Becoming Your Own Poetry Manager: Tips from E-Baby
Learning the ins and outs of the poetry industry can be tough. That’s why we ask the experts to help guide you through the details you may not have the answers to yet. Poet Life Podcast sat down with Eric “E-Baby” Smith to talk about valuing ownership and becoming your own poetry manager.
This started with a quick explanation of the difference between an agent and a manager.
An agent puts on shows or finds shows for you to perform at. A manager is the one who books your flights, hotels, etc. and makes sure things are taken care of for you. Basically, a manager is the person who manages your career and is your “yes and no” person.
For E-Baby, he has been working with the same agent during his whole career, Tracy Wiggins from Jus Wiggin Entertainment. Be sure to listen to the full podcast episode to hear the story of how E-Baby began working with Tracy and how he got started on the college circuit.
Working with his agent, E-Baby learned to become his own manager and to make career decisions for himself. Let’s explore a few of the tips E-Baby shared with us.
You might argue with yourself as your own poetry manager
Being your own poetry manager means you become your own boss, which sounds awesome and entrepreneurial. However, it comes with the same conflicts you would have with another human being as your boss. So remember that the personal side and the business side of you may not always agree.
E-Baby shared, “My huge headache is arguing with myself. Making that decision.” He goes on to explain that people say “you don’t do your art for free, but you pick and choose who you perform for, for free.” He explains that there are times where a manager would have said no to a certain show unless the pay was better, but he went ahead and did the show because they allowed him to sell his promotional items (books, merch, etc.).
Also, as a manager, you have to be prepared and organized. E-Baby says, “you gotta have your phone and your calendar ready to go so you avoid double booking.”
Overall though, E-Baby loves “the independence of saying yes and no.” Because he knows how much money he needs in order to put gas in the car. He says, “You put that responsibility on yourself.”
Allow your career to evolve and diversify
One of the concerns of going into the poetry industry for yourself is the perception of “there’s no money in poetry.” But E-Baby reiterates that the money is definitely there, and he has proven you can make this lifestyle work for the long haul. So how does he do it?
E-Baby says he’s “still learning, still writing, and not being stubborn.” He’s has learned to allow things to change. He says that “in order to stay in this game, you’ve got to give up what you have. If I wasn’t telling people about [how to do this], I wouldn’t be able to move on. I wouldn’t be able to keep hosting. If I didn’t mentor even on how to host, I wouldn’t be able to move on.”
Another tip E-baby has for longevity in the poetry industry is to not let the crowd get to your head. Keep your ego in check, accept constructive criticism, and be open and honest with yourself and the community. He says, “In order to be relevant, you gotta stay open to what’s out here and be prepared.”
The perk of being a self-managing poet and letting your career path evolve is that you still have control over it as your own manager. You can take charge of what you say yes and no to.
Adapt to the virtual world and believe in your value
As COVID-19 reshaped the world into a virtual one, poets brought their communities to the screen. Open mics live streamed on Instagram and Zoom have allowed poets to essentially become international poets.
These live streams still have space for paid feature poets. E-Baby makes a note that “you’re going to sacrifice a few things with online shows. You’re not going to make as much money because you don’t have the travel and all that. You’re basically in your own house. The battle of pricing is going to start happening.” It’s just a symptom of the virtual world we’re in right now.
However, E-baby adds, “I keep telling everybody to stay true within yourself. The money you’re going to make, it’s going to happen. … But poets weren’t ready to invest in themselves. Poets didn’t believe they should even put $500 into themselves to go make a thousand dollars. … We have to first believe we can make that money. Then we got to believe we can invest in ourselves. Because we’re too busy. People want to invest in us, and we’ll miss out.”
In case you need the reminder, you first need to believe in yourself. Study the lane you’re in, and believe in your value as a professional poet. When you can do that, you are well-positioned to become your own poetry manager and take control of your poetry career.
Again, be sure to listen to the full podcast episode for even more golden nuggets of information from E-Baby on how he met his agent and how he got started in the college circuit. You’ll definitely want to take some notes!
Eric "EBaby" Smith’s poetry career began in July 1999. After joining Jus Wiggin Entertainment in 2002 [agent: Tracy Wiggs], his “1 Poet Poetical Tour” reached over 200 colleges & universities across the US. In 2014, he was named the Spoken Word Billboard Award’s ‘Hot100 Top Ranking Artist of the Year’. In 2016, he was awarded ‘The Best Poet of the Year’ at the DMV Undaground Awards. You can find him on all social media sites at @ebabypoems and read more at ebabypoems.com.
