Darryl Ratcliff Is Writing A Book

Sometimes I close my eyes and see thousands of beautiful creative people moving in unison – marching towards a new world ruled by the creative class that is exciting and fun, friendly and sustainable. I don’t imagine that painters will ever go to strip clubs and make it rain – but that they will be able to afford a home in a nice neighborhood with good schools. I imagine that kids in Brazil will be able to follow the poetry scene of kids in Dallas – that the art student in community college is engaged with the art student in South Africa. I often imagine everyone, everywhere, will be dancing.

Most importantly I imagine that an entirely new genre will be recognized for artists – that of people. The ability to motivate, manipulate, and use people to accomplish things in real life will become the realm of artists – an entirely new discipline that combines creativity with business, passion with pragmatism, sense with sensibilities. Although I believe there will always be a place for the traditional arts of paintings and plays – I think the most exciting art being made won’t look anything like the art of the previous century. It will not be confined in galleries – it won’t be reserved for elites, and it will be able to do more than simply wink at itself.

In support of these visions I am writing a book, one of over 250,000 that will be written in the United States in 2011. However, I don’t know why one would write a book alone – why one would horde potential chapters and complicated ideas when there is a crowd of smart people who would love to chime in. So, I will be sharing everything on my new blog – What Every Young Creative Should Know – and talk about things that I think are important for the new creative class.

We live in an entirely different world then our professors and mentors did. Art Schools are barely adapting to these new realities – and people with B.A.s and M.F.As (along with those who aren’t degreed) are entering into this bold new world half-cocked. Skill and creative aptitude is only a third of the battle. There are thousand books that can help you become a more talented artist – this will not be one of them. This book is about the outlook, practical advice, and theory needed to be a successful one – success being defined by living your passion while being able to financially sustain yourself. It will focus on things that I don’t think are necessarily intuitive – mostly about what all of this new technology has done for Creatives and what it hasn’t done.

The common myth is that the internet, social media, Youtube, etc has been great for the creative class – and in some ways that is true. I can type this blog post, have several hundred people read it this week, maybe receive some feedback, and all for free. However, I am competing with a billion other people who all feel they have something to say, who are deciding to use this same free technology to say it, and some of whom are actually saying things that are worthwhile and interesting. The problem is that I am claiming to be a professional – which is really a fancy way of saying that I want to be able to own a car, pay my rent, cell phone bill, loans, museum memberships, Friday happy hour expenses, etc based off of my knowledge and skills. 99% of the people who I am competing against have no such ambition. They just want to have fun – and get some stuff out there. They will give you everything for free. I will, at some point, ask for you to give me money because at the end of the day I want to put gas in my car. 99% of the time you will pick them over me. 99% of the time you will pick free. This book is about how to win the last 1%, and it is something that I believe every young creative should know.

Please join the journey here and tell me what it is that you think every young creative should know.