Every day or so, someone sends me a link to a website on which they display cartooning or other creative work they've done. They are not, they say, getting any or enough work. Could I please look at their samples and tell them if they're wasting their time pursuing a career as a writer or artist? And of course, could I suggest anywhere they might sell some of their work?
To the latter, the answer is almost always no. I just don't know of very many places these days that are looking for writers or artists. Everyone I know who hires or buys at all has more submissions than they can handle. And of course, the fact that I might like the work doesn't mean anyone else will. So I usually wind up writing a reply that reads…well, like this one I just wrote to someone who sent me a link to a website that displays their cartooning that no one is buying…
There are two aspects to what you're asking me. One is whether the work is any good. I liked what I saw on your site very much but I'm afraid that doesn't mean a lot in terms of you selling it.
I know a lot of very talented artists who aren't getting much work, including many who once did. It's a sad fact of life that in a field like this, there are only so many openings. If a given company needs 10 good artists and 25 good artists apply, 15 good artists get turned away. Those 15 aren't necessarily doing anything wrong except to try and sell their wares in an oversaturated market.
I believe it's important in this world for everyone, even an artist, to have some measure of financial stability. Perhaps to attain it, you might have to modify your short-term goal. It may seem like giving up or being untrue to your muse to look to non-artistic sources of income, and you may even be able to tread water for a while longer. But the work of a creative individual flows in many ways from his or her life, and if that life involves constantly worrying about the Visa bill, that will eventually destroy something. To artists or writers living on the edge, I sometimes suggest finding something steady to pay the rent, getting a little cash in the bank and then perhaps returning to writing or drawing as time permits. Monetary desperation is just plain bad for the soul, especially when one gets beyond the "young beginner" stage of one's life.
I never tell anyone to give it up but I also never assure them that it's merely a matter of time before the world discovers the wonderment of what they create. The world isn't that perceptive and sometimes it isn't even a matter of talent but of the right talent in the right place at the right time. Persistence up to a point is an admirable quality but at some point, it can become a matter of investing too much of your future in a risky proposition.