Chapter 6 Blog Post

• The more organized you make your office the less time you will have to spend there. Leaving more time for making art!

• In an ideal office space there will be a desk, filling cabinets, a computer, a printer, a telephone and a comfy chair. If this in not yet possible for you? Get a filing box to store all your materials and use the computer at a public library.

• Genius begins great works: labor alone finishes them. Joseph Joubert

• Keep clear and accurate records of everything that you do. Such as having copies of every letter and show application you send out, write confirmation letter for each phone call made and notes from all your conversations. Not keeping an efficient paper trail can cause you to lose expensive slides, remember your promises, misplacing art and messing up relationships you worked hard to build.

• You will want to create some basic standardize materials for your career such as stationery and envelope templates, a standard cover letter for sending out slides, your bio, your artist statements (one for each body of work), slide labels and a mailing list. It’s a good idea to make two copies of your materials and keep them in different places.

• Keep your filing system simple and direct.

• Keep track of all you do, suggestions for mailing items use a Materials Out List, for tracking the locations of your artwork use an Inventory List and for consigning your work to galleries use a Consignment Form.

• Be consistent when pricing your work! The art world is very small you do not want to bring into question the value of your work or seeming unprofessional.

• In the beginning pricing your work on the lower end will help to sell it and create a following. But do not go so low as to not be taken seriously.

• Keep an inventory list of the date, gallery, the sales person, the purchaser’s name, and their address and phone number. They are your supporters; you have a right to their information.

• Write an invoice for every sale, give a copy to the client and put another in your file. Design a standard one and include on it the date, name of gallery, title of piece, and description of purchase, retail price, any commission or discount information, the total amount due and received. If it was sold from the galleries inventory, if it was shipped from your studio and method of shipping.

• Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain

• When shipping your art prepare for whatever can go wrong. Insure your artwork shipment. If the package is damaged upon arrival advise pictures be taken.

• A very powerful tool is to create a mailing list. Always mailing announcements to those on your list with benefit your career. Include family, friends, coworkers. Doctors, dentist and insurance agents, etc..

• I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. Douglas Adams

• The saints are the sinners who keep on going. Robert Louis Stevenson

• Keeping good clear records will help you at tax time. You will need to add a Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business or Profession) to your tax returns.