Can you make a living as a writer, artist, designer or other creative soul? Yes, you can, if you learn a few tricks.

The most important trick is to learn to think of yourself as TWO people. The first is the creative person who writes, paints, photographs or designs, without a care for anything except the creative work itself. The second person is a sharp-eyed, clear- thinking marketer.

In many creatives, the sharp-eyed marketer is in embryonic form. Fear not. You can nurture your inner marketer.

Here's how to start to make your creativity pay:

=> 1. Start small: downplay your creativity

Your ultimate goal may be a book on the New York Times bestseller list, or your own show in a major gallery, but start small and build your confidence.

While you're doing that, downplay your creativity at home and among your friends. Why? Any number of reasons. The chief one is that your creative endeavors are as important to you as a new baby is to the proud parents. While you're a taking the first hesitant steps of your creative career, you're sensitive. You're likely to get badly blocked if someone whose opinion you value says the wrong thing to you. This doesn