Myth #2: You have to live in LA or New York to be a real artist

The other day I was in Staples, picking up a draft of my memoir. As I was waiting in line, I started to make small talk with an older women standing beside me. She was picking up a poster for her dog that was missing. I told her what I was doing and soon the conversation involved another woman making copies nearby.  It ended up both women were writers, one had published four children’s books and the other had a friend who was involved in the publishing world in some way. Before I left, we exchanged cards and I drove home astonished, once again, by the random contacts and connections that exist all around us in any given moment.

 It’s true, every person you meet has the potential to buy a ticket for your show, purchase a painting, buy your book, and connect you to someone in the know.

Gone are the days when you literally had to write to a journalist living in New York to get an article in the New York Times. There are freelance journalists living all around us that send stuff off to national publications every day. My press exposure in the New York Times, Backstage Magazine and American Theatre Magazine were all the result of local contacts.