5 takeaways on trying to "make it" as an artist

plus, grief & preservation

Top takeaways from the Making It podcast thus far

One reason I started this show is because I felt a lot of loneliness and angst wrapped up in my pursuit of my writing career. I wanted to hear that I wasn’t alone in the parts of it I’m struggling with. And I have heard that. I’ve also felt inspired and motivated (I hope you feel the same when you listen! And if I do say so myself, I think you will).

Among the five episodes I’ve recorded so far, here are some themes and takeaways I’ve gathered:

• We’re all contending with the sense of urgency that comes with modern life in general, but that is particularly inherent to the process of trying to “make it” in creative fields that are, notoriously, challenging to break into. Some I’ve talked to have really good strategies for combating that urgency (stay tuned!).

• No matter your accolades, social media followers, and importantly, talent, everyone deals with rejection. Everyone has to pivot. Everyone has to be their own biggest cheerleader.

• Existing under capitalism and the digital age requires us as artists to compartmentalize and have boundaries. Our creative practice is sacred (and as an vehemently nonreligious ex-Catholic, I use the word “sacred” very sparingly—so I mean this). Whether you make money from your art or not, you have to find a way to protect your relationship to that art.

• We all compare ourselves to other artists in our field on social media. We should stop doing this, for a lot of reasons, but for one, you are probably the person someone else is comparing themselves to.

• “Making it” can mean whatever you want it to mean, and as early as you can, it’s wise to include your physical and mental health in your definition (maybe this seems obvious to you; it has not always been obvious to me).

My super sophisticated recording set-up

ICYMI, I’ve been posting snippets from the episodes that are coming out October 22nd. Here’s Zoe Branch talking about “climbing cringe mountain” to promote your work, Namitha Rathinappillai on one important definition of “making it,” and Jess Janz on how critical staying present and noticing is to the writing process.

A note on grief

Part of grief, for me, is wanting to preserve everything I can from what was lost. I want to keep the artifacts exactly as they were. I have a lot of things—clothes, letters, jewelry—that were once my mother’s or that she gave to me. There’s a note that I keep in a frame. Today, I went to switch to another frame, one that’s cuter and in better shape, but as I placed the paper on top of the glass, I realized I’d have to fold its edge about half an inch to make it fit. I put it back in the frame that is falling apart.

I have a heart drawn by my mother tattooed on my finger. I have the words “lots of love” on my forearm in the handwriting of a grandfather I never met.

I have an estranged brother, and I wish I had something of his or from him to keep in-tact.

For years, I had dreams of bringing my wife to the house I grew up in. Knocking on the door and asking the new owners if we could come in. “Here’s where this happened,” “here’s where this picture and that picture hung,” and “here’s where I slept,” I thought I could say. But because my father keeps sparingly in touch with the new owners, I know that they remodeled.

I can’t decide which is worse: the idea of never entering the place again, or of seeing it reconstructed.

What do you like about newsletters, and is there anything you want to see from this one?

For those of who have made it the end, tell me: if you have newsletters you consistently read, what do you like about them? Is there anything you want to read from me?

Let me know :)

xxx

Elle