Creativity and Marketability
Hello friends,
I watched a couple of Youtube videos this past week from female creators (one of which is a poet like me) where the topic of creativity and marketability was discussed. Both links to these videos are below if anyone is interested. The first one is a video essay that does a MUCH BETTER job of explaining the sentiment I’m relating to you below.
Alice Cappelle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQHK8_dpxFY&t=653s
Savannah Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKV-cym4QfQ&t=578s
Both of these videos hit on the point that creative people, in a society where capitalism and money and time rule the day, seek to make money off of what they’re creating so that they can enjoy their work. I am the kind of person who will not work unless I am enjoying (most of) it. I hate the mentality of work being the center of my life. I used to work a job where my work schedule determined everything else: when I slept, ate, spent time with people, etc. It was awful. Maybe I’m just someone who can’t live without being creative. I hate being a slave to a schedule or to numbers and sales. I want to dedicate myself to making things...and be able to pay the bills at the same time.
In this desire rises the problem of marketability. In the pursuit of getting others to buy into what we’ve created, we become slaves not to 9-5 schedules but rather to social media algorithms, the constant movement and change of trends, and the idea that we have to limit ourselves creativity in order to remain consistent enough to stay relevant in the eyes of our online peers.
It’s exhausting. (Not quite as exhausting as my 11-11 job at a fast food restaurant. All in all, setting my own schedule, working from home, making twice as much while working half as many hours has been a dream come true for me. But...the online stuff? Exhausting.)
I feel like the appeal of being creative and making money via social media is the freedom of time, flexibility, and expression. While these things exist, I do question where is freedom in stepping around eggshells so not to be canceled? Where is the freedom in having to be one thing creatively so that people will see you as a brand and buy into what you’re making?
Truth is, my creativity comes out in a lot of ways. I love to write fantasy books and poetry. I love to read and share my thoughts on books. I love to write about the Bible and how I think many church organizations have used it to oppress women. I love making collage art in my art journal. I love Lorde and dissecting all her music. These are just a few of the creative things I get to dedicate my time to. And sure, they make me enough money to live off of, but I can’t keep up with all the things I want to do all the time and still make money. I have to hone all of my time and energy into one spot so I can pay for wifi to do it all in the first place. (Right now, that’s ghostwriting which I like A LOT...I just want to do other things too haha.)
I don’t mean to complain...because I am VERY, VERY grateful for what I get to do. I just wish creative work didn’t mean limiting ourselves creatively. I can go on Instagram and talk about poetry and poetry only for a while and get a lot of engagement off of poetry, but once I start posting about other things, Instagram sees it as “breaking the algorithm,” “no longer being consistent,” etc. TikTok is EVEN worse. So, so much worse. I feel like there is a pressure especially on young people to pick one thing you’re good at and stick with it. But maybe we’re good at many things? How do we pick and choose what to showcase on our socials so people will help us pay our bills?
Because that’s what it is haha. We’re sharing what we’ve made hoping enough people will buy it so we don’t have to go get a job we hate that sucks up all the time we would otherwise be using to MAKE COOL THINGS.
Like I’ve said too many other times in this post, it’s exhausting.
So uh...I guess welcome to The Sad Society Press - brand built around me and all the creative things I like to do. It's a brand but maybe a badly marketed one because it doesn't focus on just one thing. I want to be able to do everything I love and make money from it so that my time isn’t consumed with work that I hate, therefore leaving me with no time to do what I like!
The struggle! Lol.
Again, I love what I do. Thanks for reading my rambling complaint. I know a lot of you feel this too. Chime in with your thoughts if you’d like.
Much love,
Lydia
P.S. Here are some photos I've taken recently that I would normally post on my Instagram story but I don't want to redownload the app. So. Yes. Thanks & enjoy! :)
The moon yesterday evening:) 
Reading Psalms, digesting seemingly strange and sexist laws in Deut. (More to come.) 
I can't remember what this painting is called or who the artist is! So Sorry! 
From my trip to Red River Gorge a couple weekends ago :) I almost stepped on a timber rattlesnake in the dark and it was v not fun. We named the snake Leroy because it made me less scared of him. I really, really, really, really don't like snakes. 
Find me on my website!!
https://sadsocietypress.com/