Artist Myth #10f: Agents

Myth Ten: If I only had an agent, my worries would be over.

Designer/Artist, Noah Scalin, a Richmond-based artist like myself not only made the transition gracefully, but he did it effortlessly as well. Noah had been creating art for years, but when he became focused on one project and became known as the Skull-a-day” guy, things took off and an agent came knocking within six months.

Here’s what he said during out interview, “For me, the project was different than others because it had a very distinct focus. It was about picking a place I wanted to be and making a straight line for it. One skull – one blog entry – every day.

Looking back, I can see that it was about getting on that very narrow path and making the most of all the opportunities that began to arise in the path. As a result, my book, “Skulls,” was just reviewed in Penthouse Magazine, is available in Target stores and landed me a spot on the Martha Stewart Show. In addition, my blog won the Webby Award (like the Oscar award for websites).

Noah Scalin

Noah Scalin is a blogger, musician, visual artist, author, graphic designer and founder of ALR Designs. Noah’s work at ALR has gained international exposure in over two-dozen books. Skulls, a book based on his award-winning blog Skull-A-Day, was published in October 2008 by Lark Books. skulladay.blogspot.com

Artist Myth #10d: Agents

Myth Ten: If I only had an agent, my worries would be over.

Often times there are certain things we artists look at in terms of others who have "made it," or who are in the "big time." Martha Randoplh Carr is one of those artists, as a novelist, syndicated columnist and national speaker. She's got four books out in the world, one with a movie option, a syndicated column, and a radio show. In terms of finding an agent, one would think she was an agents dream.

"But my agent said that she didn’t know what to do with me," Martha said during our interview. "Yes, my projects showcased my talents, but the nugget of my work was not consistent enough from a marketing perspective."

Look at her bio below and you'll get a feel for what I'm talking about. Publishers want to be able to brand writers because then they’ll know that they’ll get their investment back. When you stick with one thing, your ability to build a large, loyal audience over time increases.

In the past, my artistic endeavors have taken me through mediums as fast as some people change their underwear - as a jazz pianist, visual artist, alternaive rock musician, singer/songwriter, massage therapist, performer, playwright, upholsterer, etc. I could continue the list. The point is focus is the key to attracting the attention of an agent. The question is. Do you want to be an artist or do you want ot have a career as an artist?

Martha Randolph Carr

Martha Randolph Carr, is a nationally syndicated columnist, author, and speaker. She is the author of “A Place to Call Home,” (Prometheus), “Wired” (Nimrod House) and “The Sitting Sisters” (Cumberland House). Carr speaks to groups across the country through The New Voice Movement speaker’s bureau on the topics of race & politics, change, celebrating your children and spiritual growth. She is also the founder of the Family Tree Project, an online orphan registry to reunite the more than 200,000 older alumni of U.S. orphanages. She resides in New York City. www.martharandolphcarr.com