Print List Price:	$16.99
Kindle Price:	$10.99 Save $6.00 (35%)
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishing Price set by seller.

Promotions apply when you purchase

Add an

audiobook with Audible narration for $12.99

Audiobook Price: $17.32

Save: $4.33 (25%)

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Jeff Goins

Follow

Real Artists Don't Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age Kindle Edition

by Jeff Goins (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

1,069

See all formats and editions

Great on Kindle

Great Experience. Great Value.

Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

Have you heard it said that creatives should wait for inspiration? How about the one that says it's selling out if an artist strategizes to profit off of their work? Or that a true artist works alone? In Real Artists Don't Starve, author and creativity expert Jeff Goins has set out to replace these false narratives and replace them with timeless strategies for thriving as a creative and debunking the myth of the starving artist. From graphic designers and writers to artists and business professionals, creatives already know that no one is born an artist. Instead, those who have entered a creative field have already utilized the imagination in fundamental ways in order to accomplish what they have thus far. And contrary to popular myth, Goins believes their artistic temperament has actually given them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.Through inspiring anecdotes of successful creatives both past and present, Goins explores the tension every creative person and organization faces in an effort to blend the inspired life with a practical path to success. Being creative isn't a disadvantage for success; rather, it is a powerful tool to be harnessed.

Print length

244 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

HarperCollins Leadership
Publication date

June 6, 2017
File size

789 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Report an issue with this product or seller

Donald Miller
2,966
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $11.99
Chet Holmes
1,901
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $14.99
Greg Crabtree
1,116
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $9.99
Matt Mochary
1,049
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $8.99
Randy Chertkow
62
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $11.99
Jeff Goins
2,054
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $2.99

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jeff Goins doesn't just show us how to be more creative. He also reveals a path for turning our art into business and our business into art. Every entrepreneur, writer, and artist should read this book and take notes."
--DANIEL H. PINK, author of Drive and To Sell Is Human

"Jeff Goins has established himself as a fresh and dynamic voice inspiring us to get out of our own way and produce our best work. Real Artists Don't Starve is the work of angels: a book every aspiring writer, artist, and creative must read."
--STEVEN PRESSFIELD, bestselling author of The War of Art

"Anyone trying to make a living from their creative work will find much to steal here."
--AUSTIN KLEON, author of Steal Like an Artist

"Jeff puts to rest the myth of the starving artist. Artists not only deserve to be well rewarded, but there are more opportunities than ever for them to make it happen. This book is not only the blueprint, it's also Jeff's personal artistic manifesto. And now it's mine."
--JAMES ALTUCHER, author and entrepreneur

"Goins dispels the myth that being a creative is some illusive, mysterious dimension reserved for a chosen few. A great book for anyone bogged down by old-fashioned ideas about what it takes to be a thriving artist."
--LISA CONGDON, artist and author of Art Inc

About the Author

Jeff Goins is a writer, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur with a reputation for challenging the status quo. He is the best-selling author of five books including The Art of Work and Real Artists Don't Starve. His award-winning blog Goinswriter.com is visited by millions of people every year, and his work has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Psychology Today, Business Insider, Time, and many others. Through his online courses, events, and coaching programs, he helps thousands of creatives succeed every year. A father of two and a guacamole aficionado, Jeff lives just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N3NGAQ8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins Leadership; Reprint edition (June 6, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 6, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 789 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 244 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #421,067 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #33 in Business of Art
- #293 in Startups
- #313 in Business Encyclopedias

Customer Reviews:
1,069

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Jeff Goins

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Jeff Goins is a writer, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur with a reputation for challenging the status quo. He is the best-selling author of five books including The Art of Work and Real Artists Don’t Starve. His award-winning blog Goinswriter.com is visited by millions of people every year, and his work has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Psychology Today, Business Insider, Time, and many others. Through his online courses, events, and coaching programs, he helps thousands of creatives succeed every year. A father of two and a guacamole aficionado, Jeff lives just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

1,069 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Suzy Taylor Oakley

More than just a book of stories, RADs is a challenge to be brave

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

I’ve followed Jeff Goins for two or three years and have always found his content to be of high value. I listen to his podcast, read his books and his blog, have taken some of his courses, am a member of a few of of his online groups and just find him to be an all-around great guy.

In other words, I already liked him when I picked up his latest book.

When he published Real Artists Don’t Starve, I knew it would be good, but I didn’t expect it to be a can’t-put-down piece of work. It is that, for sure, yet I didn’t rush through it. I savored every story, from Michelangelo to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Twyla Tharp, Ernest Hemingway and Jim Henson to even more contemporary, lesser-known artists whose stories inspired me.

Jeff’s premise is that you can still be a “real artist” — authentic and true to yourself — while making money with your craft or skill.

I didn’t need convincing, but the journey to that conclusion was worth the trip.

Jeff is a master at storytelling, and his research turned up some really quirky, obscure tidbits about some of his subjects that surprised me. The Michelangelo story alone is worth the price of admission.

But RADS is not just a book of stories. It’s a book that inspired and challenged me to be braver in my established art form (writing) and also to branch out and try new things. As a “concrete-sequential” thinker who was already writing a nonfiction book, I joined one of Jeff’s 30-day challenges and started drawing again (something I hadn’t done since I was a kid), dabbled in fiction, tried my hand at calligraphy (and discovered that I love it), and even decided to write a fiction book. I could go on and on with how RADS expanded my thinking and my repertoire of creative pursuits, but please, if you enjoy creating, just buy the book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Patrick Sherriff

Good business and good art can co-exist

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

The aim of this book is to dispel the myth that real artists have to suffer for their art, to starve and emerge ennobled by the experience with some damn fine, pure art that will serve as a beautiful headstone to put on their early grave. Goins paints a compelling picture that through the ages the most successful artists - from Michelangelo to Elvis - haven't starved (obviously by definition - they were successful) and he identifies 12 principles the starving artist doesn't employ, that the thriving artist does.

The 12 points, which he lists in the introduction, are:

1. The starving artist believes you must be born an artist. The thriving artist knows you must become one.
2. The starving artist strives to be original. The thriving artist steals from his influences.
3. The starving artist believes he has enough talent. The thriving artist apprentices under a master.
4. The starving artist is stubborn about everything. The thriving artist is stubborn about the right things.
5. The starving artist waits to be noticed. The thriving artist cultivates patrons.
6. The starving artist believes he can be creative anywhere. The thriving artist goes where creative work is already happening.
7. The starving artist always works alone. The thriving artist collaborates with others.
8. The starving artist does his work in private. The thriving artist practices in public.
9. The starving artist works for free. The thriving artist always works for something.
10. The starving artist sells out too soon. The thriving artist owns his own work.
11. The starving artist masters one craft. The thriving artist masters many.
12. The starving artist despises the need for money. The thriving artist makes money to make art.

Each point then becomes a chapter that Goins fills with anecdotes to prove his case with Michelangelo as the archetype of the thriving artist. My only criticism of the book is you could say Goins is guilty of cherry picking examples to suit his argument, none of us are Michelangelo after all, but that would be missing the point, which is that good art and commerce co-exist and always have. The principles and examples he develops are good, and after finishing the book today, I can say it maps out a course worth following for any creative type who wants to do good work, as I hope to do, well into a ripe old age.

53 people found this helpful

Helpful

Larry Siegel

Too late for Me

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2023

Verified Purchase

The book details why I failed with Art Projects ...
> No master or art critic to apprentice or review me
> High school art courses forgotten
> No detailed plans, objectives or what customers wanted
> Lack of time, money and tools to do the best work
> No funding while training, learning and losing money
> Couldn't decide to be a craftman or an artist
> Passion weakens after failures and destitution
Book would have been helpful 55 years ago in my twenties, to bad for me?

Helpful

Dog Abernathy

I'd rather thrive, thank you very much!

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

I pre-ordered this book and it was delivered to me on the day of its release. It sounded interesting, and I was eager to start reading...

I devoured this book. As an aspiring artist, I had noticed several of the trends attributed to "starving artists." While I didn't like them, I thought that that was simply the way things were. A few others had bucked the trends, but me? Never! Now, this book has me seriously rethinking my entire approach to art. I'd like to make a living off of what I produce, and this book clearly delineates many of the pitfalls of the "starving artist" mentality that are perfectly avoidable. Admittedly, the chapter on stealing made me cringe a little, since I didn't like how the concept was phrased. It still applies, however, and approaching the issue with humility makes me realize that I'm going to borrow from other influences regardless of what it is called. Might as well call it stealing and learn the lessons the book has to teach.

A lot of this book is going to grate on the nerves of people who are firmly rooted in the starving artist mentality. But frankly, I'd rather be a thriving artist, and this book promises to be an excellent start to that process. It is definitely worth a read if it sounds interesting to you in the least.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Paolo

Good reading!

Reviewed in Spain on August 11, 2020

Verified Purchase

Is nice to see everything well explained. Pretty motivational book, would have loved to have more techniques, but still inspiring.

Rochelle Del Borrello

Great Read

Reviewed in Italy on June 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

Any person who wants to be creative should read this book. Totally inspirational! I'd recommend this book to everyone as it gives us new insights into the world of art and creativity

CALVIN BLACK

Smashing Myths and Inspiring Creative Work

Reviewed in Canada on June 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

Jeff Goins writes with an inspiring tone that will pull you up by the bootstraps and help you to see that your work matters. He uses detailed research and fascinating stories to weave together a tremendously encouraging book. The myth of the starving artist is so common to us that we have stopped questioning its validity. In Real Artists Don't Starve, Jeff smashes the myth and gives example after example of artists who left the promises of success to pursue their art and still were rewarded.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is pursuing their passion in art, writing, photography or any other creative outlet. There are creative and proven ways to make art and be rewarded for it. Jeff is a great writer but he is also a proven entrepreneur who understands what it means to craft a life that provides for your family and allow you avenues to do work that matters.

2 people found this helpful

Doreen

Super!!!

Reviewed in Germany on May 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit der schnellen Lieferung und das Buch ist besser als erwartet!

Translate review to English

Rubina Gomes

Must read for all artists!!!

Reviewed in India on June 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

Deciding to take the step and turn your life towards the creative life is tough one. I'm experiencing it first-hand. But if you are able to keep your head in the right place, the one in which your are able to the best version of yourself, creative living can be the best way of living. And this book helps you do exactly that. Debunking the myths one at a time, about mind-set, market and money, this book makes you realize that one can definitely make a living out of being an artist. While reading this book, different ideas were popping up in my head about how I, as an artist, be continuously creating art with my belly and wallet full. Also reading the various anecdotes made things clearer and helped me see ways I can to the same in my life. Some were even a punch in my gut, for being a fool for so long. This book is eye-opening in so many ways and it is of course a must read for every artist.

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Real Artists Don't Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age Kindle Edition

Customers who bought this item also bought

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Jeff Goins

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries