Can writing children’s books be a business?
Duffy asked:
I want to write children stories when I grow up but I am 15 and I am a young writer… My thing is that other kids who want to do things like be a doctor or nurse or police officer they will have a stable job and a pay check! But as a writer your not working for someone and you need a side job
I want my dreams to be my only job tho! Can I make my own business writing children stories?
Maria
I want to write children stories when I grow up but I am 15 and I am a young writer… My thing is that other kids who want to do things like be a doctor or nurse or police officer they will have a stable job and a pay check! But as a writer your not working for someone and you need a side job
I want my dreams to be my only job tho! Can I make my own business writing children stories?Maria
You could always consider starting your own publishing company.
I want the exact same thing but here is what I have gathered.
You can have a business only in writing. It depends how successful you are. Some people can make their entire living off of writing (look at JK Rowling!) others need to do another job.
I am thinking about going to school and becoming an ND. I would major in Physcology and then minor in English. That way I can have a job that does have a steady pay check and still write, because that is really my dream job. Writing young adult fantasy novels is what I want to do, and I have already started.
You can write on yoru own time, and try to send it to agents and publishers. You can do this when you have a job, though finding time might be harder. It is really hard to become a writer so having another job is a pretty good idea
I hope this helps!
Hey, it worked extremely well for J.K. Rowling. But it also took her years before a publisher accepted her work, and before that she went through a lot of hard times and even lived on welfare for a while.
Yes, you can make money writing…but it’s sporadic work and be prepared that it will take a lot of time to break yourself into the market, and in the meantime it is indeed a good idea to have a backup job to support your writing until you’re well-established.
Dr. Seuss did it — but, unfortunately, he is not the norm. I can tell you that writing children’s books will generally not make you rich. However, if you are smart and industrious, maybe you can find other places to sell articles and stories while hopefully getting some books published. We may not get rich, but we are fulfilling our dream. While it would be wonderful to make lots of money writing, the reality is that most writers have another source of support. One suggestion: go to college and major in journalism. It can’t hurt and you would have credentials (degree) to fall back on.
Well, I totally feel you! I am a writer also, but what my plan is, is to go into photography and write on the side. Then, when my writing career takes off, I can back down on the photography. Another idea is make a list of all the things you would love to do. Find a way to connect them to your writing dreams. That’s what I do
Hope this helped!
I don’t know of too many authors that only write. If you could do as a few fellow members of our local writers guild, have a main job for finances and write on the side untill you establish yourself. Now if you don’t mind going it totally alone, publish it yourself, but that is expensive.
While you have a young mind not clouded with to many misconceptions, write down in a journal any all thoughts you might have.
It can be a career but you have to be dedicated. In the beginning and unless your books become super hits(think Harry Potter) you will not make a lot of money to start with so you will likely have to have some kind of job on the side. (unless you are married and your husband makes enough for both of you so that you can devote your time to writing).
Starting off you will have to have a side job, but once you are well established you should be able to let your writing take care of you.
My suggestion is to look up some childrens authors (some may have links where you can write them) see what they went through starting out and if you can ask them questions. Its a good calling but doesn’t usually pay well to start with. Although if you get started now (while still living with your parents) you may be able to maintain a living once you are ready to strike out on your own.
I’m also interested in writing books, not just for children though. Currently I’m in university…and I really wish to become a professor one day. Professors get to teach and they must publish at least one book per year…I think that will be perfect for me. Easier said than done of course, but there’s nothing else I’d rather do.
Can you make a living writing children’s books? Yes. Is it common? No. It’s very, very rare for someone to make their living solely by writing children’s books.
However, you can make a career in the literary world, if you need to pay the bills. Go to school and major in literature, journalism, or communications. Look for jobs at newspapers, magazines, or publishing companies. You will get a great understanding of how “the business” works, and maybe make some good contacts along the way. In the meantime, you can continue writing and working to find an agent to represent your work.
Yea, but what you would have to do is study business and writing in school.
I’ll give the same advice to anyone wanting a job in the arts, of which writing is one. Get a day job. Sure you can plan on being a writer, but where does it say this can’t include getting a college degree? Anytime you’re planning on a paycheck that will depend on your popularity with an audience, you’ll want a back up plan.
For instance, what happens if the publishing industry as we know it, already crumbling, ceases to exist? Cheap memory and cheap printing could erode away the slim profit margin most writers are living on and they could find themselves like musicians with everyone stealing their product rather than paying for it. Musicians can always play live for money, writers don’t have the equivalent. So what if thirty years from now novelist is no longer a paying profession? Sure it is a wild idea, but poet was once a paying profession too.