Importance of Reasonable Expectations — Problem of Artists
After conversing with a peer, I learned they measured my work against Dune.
Yep. You read that right.
How it started.
I’ve been a writer for most of my life, and it wasn’t until recently, back in 2016, that I started uploading my stories to Royal Road. Then in 2017, I started on a journey to write a story that I feel has been one of my main focuses in life.
Though I knew I wasn’t the best writer, I’ve had numerous people tell me IRL and online that my stories were enjoyable — even if to help pass the time.
But as I wrote my story, that’s now over a million words long, I’ve slowly begun to realize that something was wrong with how people were consuming my work.
Instead of viewing it in the context of a web novel on a site for amateur writers, my work was being compared to established works of fiction, such as Dune. Others are The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings.
Such comparisons might seem reasonable, but it’s not necessarily the case.
The problem with unrealistic comparisons
As artists, we might see ourselves someday reaching or surpassing those at our industries' peak.
For some, it might be having the most subscribers/followers on a social media platform. Another could be to be making millions of dollars. Even winning an award and getting acknowledged by the artist’s peers is a common goal.
While it might be okay to have lofty goals, it’s essential to acknowledge the likelihood of reaching such goals.
Not everyone can compete in the Olympics.
We have people we often admire because they symbolize the pinnacle of where we hope someday to reach but with the knowledge that not everyone can reach such heights. They also have something that gives them an edge compared to everyone else.
Or it could even be that they slowly built up life experiences as they aged, so their perspectives differ from those younger.
When you enter a Walmart to buy food, you’re not going in with the expectations of getting a Michelin Star level experience. You enter a Walmart to attain something at a lower price, understanding that the quality is reflected in the cost of the product.
It’s unreasonable to expect Walmart to carry items outside its scope and target demographic.
This is something that artists need to understand.
For 99% of artists, it’ll only be after they gain years, if not decades, of experience that they’ll be able to churn out something widely considered respectable. But, even then, the odds that it turns into a million, if not multi-billion, dollar project is so low that it shouldn’t be considered. And having people try and convince you otherwise can become a burden that’s difficult to carry — even crippling to the artist.
Incremental improvement is the name of the game.
Like anything in life, to master a skill, the journey requires a slow process of incremental improvement over the years.
The process goes like this:
- You start creating art
- Hours are put into your artwork
- Eventually, you feel like you’re finished
- You show it to others
- Some may like it, but many won’t
- You look at your artwork and figure out what you can learn
- You make another work of art
- This one uses the information you gained from the past failure
- It’s slightly better
- Some may like it, but many won’t
- Rinse and Repeat
It’s the eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
With each artwork, the artist gains more knowledge and experience built with intentional improvement in mind.
Impatience
The problem is that many artists are impatient about where they are in their journey.
They may see a peer they started with reaching levels above them over time. The artist may even think that their skills are equal, so how can someone they started alongside has now garnered fame and fortune?
But this type of thought is a trap.
There are often variables we’re unaware of that lead people down different paths — regardless of the perceived starting point.
It’s also a waste of time to compare ourselves with others, to try and see how we’re doing on our journey.
What artists have control over is making minor incremental improvements over time. Unfortunately, artists worry about things outside their art and allow it to corrupt the process — leading them to frustration and despair.
Be honest about your abilities.
Confidence in your abilities as an artist is reasonable. But when you become overconfident, it can lead you to not being able to judge where you’re at in your journey accurately.
It’s like how we can think so much time has passed — only to discover it was only a few minutes.
This is where metrics can be helpful, like how many views you get and how your audience engages with your artwork.
But don’t obsess over metrics.
Having a realistic view of what you’re capable of can allow you to reexamine the metrics from a better perspective. It’s possible that it’s not the artwork but how you’re marketing it on social media. The lack of an engaged community could also be a factor.
It doesn’t matter if a call-to-action tweet gets a lot of engagement (likes, retweets, and comments) if no one follows through on it.
By knowing where you are strong and lacking, you’ll be able to make informed decisions and better map out a solution.
Not being realistic about your abilities can also be detrimental to developing friendships. If people think you’re overestimating your abilities, they may dismiss you and think it’s not worth the time making a connection with you.
If you surround yourself with others on a similar level, have the mindset of constant incremental improvements, and are ambitious, you may discover your journey getting easier.
Understanding
I’m reminded of when a peer told me they understood what I meant by something I had communicated a while back.
This reminded me how sometimes people lack the ability to see something because they’re not at that point yet to understand. We aren’t all at the same place in life; some experiences haven’t been reached.
It’s like when parents tell their kids that they’ll understand when they get older. The parents would like to explain the concept, but the lack of experience prevents the child from grasping it even if they do.
So when an artist believes that they’ll be on the same level as Frank Herbert and that it’s just a matter of effort and positive thinking, it could be a combination of arrogance and the Dunning–Kruger effect.
Again, it’s important to have a realistic view of your abilities.
I’m not saying that aiming for a higher point is wrong, but if left unchecked, it could lead to undesired outcomes.
TL;DR
Keep aiming for small consistent improvement while being honest about your abilities. With such a strategy, you’ll have a better chance of success.
