I started writing in the hopes of filling the missing spaces on bookshelves for children like my daughters. And…along the way I hoped that writing would also provide me with a living.
HAH! If you’re thinking of going into the writing business, be prepared to supplement your income with a lot more than writing. I have been incredibly blessed and am so grateful for the books that I have out in the world, for the editors and publishers who took a chance on my stories and for my agent who champions them everyday. However, as anyone who’s been in the children’s publishing industry for even half-a-minute knows, making a living as a children’s book author is tough. Here’s how it usually works.
You write a story.
Editor loves story (I’m not even going to go through the long painful process of finding the editor who loves your story) BUT it has to go through an acquisitions process that can take weeks or more likely, months.
At acquisitions, Sales and Marketing agree that the book has potential (for sales).
Editor makes an offer on the book (woo hoo, dream come true) and writer gets an advance.
Once you get that advance, that’s it. That’s all the money you’ll see until the book earns out, which means your book has to sell enough copies to earn back the advance on it - and remember royalties are a very small percentage of the actual book price!
If it doesn’t earn out, no royalties. (Fortunately, you don’t have to give any of the advance back, whew!) BUT, unless it hits some bestseller list or has received an amazing promotional campaign from your publisher, or your advance was a small one, you will most probably not earn out, at least not for a while, and maybe never. SIGH.
In the meantime, you reach out to schools and libraries and book festivals (and they reach out to you) and basically hand sell your books one by one by one.
And as you do...
You meet a grown up reader who tells you she cried when she read your book, because it meant so much to her as an American desi, and she reads it to her daughter all the time.
A little girl at a festival is so excited to tell you that the girl on your book’s cover looks just like her.
A little boy on a school visit wants you to drape him in a sari and says your book is the BEST book ever.
A teacher thanks you for writing a story that helped him start beautiful conversations with his students.
You get to spend time with fellow authors who truly are the kindest, nicest, most supportive people - and wow, how’s that for an upside?
Moments like these are why storytelling matters, why writing your stories matters. Yes, it can feel like getting your books out there is an uphill battle, but these moments remind you why you started this journey and why you will continue as long as you have stories to tell.
So you dive back into research, and revision, and submission, and the heartache of rejections - because someone out there needs your story. You stay on that roller coaster, buckle up - and prepare for the highs and the lows. Because it’s worth it.
I have two new books releasing this year, and you, dear readers, are getting a sneak peek at the cover of my August release!
Pre-order campaigns are super important to the Sales Goddess, so if you are looking for new reads for your children (or any one else’s) or gifts for a teacher or classroom library or whomever, these are kinda perfect!
If you do pre-order, comment below with a pic of the receipt and your address and I’ll send you a signed bookplate!
I’ll be at the ALA Conference in Philly signing copies of Over in the Mangroves at the Scholastic booth on Sunday, June 29 from 4:00-5:00. Stop by and say hello!
Read Across New York, Highlights Foundation Writer’s Retreat, Hudson Book Festival, Varta Storytelling Festival, Poughkeepsie Book Festival, Gold Coast Book Festival and more.
What would you like to hear about in my next issue? Let me know in the comments.
If you are an illustrator, art director or book designer and want to join me in conversation on my podcast, In the Picture, reach out so we can connect!
If you have read my books and like them, do take a minute to review them on Amazon and/or request them for your local public library or school library. Authors need all the help they can get to spread the word and that Amazon algorithm needs the reviews to make us pop up on searches!
Want me to visit your school, library, museum, or festival? Contact me.
If you think a friend, teacher or librarian may be interested in this newsletter, please forward it to them, so they can subscribe. Thank you for reading and for your support!
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