The Truth About Money and Creative Work (No One Says This)

Season 2, Episode 10  

Money can be one of the biggest barriers in a creative life and it's also one of the least honestly discussed.

We love to say “just start” or “just create,” but access matters. Money impacts your time, your training, your tools and your opportunities. At the same time, having money doesn’t guarantee success, and plenty of people with access never follow through.

In this episode, I break down both sides of that reality. Not in a vague, inspirational way, but in a practical, grounded way that actually helps you move forward.

If money has ever made you feel behind, stuck, or like you’re already at a disadvantage, this episode will help you reframe that and figure out what to do next with what you have.

Because, yes, money is a constraint, but it’s not the end of the story.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Welcome back to your next chapter, the podcast for women who read, write, and live creatively. I'm your host, Rebecca Hasselak. And today we are continuing our constraint series. Last week we talked about time being one of the top, if not the top, barrier to creativity. And this week we are talking about money. So let's dig in. Money is one of the biggest barriers in a creative life, and it's also one of the least honestly discussed. We love to say, just start or just create. But access also matters. Money impacts your education, your training, tools, exposure, and even time. So before we talk about solutions, we need to acknowledge that reality. And as my partner always likes to tell me, he says, two things can be true at the same time. And this applies to so many different scenarios, but it's one of my favorite things because so often we sort of make these declarative statements and we assume that certain things are mutually exclusive, and it's not true. So the two truths as it relates to money are this. Number one is that privilege absolutely exists in the arts and money can accelerate growth, open doors, and create access. The second truth is that having money doesn't guarantee success, and plenty of people with access still struggle or never follow through. So both things are true. When we look at it in our own lives, the question isn't how do I succeed without money, but how do I build a creative life using what I do have right now? And of course, I do need to say, just like we talked about in our time episode, there are seasons where you're not going to have time to create, and that's okay. And there are also seasons where you're going to be in survival mode from a money standpoint, and even the idea of doing something as luxurious and as you know some might argue indulgent as creating art aren't going to be possible. And that's also okay. It's a bummer, but it's okay because eventually you will have some time and you will have the ability to pursue the artistic endeavors that you want to pursue. So if that's you right now, I see you, I feel you, and just know that your season will come, whether that's a time season or a money season, it will. So hang in there. But for everybody who does have the possibility of creating at this point in time, I want to give you some really tactical tools if money is limited. So let's think about this. The first one is kind of obvious, and yet I still think it can be massively underused. If you do not have money to pay for, let's say, mentors, coaches, courses, whatever the case may be, use the internet like it's your school. That is tip number one. There is so much available for free all over the internet. And of course, you do have to be discerning because not everything you read online is true. I think you might know that by now. But you do have to make sure that the sources where you're getting information are credible. I want to learn from actual agents, actual people in the business, editors, publishers, published authors, rather than just picking a random blog that someone wrote who may or may not actually have any experience in publishing. So you do have to be discerning. But assuming we can all do that, which you know, I believe we can, then there's so much available on the internet. You can learn almost anything for free or at a very low cost. So treat it like a curriculum, not just random scrolling. Figure out what your biggest knowledge gap is right now with your art and look for that and try to build upon that as if it was an actual curriculum. So you you know, you can look for YouTube tutorials, there's so much on YouTube. You can look for Coursera or EdX, Skillshare trials, Substacks, Podcasts. The options are truly countless. But the goal is to find credible people who are sharing things for free or at a very low cost. Also, even more underutilized than the internet is the library. I love the library. Sometimes I get a little weird and I'm like very proud of the fact that I have a library card. I'm a little braggy about it. I know it's a weird thing to feel so proud of, but truly, I love the library. Obviously, I love books, I'm a writer, but libraries are great for information just in general. There's free access to books, computers, quiet space, and sometimes even workshops. And for writers, especially, reading itself is training. Like if you want to be a writer and you cannot afford any sort of paid coaching or courses or anything like that, the number one school you can go to is the library. And you go and you read, and by reading what is published, what is successful in the market, you are going to get just a comprehensive education at no cost. And it's so enjoyable because books are amazing, you guys. So, libraries and the internet. You can do so much just with those two. The next thing is keep in mind that community often matters so much more than credentials. You don't need a formal program to grow. There's a lot of talk in publishing about people having MFAs, Master of Fine Arts. That's cool. I support education, I support degrees, I think that's pretty neat. But I do not believe that you need to have an MFA to be a published author. There are so many published authors without MFAs. There are people with MFAs who haven't become published authors. It is not a guaranteed path to success. And there are so many fields like that where there might be like a credential or a school you could go to or a degree you could get. And while it might give you a little bit of a leg up, it doesn't mean that if you don't have that, that you are sort of just out of luck. So look for things like meetup groups, open mics, community classes, local studios, or online groups. Just being around people who are creating, even if it's in a different field than your own, matters more than having the right resume. A lot of the time it really does, and networking can be so important. Just making those connections, it can really help you grow in your creative field. And also open doors eventually. This is a tricky one, this next one, because it might sound a little bit like an old school approach. But hear me out. What about a skill exchange? If you are very low on money and you want very badly to have some sort of paid resource for your work, could you offer a skill exchange? So, for example, I know most of my examples are writing, I really need to branch out here, but if I were working on becoming a published author, as I am, but I was never able to have somebody critique my work. I have paid for critiques of my work, and I'm thankful that I've been able to do that. I also, though, worked with a beta reader, a critique partner, just kind of both all in one, and we exchanged our critiques of each other's entire manuscripts. Like it was a huge investment of time for both of us, but we swapped manuscripts and we were able to provide a writer's view of grammar, story structure, just all the things that you want to know. And we're both avid readers and writers, so she gave me so many helpful insights into my novel, and I hopefully did the same for her. But that was a skill exchange, it was a one-for-one. We could help each other out, and that kind of thing can work beautifully. But even if you don't have someone who is in your same field who can maybe give you advice on your latest painting or your latest song or anything like that, you could also offer something that you do have skills in in exchange for their skill. So, for example, maybe you are a graphic designer and your ultimate goal is to be a seamstress. If you find someone who can teach you something with sewing, I don't know, you could offer to make some designs for them, for their for their company, for their social media page. Like, hey, in exchange for teaching me this sewing stitch, or in exchange for letting me use your sewing machine once a week for an hour, could I create graphic design for you, for your social media or your website once a week and kind of create an exchange program that can actually work, and people are often receptive to creative proposals like that. So that's just an idea. It requires asking, but it's more common than people think, and it never hurts to ask. The worst thing that can happen is you're told no or you're ghosted. The other thing is look for accessible mentors. There's a lot about mentorship out there. And I had a mentor for a while through the Winance Fictions Writers Association, and that was really great. I did have to pay to join the association, but it was$50 for the year, and then I was able to be matched up with a mentor at no additional cost. So that's a that was pretty affordable for me. It was really helpful. I loved working with the mentor, and I think that if you can find someone who isn't necessarily like a huge name in your field, but one or two steps ahead of you, it can be really, really helpful. So that's kind of how my mentor was. Um she was definitely further ahead in her career. She had won an award, she had self-published her book, had done really well, and she just had a lot to offer. But she she wasn't like a household recognizable name, which could be really hard to get someone like that as a mentor. But she was just as valuable, if not more valuable, because she was a couple of steps ahead of where I was at the time. And it can just be a great way to further your progress without having to pay for something. And a lot of people are really eager to be mentors. They want to help and they don't expect payment. They just honestly want to do it because they enjoy it and they want to help people succeed. So you can try to find mentors through associations, through online groups, through Googling. You could even try reaching out directly to people on social media. Again, a lot of the time they won't answer, but you can at least try. The other thing I would encourage you to do is to start where the barrier is the lowest. Every creative field has a low-cost entry point. For instance, writing is free. You can start filming on an iPhone. I don't know about Androids. I'm an iPhone girl. But anyway, I'm sure the cameras are fine on Androids. Uh, you know, dance and the other arts, they can be expensive, but if you're interested, you can honestly learn so much from YouTube. There's even an app called Dance Masterclass that has some wonderful, wonderful educational components and videos and can teach you so much. And I believe the subscription is like$27 a month. So, you know, maybe that's not affordable for some, but compared to what it costs to go to a dance studio, that is actually wildly affordable. So, you know, you can look for different options. There are also community centers that have drop-in classes or online options. Anyway, you don't have to wait for the ideal setup. If you want to create, you can find a way to at least start, even if money is an object for you. Also, be strategic with what you do spend. At some point, you may invest money into your creativity, and it might be important to do so just to get an honest insight into your field, into where you stand, into your likelihood to penetrate the market, things like that. But be strategic about it. If you're going to invest money, make sure it's with someone credible. Make sure you're not paying a ridiculous fee for a low amount of value. And ask yourself what will actually move you forward right now. Not everything is worth paying for. In my life. So the very first book I ever wrote, the very first novel I completed, it was in, I think I finished it in 2021. I knew nothing about querying. I knew nothing about getting an agent. I just knew I finished this novel and I'm ready to go. And I thought I was just gonna be able to real quickly send a few pitches, get an agent, get this thing going, get a book to like I genuinely was very ignorant. And that's okay. We all are allowed to be that at some point in our lives, but once you know better, you do better. I believe that's in Maya Angelo quote. So, in any event, after I wrote that novel, I paid, I found an editor on Upwork, and I paid, I don't know, over a thousand dollars to have her edit this manuscript. And you guys, I was not at the point to be paying for someone to edit. It can be argued that querying authors should not pay anyone to edit, and I haven't paid someone to edit my work since because there are so many reasons, I won't go into it. But anyway, the point is that was so premature, and that was a lot of money for me. I paid it in multiple installments, it wasn't like I forked over a thousand dollars right away, but it was a lot of money, and it just wasn't necessary, and that book hasn't gone anywhere because I was just too early and it was my first attempt, and when you go back and read it, you can tell it was my first attempt. I mean, the editor was great, she had great insight, she gave me really useful feedback, but it just wasn't necessary. So use the money you do spend on something that's actually gonna help you at the point where you are currently and be strategic. Also, build before you invest. It's kind of like the point of what I'm saying is I needed to learn so much more about the industry, and I needed to learn so much more about what it takes to be a published author before I started paying people to review my work. I just did, and so after my second completed novel, I spent a year just educating myself in every way, shape, and form. And yes, a lot of that was paid. I did pay to join courses, I paid to be part of associations, and so I'm well aware that that is not something that everybody is able to do. At the same time, I'm still on my journey, you guys. So, and I guarantee there are people who haven't paid to do all those things who are probably further along than me. It just depends so much on timing, on just so many factors. So don't feel disheartened if you can't pay to do that, but there is so much you can do to educate yourself, grow your art just by tapping into free resources. Also, remember that there are so many things that count as creating. It's not just when you sit down and write your song or sew the dress or write the story. Thinking, observing, and collecting ideas all count, especially in seasons where money limits your options. You might be gathering, you just might be snapping up ideas and not producing. And again, that's okay. You can have a creative life without having a creative career. And even if you want a creative career, give yourself time. That can still come. You can live creatively without monetizing immediately. That lowers the barrier to starting. One example of this is my podcast. I have told you guys I love doing this podcast. It is a creative outlet for me. I love sharing what I've learned. Hopefully, you guys find some useful things along the way. Um, I want to create value and community. And at the time of this recording, I am making zero dollars from this podcast. I actually had someone ask me the other day when I mentioned my podcast if I was making money from it, which I thought was a blunt question. But the truth is no, not yet. Maybe someday, but for now, that's not what it is about. It's about a creative outlet and a creative community. And so there are ways to be creative and to explore your interests that will not be able to be monetized for you yet, and also there are ways to be creative and live a creative life without you spending a bunch of money. So keep that in mind. The reality is that yes, some opportunities will not be accessible without money. That's true. Some doors open more easily with resources. That's real. It's okay to acknowledge. You may not have unlimited access, but you still have the ability to start, create, and learn wherever you are. So many creative lives are built before the resources are there, not after. The question is not, do I have enough? It's what can I do with what I have. And I want to share a quote from Sarah Blakely, who was the founder of or is the founder of Spanx. She is a self-made billionaire, a truly self-made billionaire. And this quote, I'm not sure if this is paraphrased, I found it online, and I always try my best to attribute quotes properly, but sometimes, you know, the chain of custody over quotes gets a little murky. So she said, in some capacity, when I didn't have any money, I had to be resourceful. And then another, another site I found that talked about Sarah, who had interviewed her, is she said, I didn't have the most experience in the industry and I did not have the most money, but I cared the most. So you guys, I mean, there are people who can thrive, who are so successful, who weren't given advantages, who don't have a ton of money to pay for guidance and access and connections, who just care. If you care deeply, if you love creating, you can absolutely find a path forward no matter your financial situation. And so I encourage you to do that. Until next time, I hope that you'll keep creating and keep turning the page.