CONS: Focus limits the book.  Some exercises not as useful as others.  Erratic consistency.

The book is meant for coaches and consultants, but frankly, its useful for any professional - because professionalism IS about establishing yourself as an expert.  In these days of personal branding, it dovetails nicely with business trends.

This one is going into the "must read" list for Fan To Pro. There's just too much in this book for you not to read it - if not outright own a copy. It also is a fantastic gift for professionals you know.

The gaming industry has had its ups and downs this week, that's for sure. First came the EA layoffs, then the news that game sales were down 11 percent in October, the eighth month in a row that sales were down year-over-year.

Of course, there were also the sales of the latest Call of Duty game, which were so huge that they made the national news, with anchors loudly predicting that it could be the biggest-selling game ever.

And then, there was DJ Hero, a game that suffered sales so bad they were embarassing. It looked at first like a formula that could at least be a cult hit - hip-hop, a "Hero"-style music game, a huge promotional push during the world series. All this resulted in total sales, to date, of less than 150,000 across four platforms.

The question is, where did they go wrong, and what can aspiring gaming industry types learn from this?

Well, for one thing, there was the fact that the game was released in what seem to be the declining days of the music game. Beatles Rock Band was very successful, but not quite as big as predicted, and Guitar Hero 5 performed below expectations. Bands like No Doubt are starting to sue gaming companies for unauthorized use of their images.

The lesson here: Look before you leap on a bandwagon. Following a hot trend is a smart thing, but study the progression of the trend carefully and get in before it peaks.

There was also the matter of cost. The thing costs over a hundred bucks - two hundred for the deluxe "Renegade Edition." Plus, unlike Beatles Rock Band, you can't invest in the hardware and then reuse it for another game, because DJ Hero is the only one of its kind. Not a good thing to do in a recession.

The lesson: Give people bells and whistles, but also make sure they're getting true value for money. If they perceive your game as a frivolous extravagance, they will be less likely to buy the product - especially in a down economy.

Finally, there's the matter of the gameplay itself - while some reviews raved about it, some people found the controls of the game confusing, especially when compared to the Guitar Hero games. Given that music games are usually pitched to casual gamers, not the hardcore, the old "keep it simple, stupid" adage definitely applies here - casual gamers want to get playing without having to study a long line of tutorials.

The lesson: Know your audience's expectations and what difficulty level they're expecting, and stick to it. As a wise man once said, "Don't bleep with the formula."

There's plenty of ways a seemingly sure thing can end up less than sure. Careful planning and thinking through can help avoid a sure hit turning into a massive bomb.

- Bonnie

• Parents - How many parents go to a convention with their kids and don't get what's going on or wonder about their child's future.  Who's supporting them.
• Teachers - I'm not just talking about full-time teachers.  A lot of people teach part time or occasionally.  These folks not only make good sources of events at conventions, there may be enough of them in attendance - or people interested in teaching as a side line to their career - to attend events.
• Other trainers and educators - How many people tutor (or would like to), work in training, etc.  How many write or want to write self-help books?  How many post art lessons to deviantart?  At a larger convention there's probably enough people to base an event or two around.
• General mentoring.  Fandom has a lot of mentoring relationships (not enough to hear some tell it).  Why not do an event or two on mentoring people in art, writing, careers, etc.?

• Inform parents more about the careers their offspring may be interested in due to their interest.  They may not get video game careers, etc. so tell them.
• General panels on how to mentor people, perhaps on specific topics like writing, art, etc.  Tie them in with the regular fan-to-pro courses.
• Rally your teachers, mentors, speakers to do a panel ON being person whose career, side career, or hobby is educational.  Tell them how to use their skills and interest on the job or as a job - or just as a hobby.
• Why not do a panel on HOW to do job/skill/fan-to-pro panels.
• Throw a "mentor only" networking event for teachers, panelists, etc. to confab, talk, and share ideas and commiserate.

I met Alicia Dillman at a local convention in the Bay Area and was impressed with her drive and her incredible artistic talent.  She was nice enough to be interviewed to give some insights on her artistic experience, background, and professional advice.

Alicia "Kat" Dillman

website: www.katgirlstudio.com or www.katgirl.net

twitter: http://twitter.com/KatGirl_Studio

My name is Alicia "Kat" Dillman and I own and operate KatGirl Studio. I'm a profession freelance illustrator. I graduated  with a BFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art in San Francisco in 2008. I mainly do work for children's publishing and book covers. I am currently in the process of illustrating 3 children's picture books and writing two Young Adult novels.

2) People have a lot of ideas about what artists careers and jobs will be like - what assumptions did you have that turned out to be wrong?  What turned out to be right?
While going to school our instructors told us that the only starving artists were those who possessed poor technical ability or business skills. I was assured as one of the top students I would have no problem finding work. Then the economy tanked and I graduated during the worst year in economic history since the Great Depression. Jobs and projects, even badly paying ones, were scarce. It really didn't matter how good you were. If you weren't already known there was nothing out there for you. It was really hard but recently things have started to pick up a bit. It's nice to know that my career as an Illustrator can only really go up from here.

I don't know that I have really "gotten in" just yet but I'm trying really hard to work my way into the industry. What has seemed to work the best is having a strong web presence. I have my work on one of the top portfolio sites for Children's Illustrators and a lot of my clients find me through there. I also have my work on free portfolio sites, I have a blog I post is nearly every week, as well as a strong twitter following. Also had a table or a booth at 4 conventions, 3 Art & Wine festivals and 1 conference in the past 10 months. Meeting people face to face is very important to building name recognition and strengthening you fan base.

Freelance: Everything you create is owned by you unless you sell those rights. You have complete control over the things you create and how they are used. You get larger chunks of money for your skills. You can work from a home studio, saving money on everything from gas to food. The disadvantage is that you don't get that steady pay check. You have to front all costs for projects until you are paid. It's common for checks to take 30-90 days to come in after a project is completed and some never come in. There's also the health care problem. Because our country doesn't have universal health care or something like it freelancers can very rarely afford to get their own health care plans. Those are the disadvantages most think of, but they forget to subtle ones that afflict freelancers like depression and isolation. Unless you work in a shared studio you spent most days alone without human contact unless you live with someone or go outside to get lunch or run errands. Some people just don't do will with that isolation others thrive on it. I am a people person to it was really hard to adjust to spending my days alone after 20 years of being in school. If you're like me I recommend chatting with other freelancers or friends via an instant messaging system, Twitter or FaceBook Chat while you work. Bounce ideas of them and share preliminary work with them if your project contract allows. Its kinda like having co-workers all over the world. It will help maintain good mental health and moral.

I strongly recommend having a Twitter. If you adopt only one new technology into your carrer make it this one. It is imperative that you have one and use it frequently. It keeps my fans up to date on what I'm doing and helps strengthen the connection they feel towards me. It also helps me connect with potential clients and gives them a view into the person I am.. Don't forget art directors, agents, editors and publishers tweet too. You can also glean valuable information that is not widely available anywhere else.

Have a Deviant Art account its free and if you get a paid account for the extra features its only $30 for a year. I use it to search for reference and inspiration. I post my preliminary work and work in progress images for my fans. I make blog posts about events we will be at or new products in our shop. I use its stat feature to find out the most popular pieces I've created. It also has a widget that hooks up my twitter feed to my DA account giving me more ways to reach my fans and connect with them.

It is sad that artists are so undervalued in our society when everything you see in your day to day lives had to pass through the hands of Illustrators, graphic designs or artisans to get there. There's an anonymous quote out there on the internet that reads: "In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field." Never forget how valuable and rare your skills are. Never let others diminish you, pay you less than you deserve or convince you to work for "exposure" alone. You are not some picture pony out there for the amusement of others you are a trained thoroughbred race horse. As a professional illustrator, artist or graphic designer you deserve the same respect given to any other highly skilled profession of any other field.

If you would like to read the whole article the quote is from you can find it here: http://www.no-spec.com/archives/i-wish-i-had-written-this/