There's a book project on IndieGoGo to publish a book called Business for the Right Brain: A Creative's Guide. M.C.A. Hogarth, the author/artist, is attempting to raise $3000 to fund the project and publish her book.

You can check out the project and donate here!

She's already written a series of columns called The Three Micahs, about monetizing artwork and turning passion into profit that I have found incredibly helpful and inspirational as I research what it takes to be a "professional" artist. Someone here on DA directed me to the Three Micahs blog and I was immediately hooked...!

She presents the concept with cute cartoon jaguars, each representing a "side" of the self-employed artist. There's Artist Jaguar, Business Managed Jaguar, and Marketer Jaguar. She explains the basics of business, time management, profit, pricing, and most importantly, how to get all three Jaguars to 'get along' in a way that makes sense to artists.

I collected all those articles into links, just for you! (they're all in order)

Intro to Art Business: Many Roles
Intro to Art Business: Products
Intro to Art Business: Know Thyself (and Have a Plan)

Why I Wrote 'Many Roles' ...and Gave it Away
A Three Micahs Interlude

The Three Micahs on: The Day Job
The Three Micahs: Day Jobs, Part 2

The Three Micahs on: Tracking
The Three Micahs on: Trending

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Graduated College

Enlisting the Aid of your Inner Customer
Time Management (this is one of my favorites)

The Three Micahs on un-slimy Marketing
The Three Micahs on Agility

Pricing (or, the 99-Cent eBook): Part 1
Pricing: Part 2
Pricing: Part 3

(Bonus Accounting Spreadsheet Template Download!)

...so there's already a LOT of information she's put out there, and I think a book full of this kind of quality information (and humorous illustrations, heh) would be a fantastic resource.

In particular, I loved reading her columns because she comes from the perspective of an artist. Traditional business advice doesn't always account for the unpredictable and flighty nature of creativity -- Hogarth gives some nice advice on how to sort of 'wrangle' your inner artist to get them focused on a project, how to deal with creative block, and how to get them to flourish without completely burning them out. It was nice to read advice that wasn't "productivity is everything laziness is the ultimate sin any unproductive moment is terrible and you should feel bad."

So... yeah. Go spread the word. Donate if you can afford to.

If not, then at least read through these articles (they're all illustrated and easy to understand) and soak in the wisdom if you've ever contemplated selling your art.