I’d Rather Be in the Studio!: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion

The book content is very helpful and up to date. Great for experienced and beginning artists. Alyson is an experienced and knowledgeable teacher-I have taken a number of her classes and of course bought her first edition of I'd Rather Be in the Studio. If you have enjoyed any of the earlier versions like I have then this is a must buy. I had a little trouble with the binding however I could see that this the book I need right now so I ordered the Kindle version.

A perfect Christmas gift... bought this Guide for a great artist who is on the brink of much success.... thought this would possibly add some tips to hasten the success in the New Year.

Good advice! Harder to implement if you really WOULD rather be in the studio. It would be so much easier to just wave a wand if possible, but since the work must be done to set a foundation for sales, the author offers concrete steps to follow.

Really good instructions.. Unlike some marketing books that want you to buy their magazine advertising, this is a book of really helpful instructions and her writing style is easy to read, follow and understand.

Great for those starting out, or established artists. A wealth of information. Can be overwhelming at times. But, there are plenty of insightful tips.

Textbook for a class. 5 stars for being on kindle. Haven’t finished reading it though

This book has a lot of good ideas and motivates you. It lists some websites with tools to use for marketing too.

Marketing art is not an artist's favorite thing to do, and so the title of this book. But if you think you may be overwhelmed by all it takes to market your art, drop that thought. There's enough in this book to help you take important baby steps and not get overwhelmed by it. For me there was comfort in just reading about things that seemed to say "the least you can do is…." Then the braver you get, the more tools you'll have. It will help you focus.I own three editions. The first one is so dog-eared, highlighted and bookmarked that I got another to wave around at artist group meetings I've hosted or attended when we talk about how to sell your art. In fact that first book arrived in the mail two days before a large art museum's artists guild asked me to speak about marketing art just because I'd cobbled together tips and ideas from fellow members of my own local artists guild that I hosted for four years in a burbs town outside of Atlanta. Also, after retiring from marketing-drenched years as a magazine art director I felt brave enough to take on that talk.But then here came this book and it helped bring all of my random thoughts into focus. Plus it had HUNDREDS of ideas beyond what my pitiful amateurish talk would have contained. I waved it around and listed it on my handouts. My talk was more of an INTRODUCTION TO "I'D RATHER BE IN THE STUDIO." And I gave most of the credit to The Master, Alyson Stanfield. (TRUTH!) But I was close enough to these other artists to know what our fears were and bring the points home face to face.I chose to purchase this latest edition just to see what updates appear about the rapidly changing world of online efforts to promote art. That's where my interest began. The author addresses the importance of social media. It's how my work was discovered and ended up in three art museum exhibitions including my own solo show and am now working on a large commission for a new museum just being built. THIS STUFF WORKS, FOLKS. BUY THE BOOK! GET YOURSELF OUT THERE! Everything is possible when you do the work and believe in what you love.

There are some things that you just need to jump on quickly before they run out so I pre-ordered a copy of the 10th Anniversary edition of Alyson Stanfield's marketing bible: I'd Rather Be in the Studio. It recently came in the mail and I immediately started reading it. I also own the original version and loved it, but this edition has been updated to include latest best practices for social media as well as other additions. Already, I finished most of the book and started taking action on many of the steps.Organized by typical excuses Alyson has heard artists make over the course of her coaching career, each chapter clearly outlines specific actions an artist can take to up their marketing game. The book is packed with so many great promotion ideas. Some are quick and simple while others are processes that take several steps to accomplish, but if you are serious about making money from your art, you can do it. There are ideas for blog posts, creating an artist statement, attracting media attention and much more.She breaks down a complex often overwhelming arena of, self-promotion into small practical steps. It's up to you to take the action. This is a work book not a sit-on-the-shelf reference. The author recommends breaking the spine and writing all over it. (I went to catholic school and that isn't happening for me. The best I can do is underline neatly in erasable pen.)After reading and talking action on some of the steps myself, I can say that it's some of the best advice I've ever read for my business and art life. As a creative, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the countless tasks that need to be accomplished to promote your work. The book gives you ways to reduce overwhelm and clear your mind. Not only have my business practices improved, but so has my artwork.Taking to heart the advice that "you are not an artist unless you are making art" I am spending much more time in the studio and more focused time on the business aspects of an art career, leading to greater efficiency overall. I finally have guilt free time to smell the roses and fill my creative well because I have systems in place that keep me from the anxiety of always feeling like there is something I forgot to do.I highly recommend this book, but only if you want to make money from selling your art. It is a clear, no excuses action plan to take to up your marketing game. I'd Rather Be in the Studio is an excellent resource for artists who sell their work.

Easy to read and follow with lots of tips. Excellent

book in exact condition as stated. arrived early! :)

I had been following Alyson B. Stanfield's online ArtBiz blog for some time and then I signed up for her online class: Blast Off. It covered all aspects of defining, starting, organizing and working an art business in a highly efficient way, no nonsense. Her book I'd Rather Be in the Studio is a very organized, straight forward collection of all she teaches and coaches to her students. No matter what your artistry or for that matter, your "any" business, the principles of her coaching apply to it all.I have embarked on a journey creating an art space/studio and wanted some business inspiration and this was definitely the right choice.Ms. Stanfield's writing is clear, concise, detailed, inspiring and above all gets right to the heart of the matter, what we all want: CREATING SUCCESS for ourselves. Yes, highly recommended.

Good motivational book for those of us out there that need a nudge in the right direction. If you are an artist or anyone pursuing a passion in life you are probably all too familiar with making excuses for why not to do something. Whatever those reasons may be this book serves as a helpful guide to jump start your career or breath life into those complacently coasting. If you are passionate about your art, but just don't know how to stop make excuses for your own success this is the book for you.

This is one of the rare books where the author does not need make the book one or two inches thick to look like a lot of information. She writes like a journalist so she gets to the point in a very short time. Even if you already know some of the suggestions, it provides a solid, well organized plan for running an art business. In fact, just having it no the shelf is an inspiration knowing that organization for an artist is indeed possible.

I am starting to seriously think about how to begin to do art again and build clientelle. This book is direct and straightforward--an excellent reference book that helps give direction to how to get into the industry and how to market work whether it be on a small scale or large one. It's also encouraging because if you really know how to get started, artwork can be a business. I so appreciate the message in the book and will use its advice and resources as I move ahead.

Definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking to take their art career to the level of a thriving business. This is not a how to be a better artist but a how to start a functioning independent selfemployed business, without compromising yourself as a creative. Yes and she does really bring up all the excuses artists use! Guilty! It will change your focus! Don't sit and wait to be discovered...direct people to you and your work!

Excellent book. The advice is mostly common sense, and the style of writing logically flows from one section to the next. I read it through cover to cover and plan on going back to re-read and work on the areas where I am weakest. I can see this will be a very useful book for many years to come. Glad I purchased it and now I've got to do the work...