Art Money Success: Finally Make Money Doing What You Love: A Complete and Easy-to-Follow System for the Artist Who Wasn't Born with a Business Mind

I first bought this book in digital format and then bought a hard copy to make notes in. I've been a professional artist for almost 20 years and Maria's book is one of the best I've read on the business side of art. So many books and coaches say the same stuff over and over, write an artist statement, a bio, get a website, approach galleries, and hope for the best when you have time between your day job. Maria gives real-world strategies from experience that go outside of group think. Just one example is her daily-painting strategy to raise cash fast. I did it (with a few of my own embellishments) and raised almost $5,000 in a month. She has great advice on dealing with people in the industry and lots of ideas for making money.

I absolutely loved this book. After successfully working as a graphic designer for 20+ years, I'm starting a new career as a full-time artist. The problem is that I don’t know the first thing about making a living as an artist, and at 52 I'm way behind. I’ve read books and watched courses, but this was the first book that really spoke to me. It's practical and actionable. And, because Maria is a marketer rather than the artist whose work she promotes, her writing feels more objective and frank than most. She has a no-nonsense approach and go-get'em attitude, while extolling the virtues of kindness and love which are so frequently lacking in business. I also love that she draws not only from her own experience in selling her husband's work, but from many other artists she's interacted with. So it feels like she's distilling real-life wisdom from a broad community.In fact, I liked her book so much that I'm hiring her as my coach. Obviously, everyone responds to different kinds of teaching, but if you're looking for actionable advice from someone who cuts right to the chase, start with this book.

This is a fantastic book. Full of great ideas on why to stay focused on what you want.Absolutely my favorite Art business book.Thanks for writing it!

This book was a phenomenal guide and a much needed resource for me. Maria is incredibly knowledgeable and has so many situational examples that I have already begun to apply to my art business. It is truly an invaluable resource and I know I will frequently come back to it for advice!

This book is so great, after reading the first chapter I cried because it was exactly what I needed to help create a new plan for selling my work. It is a guide for anyone trying to elevate and grow their art business. Maria breaks it down into simple strategies, and speaks to us artists that really aren't marketing minded by nature ( I do realize there are exceptions, I am just not one of them!) . While I've had a certain amount of success in one genre of selling my work, I have to now create multiple streams of income with my art now and that is like starting a new business over again and creating more opportunities for collectors to see my work. I knew I needed a plan and this book is helping me break it down into actionable steps. Maria really makes it more of a simple step by step plan, and she is so down to earth in how she speaks to us creatives and doesn't get too complicated. It's a small price to pay to get solid advice and some solid business strategies, and to figure out what you really want to do with your art and how you want your lifestyle to be. And, this book makes you think about being in control of all that, because we are the ones that are truly responsible for making our work successful in how we think about it, and how much time we want to put into it.I think I'll be re-reading this one for a while! And make sure you do the worksheets that go along with it, so that it becomes solidified in your mind what your going after. Take Maria's ideas and invest time into learning and improving your marketing skills, and you can say too that you are making a living as a full-time artist!! Pretty simple - Buy the book!!

I haven't yet finished reading "Art Money & Success" but I've read enough (I've reached chapter 22) to know that I would encourage any artist to get it. It is warm and engaging, honest and sincere, positive and encouraging, but also very, very practical. It's an easy read and what I would call a 'more-ish' (more please!) kind of read. I have learnt a lot and I am perfectly satisfied that buying this book was money well invested. The advice provided is very detailed and very comprehensive. Some of what I have read corroborates some of the thoughts that had already been running through my mind, but much of what I have read has put new knowledge into my hands. I now feel much more confident about the nitty gritty details of running an arts-based business. I feel equipped ... and I haven't even finished reading it all yet. I already know that I will be reading this through a second (and maybe third) time to really absorb everything. I have skipped the writing and introspection exercises because I wanted to get through the material faster, but I would definitely like to go back and do the exercises. The only issue that I had with the book was that my version (ebook) was missing the table of contents. I wrote the author (respectfully) about it and this issue was quickly rectified. The author was even kind enough to provide me with a new digital version. Little glitches like this can happen and I can easily forgive this because we are all human, and the quality of the content far outweighed that little drawback. It's packed with good advice, the chapters are short, the writing style is inviting, and the content is easy to get through. That's why, despite the table of contents missing (and the very rare typo here and there) I would still give it five stars - great read, great book! Very happy that I got it! If I had bought the printed version (or if I ever do), I can promise you, I wouldn't be lending it to anybody ... 'cause I wouldn't want to risk not getting it back.

After I gave up teaching to pursue my dream of making my living as an artist, I bought this book on the recommendation of Michelle Lloyd, the founder of United Artspace. It is the most useful and informative book on building an art career that I've read. My fine art degree didn't equip me to survive in the modern world (the career advice I got basically boiled down to: "Try to get picked up by a big London gallery. Oh, and good luck"). It turns out that there are plenty of ways to survive, make money and even positively thrive as an artist in our connected society. Maria Brophy demonstrates it clearly in this book. What's more, she shows you how to do it in a way that avoids "selling out" or slimy aggressive sales techniques. You can sell your art by being principled and straightforward. Who knew? It was also news to me that the gallery system is no longer the only way (or even the main way) to sell your art or craft. Instead, Brophy shows that using the internet, and being willing to step just a little outside your comfort zone, allows you to be in control of the money your art generates. If you don't want to be dependent on a gallery, you don't need to. Woohoo!! Her advice is applicable to all artists, designers and craftspeople and it hits home because what she writes is what she has practiced since the 90s with her painter husband Drew Brophy, probably the world's most successful surf-art painter.Brophy starts with the basics, such as "What do you want from your art career?" finding your niche and how to identify your ideal buyer. Short exercises with worksheets help you to establish these. She then takes you step by step through promoting your work, live events, copyright issues, negotiating, making sales, contracts, and pretty much any situation or problem that you are likely to come across as an artist, designer or craftsperson. After some simple business habits and systems, she ends with some inspiration for executing grandiose visions.I feel better equipped for my new career having read this book and I know I will be referring back to it again in the coming months and years. It's all solid practical advice and information! I've read quite a few artists' guidance and personal development books and they can often have flabby bits you can skip, but this book is packed from start to finish with great ideas and sound advice! If it were a burger, it would be 100% prime beef.

The advice given in the book would only suit someone with a background in sales as it talks about aggressive marketing and selling tactics. Most artists are introverts so this wouldn’t be relevant at all.

Many people nurture the dream of successfully bringing their art into the world and earning a living in the process. This book shows how it can be accomplished.Via the well-crafted chapters of Art Money & Success, Maria guides us first inwardly (because mindset is so very important and unless our psychological compasses can be relied upon, we may not end up where we intended to go) and then outwardly: in the process of finding ways to earn money from artworks, Maria shares the many challenges, revelations, successes and pitfalls that she encountered in over two decades of working with her artist husband Drew.As I see it, Maria is the best ally that an artist could have.Each chapter covers a different subject to study and master - these pillars of knowledge will serve the reader in other departments of life too - not just in the business of creating and selling art (e.g. the advice pertaining to Negotiation and the chapter on Networking).There is so much actionable material in this book that even highly established practitioners will discover strategies that could augment/enhance their existing way of operating and magnify the value of their works.The value of this material to an emerging artist or debutante is potentially huge - when projected into their future - as long as they ACT on what they read.... which brings me to an important point:This is a book that MUST be acted upon: it presents a receptive reader with so much knowledge that to not follow through on it would leave some pretty existential questions in the reader's mind... Questions to which the book, incidentally, has answers!.. It's more than just a Book: it's also a Mirror in which a person can perceive a reflection of their desire to make their art a success.So, I heartily recommend that people involved in any creative endeavor read this book, work through these valuable pages and implement the advice to be found here.In the business of making a living from your own artwork, the trajectory of the journey and the ultimate destination are both decided by you.

I’ve honestly not read a book for over twenty years for fun but am now half way through this one - I’m an illustrator (11fingersart) and have been for many years in different avenues and have always struggled to think out the box when it comes to the next step - making money and getting noticed - obviously I’ve not seen the fruit yet but already my mind is open to new ideas and how to approach the marketing side - Maria really writes as if she’s speaking to you over a coffee - she has a great open approach and just gets your mind thinking differently - I can honestly say I can’t put it down and along with a notebook ( writing this time ) you should follow the instructions as it opens your mind set - gives you ideas not answers , gives you a path to explore - she’s honest , openMinded and pushes some marketing buttons you wouldn’t of thought of - no hesitation from me

This book really blew me away, I haven't been able to put it into words, still can't really. All I can say is thank you, thank you, I have never read a book like it. I love Maria's honesty and down to earth ways and she has altered the way I think about my art and business for the better. Jutta, Chainsaw Artist, U.K