Carmela’s
Friday post not only announced our Book Giveaway of the Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market 2016 (Writer’s Digest), the details of which follow today’s
post. It also highlighted her CWIM 2016
article “Make a Living as a Writer,” thus beginning our TeachingAuthors
conversation about how we writers earn our keep doing what we love.
Money. That taboo $ubject we’re not $uppo$$ed to talk about.
Just
Saturday, in a Small Session talk at the Chicago Writers Conference, I suggested
writers keep their day jobs, especially if the job offers health insurance, and
definitely if that health insurance
includes dental coverage.
“There
are all sorts of currencies in this world,” I tell my school visit questioners who always feel comfortable asking my
income. I tap my heart and smile. “Money isn’t the only thing that keeps a person going.”
Which
is not to say, I don’t get it –
literally and figuratively! J
Like
so many of my fellow children’s book creators, schools and libraries pay me to
visit and speak.
Fortunately,
though, my additional tools - I hold a B.S. in Elementary Education, ½ a
Masters Degree in Curriculum Instruction and an Illinois Teaching Certificate,
plus my additional experiences as both a classroom teacher and professional
journalist have also paid off.
Take,
for example, the year 2000.
The
two picture books I’d recently sold had respective publishing dates of 2002 and
2005.
What’s
a children’s book writer to do - besides write
and do school and library visits?
I,
for one, said “YES!” to any opportunity that came my way.
·
I
critiqued children’s book manuscripts, sharing everything I’d learned and
offering everything I’d needed when
learning my craft.
·
I
wrote my first alphabet book ever – I IS FOR ILLINOIS, as well as the
accompanying workbook – ILLINOIS FUN FACTS AND GAMES (GHB Publishing).
·
I
used my research from previous books and stories, sold and unsold, to write
critical reading test paragraphs and accompanying questions for Quarasan’s
educational text book clients.
·
I
put my story-telling to use creating formulaic generic under-400-word stories for
children to personalize and reproduce when visiting the Sears Family Portrait
website.
·
I
reviewed children’s books for the new monthly, dads magazine.
·
I
served as an editorial consultant for Childcraft’s HOW AND WHY LIBRARY's STORIES
TO SHARE, working on themed stories about Heroes.
·
I
sold my middle grade novel THE CONFE$$ION$ AND $ECRET$ OF HOWARD J. FINGERHUT
to Holiday House!
To
my surprise, while each of the above efforts paid me, they also paid off in $urpri$ing
ways.
Early
critique clients showed me the need to create original teaching documents I use with the writers I coach. One client in
particular recommended me to the Newberry Library, another to the University of
Chicago’s Writer’s Studio - two institutions where I still teach today.
· Assessing the successful workings of themed
fiction and nonfiction so they could work together as a whole sharpened my
editorial eye.
· Reviewing opportunities showed me ways to keep
my finger on the pulse of consumers and my Children’s Book World marketplace.
· Educational writing kept my readers, their
abilities and interests on my radar.
· I automatically return to one
almost-impossible-to-write mini-story – “A Dino-mite Dinosaur Time” – every time
I think I can’t do something. (The
assignment had been “dinosaurs camping out!”)
· Writing LITTLE ILLINOIS and S IS FOR STORY for Sleeping Bear Press was like going home again.
And each of the above efforts continues to pay off, not only
for me the writer, the teacher, the presenter, the TeachingAuthor, but for my readers, my students
and the writers I coach and care for.
One
of my Heroines, Marian Dane Bauer,
speaks of writers cobbling together a living – from writing, teaching,
lecturing, whatever.
IMHO:
that requisite cobbling often leads to unexpected riche$.
Speaking
of which, don’t forget to enter our Book Giveaway to win a copy of The Children’s
Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market 2016!
Here’s
to happy cobbling!
Esther
Hershenhorn
Esther, thanks so much for sharing the many ways you've found to cobble together a living as a writer!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing about how other writers manage to manage so many different kinds of work. Hooray for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I always find it interesting to hear of successful writers' journeys.
ReplyDeleteWhat a grand discussion on "cobbling!" Very inspiring and insightful!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this excellent post. I enjoy learning about the many ways writers earn their income.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all for taking the time to comment on my post.
ReplyDeleteI hope sharing opportunities I said YES! to spark po$$ibilitie$ for all of you!
You are amazing, Esther. What an encouragement you have always been to me.
ReplyDelete