The Artist and the Businesswoman

Within every writer, there are two different aspects of the personality, each one battling to have their say.

The Artist...
cares about the work.

The Businesswoman...
cares about the audience.

The Artist...
sees the work as a sacred covenant between the self and the source of inspiration. Her goal is to translate these intangibles into a concrete form.

The Businesswoman...
sees the work as a series of selling points. Her goal is to find an audience who will appreciate the work, preferably showing their appreciation in the form of money.

The Artist...
wants the world to go the hell away and let her work.

The Businesswoman...
loves social interactions and takes appropriate opportunities to present the work.

The Artist...
creates messes. Like a whirlwind, she leaves behind trails of notebooks, manuscripts, dried out pens, half-read books, and receipts for coffee shops

The Businesswoman...
tries desperately to sort through the chaos and organize them neatly in three ring binders, file folders, and pencil cases.

The Artist...
knows the work will be finished when it is ready.

The Businesswoman...
knows the audience expects the product at a certain time.

The Artist...
is sick of being asked what she's writing about by people she knows won't read it.

The Businesswoman...
knows that each time she gets to talk about the book is one more opportunity to sell it to someone new.

The Artist...
hates being criticized.

The Businesswoman...
loves getting feedback.

The Artist...
cares nothing for money. She know that the true value of life comes from love, friendship, long walks in the park on beautiful days, spiritual fulfillment, a shelf full of well-paged book, and good, hot coffee.

The Businesswoman...
is obsessed with finance. She reminds the artist that love and friendship might be free, but all those paperbacks and trips to Starbucks are not.

The Artist...
needs the businesswoman to find people to read her book.

The Businesswoman...
needs the artist to create things for her to sell.

The Artist...
draws upon the businesswoman's research when she writes, making sure that the passages are clear and suitable for potential readers.

The Businesswoman...
draws upon the artist's skills when writing book blurbs and synopsis, conducting interviews, or preparing speeches.

Both...
are in competition for the same precious resources: time, energy, and money.

Neither...
come perfectly-formed into existence. They must be nurtured and educated.

Both...
are creative, must take risks, and suffer a full range of mood swings, from elation, frustration, fear, anxiety, annoyance, and occasionally despair.

Neither...
can fully be divorced from the other.

As a writer you must take care to develop both aspects of your personality, finding value in each and giving both time to grow. It doesn't mean you have to develop them simultaneously or even in equal measure. Both sides can be ignored for a time--and may even benefit from the rest--but they cannot be ignored forever. They must learn to compromise over decisions and find an ethical, productive, and satisfying way to co-exist.