential crisis: "is it too late for me to change careers?" or "is it too late to catch a big break?" or "can I start over after 30?" For cultural, temporal, and psychological reasons (among others), we get super fixated on this concept of breaking out "in time". We want...

If the very mention of SMART goals makes you want to scratch your eyes out, gather 'round friend. So often we choose creative goals based on what we think will make us happy, but the psychology of happiness explains the paradox of achieving a goal and still feeling bad. The Happiness Set Point Theory, the Hedonic Treadmill, and the unlikely role that pain plays in our overall life satisfaction...