Fame Is Overrated

Personally, I'd Rather Be the Best Fucking Thing For Just a Few People Than be Known by Everyone.

Me signing autographs back in 1955.

This is part of my “Art of Noticing” series, in which I learn, find, or discover the things around me that usually go unnoticed and turn them into an endless source of creative inspiration.

Today, I realized that I don't need or even want to be well-known by most of the world and that a smaller, more devoted fan group sounds better. It made me realize that knowing my targets is vital if I expect to hit them.

I'd rather create something so resonant that it becomes indispensable to a small, devoted audience than to be moderately enjoyed by millions.

The more I think about it, the more I think that “loved by a small, dedicated group” is a great goal for most creators. We default to thinking of big fame, but big fame definitely isn’t what I’m after. I’d take it, but only if I can still be myself.

Big fame comes with obligation and a lot of judgmental eyes. I like small-scale success better, because that way you only attract people who really GET you, rather than a billion lookie-loos out to bitch about your every tiny thing.

Instead of spreading ourselves thinly (and mediocrely, if “mediocrely” is a word) over a whole lot of so-so fans, I’d rather focused on being the best thing ever to my perfect, select few.

Here's how this "noticing" can benefit my stories and art:

Connecting on a Deeper Level

Connecting with an audience doesn’t always mean having millions of followers. Sometimes, it means having a few hundred or even a dozen people who would go to the end of the earth for your work. This is the “1000 True Fans” idea. It's about creating something that’s truly important to (and impactful in) in someone's life rather than being so-so background entertainment.

This deep level of connection goes beyond just appreciation. It makes your work truly meaningful to the right person rather than just interesting to someone who’s just a moderate fit to your style.

Quality Over Quantity

Having a niche fan group lets you do your best work because you’re not worried about pleasing everyone. Instead, you do your specific breed of art as best you can, knowing you only need to please center of the bullseye rather than vanilla’ing out so that everyone will accept you.

You can churn out book after book or painting after painting, but if they're created for EVERYONE, will they truly stand the test of time?

When you focus on your authentic audience, you give yourself the freedom to differentiate in the way that only you can differentiate.

Community Building

Superfans will scream from the rooftops about what you do. They’ll will share your work, stick up for you in online forums, and show up at your events. You are no longer a lone creator but the nucleus of a community. You’ll get a lot less of that if you have to smooth out your edges to go mainstream.

A community of superfans isn’t built overnight, and it isn’t built by being everything to everyone. It’s built by being something incredibly special to a select few.

I know I want to be that, not A-list famous with all the accompanying spotlight and compromise. True power as a creator comes from depth of connection, not breadth. Speaking for myself, I’d rather touch souls than simply reach people.

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