"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
03/11/2018 at 10:17 • Filed to: None
0
6|
"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
03/11/2018 at 10:17 • Filed to: None | 0
| 6 |
It’s a long-shot, but Oppo is full of all sorts of people, so you never know.
I’m asking because I’m just curious what the process is like. I’ve always wanted to make a career out of writing, but I’ve never really taken any initiative there. Now that I’m on my seventh job and still unhappy, I want to focus more on what I really WANT to do more than just what I CAN do.
I’m particularly interested in children’s books at the moment, if only because rhyming is fun and fairly easy.
Teh Penguin of Doom
> Rainbow
03/11/2018 at 10:37 |
|
For children’s books, you need amazing illustrations, an amazing cover, a very sharp “hook” of a concept, and, most importantly, the ability to network with school librarians, teachers, and parents’ associations. That last requirement is why most financially successful children’s book authors are former teachers or librarians.
Make sure you know what you’re getting into if you choose this road. In 2018, just as in 1918, just as in 1818, becoming a writer is almost always a road to regrets and poverty.
99% of writing for a living is market and business skill. 1% is writing skill. Relatedly, writing for a living has absolutely nothing to do with writing for art.
Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
> Rainbow
03/11/2018 at 10:42 |
|
I can’t help with the writing aspect, but I have some insight into how it’s done. I’m a graphic designer and I’ve worked on lots of different types of publications. Below is a student journal I did with a colleague of mine.
I know that the time someone spends writing, for example a children’s book, can vary A LOT. For the same number of pages I’ve had a friend writing for like 2 years, while a professional writer did something similar in 3-4 months.
And the other thing I know is that a lot of writers go through many different drafts, which is obvious, but that process can extend into the time meant for design and layout. I’ve had writers change pretty significant chunks of the book a week before it’s supposed to go to print. Your experience may vary, of course. As did mine, some people just do it once and leave it be.
My whole point here is that you can maybe take some inspiration and peace in knowing that many, even professional writers procrastinate, linger, re-do and extend their creative process for a long time.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
wafflesnfalafel
> Rainbow
03/11/2018 at 11:28 |
|
my sister in law self published using the Amazon service - https://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-summary-page.html?ie=UTF8&ld=AZFooterSelfPublish&topic=200260520
DipodomysDeserti
> Rainbow
03/11/2018 at 11:56 |
|
My brother published some stories using an online based publisher. Pretty good way to start out. I’ll fond out the deets for you.
f86sabre
> Rainbow
03/11/2018 at 13:52 |
|
My cousin is having her first novel published in a month or so. It is a young adult title. It has taken a long while to get to this stage, but she is overjoyed. Hopefully it takes off as that is her passion. She teaches to pay the bills today.
Stephenson Valve Gear
> Rainbow
03/11/2018 at 15:19 |
|
I’ve used an Amazon company - Create Space - to self publish some niche books that catered to an extremely small market. It’s a publish on demand company, so there isn’t a need for a large run of books to be printed with the associated costs and risks of doing so. However, the marketing of said books is basically left up to the author, which is fine for the very specialized books that I wrote (I knew how to get the word out to the small community of enthusiasts that would be interested), but I can see how that would be problematic for a general-interest book aimed at a wide audience. I would think a traditional publishing company would be the best bet for that type of writing.
Hope you can find a career path that you enjoy!