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Organizing Your Creative Career
"Sheila gave me the tools to hunt success, and the infrastructure to handle it when it came" Stik, world renowned street artist and author
Most of the conventional productivity advice you'll find in the soft business section simply does not work for creative people. Surprisingly, to date there has not been a single book that addresses the unique organizational challenges that artists face. This book sets out to change that, it addresses the myth that truly creative people are messy and that they need mess in order to create. Sheila Chandra applies her professional insights as a creative and organizing expert to the lives of other busy creative people in all disciplines showing them how good organization can liberate their creative magic. She begins with artists physical spaces, including arranging their workspaces and offices so that they remain tidy effortlessly. Her career headspace chapters cover:
creative well-being, including artist support systems
career well-being, including networking and collaborations
self-promotion and how to avoid working for free
making social media pay
personal branding, career planning and goals
how to manage copyright issues and legal paperwork
legacy management
And all from an artist’s point of view. These fool-proof, tried and tested systems are mixed with creativity tips and artist well-being advice that only one artist knows to give another. Written with real affection for the reader, Sheila Chandra takes the creative person by the hand and puts them on the path to success.
Most of the conventional productivity advice you'll find in the soft business section simply does not work for creative people. Surprisingly, to date there has not been a single book that addresses the unique organizational challenges that artists face. This book sets out to change that, it addresses the myth that truly creative people are messy and that they need mess in order to create. Sheila Chandra applies her professional insights as a creative and organizing expert to the lives of other busy creative people in all disciplines showing them how good organization can liberate their creative magic. She begins with artists physical spaces, including arranging their workspaces and offices so that they remain tidy effortlessly. Her career headspace chapters cover:
creative well-being, including artist support systems
career well-being, including networking and collaborations
self-promotion and how to avoid working for free
making social media pay
personal branding, career planning and goals
how to manage copyright issues and legal paperwork
legacy management
And all from an artist’s point of view. These fool-proof, tried and tested systems are mixed with creativity tips and artist well-being advice that only one artist knows to give another. Written with real affection for the reader, Sheila Chandra takes the creative person by the hand and puts them on the path to success.
- GenresNonfiction
255 pages, Kindle Edition
8 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Chandra
4 books6 followersRenowned World Music singer Sheila Chandra turned non-fiction author in 2010, following voice problems which forced her to retire from her international music career. She says writing has become her 'second voice'.
After being urged by friends to share her secret to living clutter free despite having a demanding career, she wrote Banish Clutter Forever outlining her own system for home organizing - which she says makes daily tidy ups redundant 'pretty much forever'.
In 2008 she met then homeless street artist Stik and began to mentor him. Stik has gone on to become one of the most famous and collectable street artists in the world. Early on, she wrote a guide to organizing his artist career just for him - and following his success he encouraged her to expand it and get it published as 'Organzing Your Creative Career'. A new print edition of the book - including a new chapter on pricing and funding - is out on 14th January 2020.
Sheila says: 'Most thriving professional artists don't have time to coach and encourage other artists. But now I have the time to, and my loss can be their gain. I wanted to write 'Organizing Your Creative Career' particularly for emerging artists who don't come from an artistic background and who maybe lack contacts, peers and the information on work culture that's so crucial to being a success.'
She now coaches creative people all over the world via Skype.
www.sheilachandrabooks.com
www.sheilachandracoaching.com
After being urged by friends to share her secret to living clutter free despite having a demanding career, she wrote Banish Clutter Forever outlining her own system for home organizing - which she says makes daily tidy ups redundant 'pretty much forever'.
In 2008 she met then homeless street artist Stik and began to mentor him. Stik has gone on to become one of the most famous and collectable street artists in the world. Early on, she wrote a guide to organizing his artist career just for him - and following his success he encouraged her to expand it and get it published as 'Organzing Your Creative Career'. A new print edition of the book - including a new chapter on pricing and funding - is out on 14th January 2020.
Sheila says: 'Most thriving professional artists don't have time to coach and encourage other artists. But now I have the time to, and my loss can be their gain. I wanted to write 'Organizing Your Creative Career' particularly for emerging artists who don't come from an artistic background and who maybe lack contacts, peers and the information on work culture that's so crucial to being a success.'
She now coaches creative people all over the world via Skype.
www.sheilachandrabooks.com
www.sheilachandracoaching.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 25, 2021
Extraordinary assured book for any creative person to read. Chandra leaves no topic talked about and even though some topics didn’t apply to me, the advice and practical strategies for the independent artist were found all over this book. A winner through and through and a must have for any artist of any discipline.
December 31, 2019
A good reference/resource for those doing a creative career at home. Things to consider and ways you could set some of it up. Does look at spots of good and bad in organizing your stuff. Topics to consider while you are setting it up or looking to refresh your area.
January 12, 2020
Organizing Your Creative Career by Sheila Chandra is a book that I think people just starting out in a creative career as well as those who are finding things a struggle and need helpful advice to get things back on track eould find useful. I have ADD so I found the chapters on organizing your work space to be especially pertinent and I am implementing a number of the ideas she suggested and finding them to be beneficial. She includes chapters on financial planning and budgeting, organizing your workspace, when to get professional help, creativity and well being and Self Promotion. A number of the things she says are just common sense but having them explained clearly and with step by step plans for implementing them makes this book a great resource to keep on hand. I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Publishing Date January 14, 2020. #NetGalley #OrganizingYourCreativeCareer #SheilaChandra #WatkinsPublishing
December 12, 2021
This book offers some valuable advice on deadlines, creative routines, and discipline, as well as knowing your worth and sticking to it.
That said, I dropped it within the first five chapters, twice — purely because of how so much of the home office/organizational recommendations seemed outdated. For example, my only physical planning tool is a meticulously-kept bullet journal, combined with an additional system on Notion for my blog and branding, and a calendar that syncs to all of my devices for easy reference. In this book, there’s no such thing as Notion. Mentions of anything computer-based are in “quotes” like it’s 2001. You’re supposed to have a planner, a diary, and an A5 notebook. Also, go out and get a filing cabinet, and a printer, even though every contract I’ve signed has been digital since the day I entered the workforce. This book was first published in 2017.
The first four chapters are littered with suggestions you might not find helpful if you’ve been to university anytime from 2012 onward. The other seven chapters do make up for it in practical small-biz knowledge.
That said, I dropped it within the first five chapters, twice — purely because of how so much of the home office/organizational recommendations seemed outdated. For example, my only physical planning tool is a meticulously-kept bullet journal, combined with an additional system on Notion for my blog and branding, and a calendar that syncs to all of my devices for easy reference. In this book, there’s no such thing as Notion. Mentions of anything computer-based are in “quotes” like it’s 2001. You’re supposed to have a planner, a diary, and an A5 notebook. Also, go out and get a filing cabinet, and a printer, even though every contract I’ve signed has been digital since the day I entered the workforce. This book was first published in 2017.
The first four chapters are littered with suggestions you might not find helpful if you’ve been to university anytime from 2012 onward. The other seven chapters do make up for it in practical small-biz knowledge.
November 20, 2019
When our alumni get asked what the most important skill they learned in graduate school was, nearly all will say, "Time management!" And yet, recently a student asked to recommend a book which would teach this skill for creative professionals, and I had no go-to title.
I realized my own unconscious bias--that time management was something one learns from doing, from observing what works for others in the industry, and that one cobbles together a selection of tricks and techniques in a personalized way. Then, along came this book and here we have it: a road map, explanations, documentation of techniques.
Chandra has some excellent advice on streamlining creative productivity. I particularly appreciated the section discussing why you should outsource elements of the work that you can, such as, say, hiring someone to prime your canvases or buying pre-primed where you can, to conserve your energies for the artistic work of painting. I constantly reinforce this with my graduate students in terms of planning workflow: if you can delegate it, do so and focus your expertise on the tasks no one but you can take care of. I particularly appreciate the way the author addresses the stereotype of the Chaotic Genius. This stereotype is alive and well, even among people who decide to pursue graduate study in their artistic disciplines.
Chandra also includes some pearls of wisdom such as "don't hire your friends/family" and "the Pomodoro method really does result in work/rest balance", and goes on to explain why. She also has some great tips on accounting, networking, and streamlining the more "boring" parts of being a success in a creative field.
One thing that struck me as odd about this book is the life-organization/scheduling/admin section. It was written as if smartphones don't exist. Chandra offers lots of solid advice about tracking different types of tasks and responsibilities, but she's developed a system that is entirely paper-based for which one must adopt the use of a ruled notebook, a diary, Post-It notes, a physical calendar, and a three-tray file for paperwork sorting. It struck me as a bit archaic and perhaps even difficult to apply to a digitally-connected artist. I got some tips from this section, but most are applicable to how I use extant apps on my iPhone. It's strange, because throughout the section on organizing your creative process, she DOES talk about digital organizational tools you can use (folders of bookmarks, templates you find online, etc). I dunno. It doesn't make the advice itself obsolete, but I mentally substituted useful apps for the physical-world techniques throughout that whole bit.
Basically, this book is what I will recommend in future to students who ask for resources on how to manage their time, how to increase productivity, and how to not just survive as a working artist but actually succeed (and still have time/energy for other things, like a family life or athletic pursuits or whatever).
I received an advance readers' copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I realized my own unconscious bias--that time management was something one learns from doing, from observing what works for others in the industry, and that one cobbles together a selection of tricks and techniques in a personalized way. Then, along came this book and here we have it: a road map, explanations, documentation of techniques.
Chandra has some excellent advice on streamlining creative productivity. I particularly appreciated the section discussing why you should outsource elements of the work that you can, such as, say, hiring someone to prime your canvases or buying pre-primed where you can, to conserve your energies for the artistic work of painting. I constantly reinforce this with my graduate students in terms of planning workflow: if you can delegate it, do so and focus your expertise on the tasks no one but you can take care of. I particularly appreciate the way the author addresses the stereotype of the Chaotic Genius. This stereotype is alive and well, even among people who decide to pursue graduate study in their artistic disciplines.
Chandra also includes some pearls of wisdom such as "don't hire your friends/family" and "the Pomodoro method really does result in work/rest balance", and goes on to explain why. She also has some great tips on accounting, networking, and streamlining the more "boring" parts of being a success in a creative field.
One thing that struck me as odd about this book is the life-organization/scheduling/admin section. It was written as if smartphones don't exist. Chandra offers lots of solid advice about tracking different types of tasks and responsibilities, but she's developed a system that is entirely paper-based for which one must adopt the use of a ruled notebook, a diary, Post-It notes, a physical calendar, and a three-tray file for paperwork sorting. It struck me as a bit archaic and perhaps even difficult to apply to a digitally-connected artist. I got some tips from this section, but most are applicable to how I use extant apps on my iPhone. It's strange, because throughout the section on organizing your creative process, she DOES talk about digital organizational tools you can use (folders of bookmarks, templates you find online, etc). I dunno. It doesn't make the advice itself obsolete, but I mentally substituted useful apps for the physical-world techniques throughout that whole bit.
Basically, this book is what I will recommend in future to students who ask for resources on how to manage their time, how to increase productivity, and how to not just survive as a working artist but actually succeed (and still have time/energy for other things, like a family life or athletic pursuits or whatever).
I received an advance readers' copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 4, 2024
This book is definitely geared towards people who already have an established creative career and are looking to become more organized and push their career to the next level. As someone just starting out, this book wasn’t quite for me, but there was still some good advice in it, and I enjoy the way it was written. Definitely a book I’d like to revisit at some point.
October 13, 2020
I had read Sheila Chandra’s previous book (and I’m old enough to remember her pop career), and she has come up again with some useful advice. She outlines the pitfalls, but is not pessimistic. She knows her stuff.
November 11, 2019
I loved this. Everything was exactly how it should be and it will really help anyone who's career driven. 5/5 stars
February 24, 2020
Organizing Your Creative Career is an excellent book for anyone pursuing a career as an entrepreneur in the creative field. This subject is hardly taught in schools yet, so important when you want to run your business in any form of art successfully.
The book aims at a vast spectrum of creatives; there's a lot of difference between writers, actors, and painters, for instance, so some parts will not be necessary for every form of creativity, but when you are looking for a book to get a better view of organizing your creative business, it is a must-read.
The book aims at a vast spectrum of creatives; there's a lot of difference between writers, actors, and painters, for instance, so some parts will not be necessary for every form of creativity, but when you are looking for a book to get a better view of organizing your creative business, it is a must-read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews