Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Apple iTunes (eBook) Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon Barnes & Noble.com Simon Rose Category:  Self-Help Publisher: Sorcerer's Letterbox Publishing ISBN-10:  1511647014 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 94 Copyright: April 14, 2015 ISBN-13: 9781511647014 Price: $2.99 (eBook) The Working Writer’s Guide examines the professional life of those who have chosen to pursue writing as a career. If you’re committed to making a career as a full-time, professional writer, you need to widen your horizons. The Working Writer’s Guide examines the professional life of those who have chosen to pursue writing as a career. People often believe that either that all published authors earn millions or that it’s impossible to make a living as a writer. It’s certainly possible to make a living based on your writing, but a number of different revenue streams are required. In reality, most full-time writers have multiple sources of income. These include book sales, royalties, teaching, workshops, coaching, editing, public speaking, events, websites, social media, and business and technical writing.  Excerpt Introduction Misconceptions are common regarding published authors. People think either that all authors earn millions or that it’s impossible to make a living as a writer. While some writers are financially successful with their e-books, success stories are rare, at least for now, and only a handful of authors make serious money from e-books. Misconceptions also abound regarding authors who write for children. Books for younger readers are often mistakenly considered to be simple to write and easy to make money from. Some people look at the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter series and wonder how hard it can really be. After all, anyone can write a book, can’t they? This book examines the working life of those who have chosen to pursue writing as a career and have no other source of income. In reality, most full-time children’s writers have multiple sources of income. Authors do earn money from royalties from their book sales, but in most cases this isn’t enough to live on. It’s certainly possible to make a living based on your writing, but a number of different revenue streams are required. Some of these may be more important than others at one time or another, depending on a variety of factors. Working as an instructor at universities and colleges may only be possible for those writers living in large cities and towns. Working for magazines or nonfiction publishers may also be easier if you’re in an urban area, although with the right connections this may not be an obstacle. If you write for websites or social media outlets, or create brochures and similar material for local companies, opportunities will be more plentiful in a larger market. School visits too are obviously easier to secure for writers located in parts of the country with large populations and more schools. However, more competition will also exist with other authors that are contacting those schools trying to book visits, readings, and workshops. Some children’s authors and illustrators will get the majority of their income from school visits, others from advances and royalties from book sales, but everyone’s situation is different. The pattern of a writer’s earnings will also vary from year to year, with one or another source of income being larger or smaller each time. I was aware at the outset that it might be difficult to make a living from royalties alone. I therefore knew I’d need to explore other ways to earn an income. I need to be engaged in a variety of different projects in order to make a living, but fortunately, most of these are related to writing for children. In addition to my novels for middle-grade readers, I’ve written many non-fiction books and magazine articles, and I also create content for the corporate market and for social media. I conduct workshops and residencies at schools, visit summer camps, teach classes for adults at local colleges and universities, and offer coaching, tutoring, and editing services. None of these projects would be possible if I hadn’t written and published books in the first place. Admittedly, this may appear to be a diverse portfolio and one that doesn’t allow me to focus exclusively on creating works of fiction. Yet until that elusive movie deal arrives or international bestseller status kicks in, this is the reality for many children’s authors. If someone is fully committed to making a career as a full-time, professional children’s writer, he or she has to widen their horizons.

Readers' Favorite
“It’s not easy making a living as a writer. Gone are the days when book royalties alone would constitute a substantial income. Unless you’re one of those writers who can instantly make it to the top as a best seller and keep your books on the best selling list, then you will have to consider supplementing your income either with a day job and/or doing a number of other things loosely related to your writing.

Simon Rose has published quite a few books, mostly for children, both fiction and nonfiction. He has also written numerous articles and several self-help guides to assist the fledgling and the established writer hone their skills as a writer and actually make some money from it. In his book, The Working Writer’s Guide: Making a Living as a Published Author and Professional Writer, Simon takes the reader/writer through many possible means of making money and making a career out of writing.

There are the obvious suggestions: doing paid speaking engagements in various public venues (including schools if your book is directed at a young audience), and writing articles for paying publications (both print and online). Then he suggests other possible income generating sources: writing content for advertising material for different companies, content editing, proofreading and copy editing the works of other writers as well as documents for various companies. There’s also money to be made giving writing workshops, teaching writing to students of all ages, and running summer writing camps for young people.

The bottom line is that there are means to make a writing career feasible, even if you never do become a best selling author. But, like Simon says, “You may of course become very successful and not need this advice, but most authors engage in some or all of the activities described above in order to earn a living. Enjoy the journey.” And that’s what’s most important: we as writers must enjoy our writer’s journey. A great resource for beginning and established writers.”

Ashley Howland
“Name an author who doesn’t wish to make a living out of writing… Well the Working Writer’s Guide by Simon Rose is a great way to get some ideas. Simon has some excellent ideas to gain employment and he also has a wealth of experience. This is certainly a good resource for writer’s looking to advance their career.”