Creative people are cursed - we're driven to chase what excites us, but have a hard time doing anything that doesn't bring joy, satisfaction and growth. It may feel like, since we're tapping into the pure source of raw inspiration, we should get paid to share out insights and gifts. But in practice, most creative people never find a way to make their art or writing profitable, which means at the end of the day, we're stuck paying for an expensive hobby.
It took me years as a frustrated, starving artist before I even considered doing it a different way. And I'm still not where I want to be. Some of my most cherished products never took off, or died on the vine. I had to "compromise" (yuck) by figuring out what people are willing to pay for and what I don't hate to do. But I've also managed to turn my passions into a semi-successful suite of digital products and services, which earn enough passive income for me to be my own boss, binge Netflix and sometimes write fantasy novels.
And while I may not make a ton of money, I have the satisfaction of helping tens of thousands of creatives through my free tools and resources. Weirdly, I mapped out my "6 stages of Creative Independence" years ago, when I was just getting started, and have yet to finish "the Paid to Create" book I intend to write. So instead, I've decided to start with this course.
I'll walk you through everything you need to start your own successful creative business, whether you're an artist, writer or service provider.THE SIX STAGES
- Creativity: let your imagination run wild
- Productivity: produce quality work, faster
- Publicity: make it easy to share remarkable content
- Liberty: resist your limitations
- Community: attract people you love
- Luminosity: be a guiding light
Your Instructor
Derek Murphy has a PhD in Literature and has been featured in CNN for hosting writing retreats in medieval castles. After working with thousands of authors as a writing coach and developmental author, he began developing plotting cheatsheets and advanced writing tips for authors that now have nearly 3 million views on YouTube.