Nicki Paull's guidebook to being a freelance professional artist in Australia today
I intended to write the book fresh out of my Masters thesis, but was way-laid by the suggestion of the then JUST Super boss that I develop a free seminar for their clients. New boss, new broom, and I spent last year with so much on my plate, touring with Keith etc, etc that the book STILL hasn't been written.
It's crying out to me to be written, but I would really like the disciplined framework of having a Thesis Supervisor in order to complete it - a mentor. It's really hard to stay motivated when there are so many other important things to make procrastination easier!
I'm currently engaged in a chicken-and-egg debate about whether depressive people become artists, or whether being an artist leads people into depression. You can email your opinions if you like, and I'll extend the scope of the debate! But for now, I am seriously considering another course of study whereby I'll have a framework for my topic and a reason to complete the book - and that means pure psychology. 'Dr' sounds a lot more...something...than 'Master'.
And then there's the difficult thing of a title......Some colleagues at writing camp suggested "You Don't Have to be Poor to be an Artist", but I still like "The Business of Being an Artist". I could go with "Everything They Didn't Teach You about Being an Artist in Arts School" but that's a bit wordy. Any title suggestions would be gratefully accepted! (The book is about the seminar explained on this site)