The secret life of YOUR art

Your creations are doing things behind your back.

I’m mid book launch.

I’ve been championing We Need Your Art like a good book mama.

But it’s made me think a lot about the impact of our creations, beyond our own hustle, podcast, social media campaign, championing. It’s made me think about the work our art does for us.

I’ve been doing a lot for this book launch, if you’re interested in what exactly, I wrote a substack about it.

We Need Your Art comes out in two days time. When she comes out, she’ll be taking some of the work out of my hands, because when you release your art, your art start a life of her own.

It’s time for me to trust that my work is brilliant and she will take care of artists and change creative’s lives. But something else I must understand is that I won’t SEE or KNOW about a lot of the work my book is doing.

SECRET WORK

When you share you art, she starts doing work for you. Sometimes you’ll see the work she does, in the reviews or an email of a reader. But oftentimes, it’s secret work. Your art leads a secret private life, she doesn’t tell you about all that she’s doing. But she’s talking to people, getting stuck in people’s heads, changing lives on the sly.

People will see your creation and they won’t like the post, they won’t reach out to you, you won’t ever know that your art spoke to someone, but it happened. Your creation’s impact is spreading in secret. Your art is out there now—moving through the world, making quiet ripples, changing lives you’ll never even hear about.

I will still be championing my book after in launches, of course. Hell, I’ll be championing this book in twenty years. This is a book whose impact will be felt long after launch week! But, as soon as the book in readers hands, a new journey begins that has very little to do with me. I am so excited for that.

Success isn’t always something we can measure

I watched Conclave on the plane yesterday, Raph Finnes moved me to tears. The whole movie did actually. Raph, nor the sound engineer, nor the cinematographer, nor the writer will never know the impact it had on me. I saw a mural in NYC today that delighted me. DELIGHTED. The painter will never know that their work did that. I have consumed writing online that has changed me and enraptured me so much that I have forgotten to like or comment on it.

The thing is, as artists, we just don’t know what our art is doing out there.

I’ve told this story before, but let me tell it to you again to really hammer home the point. I was at a book event end of last year. I was introduced to an incredible man who told me about the film he had just wrapped, it was an -unbelievably audacious, brave, world changing project. I was in awe of him immediately. Like, I felt shy around him knowing the work he did. During the event, I spoke briefly to the group about my work and writing, and thought nothing much of it. As I was leaving the venue at the end of the night, he approached me and said these words.

“I don’t want to make you cry.”

I remember those words so clearly.

“But it was you.”

I was like, me? What did I do? Panic!!

“It was because of you I finished that film. It was because of your work. I didn’t realise who you were, but it’s your work that allowed me to do this.”

I really don’t have words to properly describe that moment for me.

I followed him later that evening and HE DIDN’T EVEN FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM.

I don’t understand how or where my work had impacted him, but it had.

We cannot understand the work our art does on our behalf. We cannot understand how our art will find its people, or even where our art will make itself known. We simply cannot know the secret life of art.

I hope this little musing remind you that your impact is beyond what you see, and your sharing your art is more generous than you could ever know.

Here’s to trusting our creations to go where they need to go, to do what they came here to do.

BUY WE NEED YOUR ART.

This book is going to take care of you on this journey of centring your creations in your life. I can’t wait for you to get your hands on her. She is going to wrap you up in inspiration, love, and trust.

Tour dates for We Need Your Art:

It would be the greatest honour to get to meet you, sign your book, write you your own personalized inspiredtowrite love note. Hug you. Hear about your art. Bask in your creative magic.

USA EAST COAST

The BookMark Shoppe Brooklyn 11th March 2025 7pm - BUY TICKETS HERE

Head House Books, Philly, 13th March 2025 6:30pm - BUY TICKETS HERE

Taylor Co Books, Brooklyn, 14th March 2025 7:30pm - BUY TICKETS HERE (just scroll down the home page!)

UNITED KINGDOM

Morocco Bound Bookshop", 25th March - BUY TICKETS HERE

AMSTERDAM

Scheltema, 5th April, 2pm - BUY TICKETS HERE!

BERLIN, SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE!

I am going to be all up and about your business. Please stay tuned

JOIN THE INSPIRED COLLECTIVE.

Enrolments open MARCH 17TH 2025 for a week ONLY.

Embark on a transformative six-month journey with The Inspired Collective, where we'll dive deep into the principles of We Need Your Art. Together, we'll overcome creative blocks like impostor syndrome and perfectionism, fostering a supportive environment to nurture your artistic ambitions. You will become a part of a creative family. My family.