Praying for the Big Score

photo courtesy of tao_zhyn

Like artists, musicians, and writers, game designers may find it difficult to have a full-time career following their creative pursuits. The struggling artist stereotype suggests that you do what it takes to get to pay the bills, while praying that someday you’ll attain that mega-hit that will erase your financial worries.

Tough way to try and make a living.

Is there another way? Is it possible to have a sustainable career in the arts without hoping for an all-or-nothing proposition?

Kevin Kelly seems to think so.

Kevin has blogged on a concept he calls 1,000 True Fans, an alternative to praying for the big score. He simply states:

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

The idea is to build a super-dedicated group of fans so that if you manage to sell a fairly small amount to each — say $100 per year — then that would be enough to sustain your artistic career. Note: the 1,000 figure is not intended to be a precise target for everyone; the point is that whatever the number is for your situation, it’s far less than the numbers needed for the mega-hit that very few artists end up getting.