
Ready to turn your writing into your career?
There’s a big difference between getting paid for your writing and making a living from it. In this book, award-winning children’s author Laura Purdie Salas shares insights and habits gained over 20+ years of writing (and related speaking and teaching) for kids. Her successes and failures are laid bare, in detail, to help guide you in building your own writing career. (This is NOT a book about self-publishing nor online marketing. It's about making a living as an author--primarily through traditional publishing and writing-related speaking.)
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Table of Contents
Expanded Table of Contents
SECTION ONE: Mindset
- I Know What I Want
- I Am a Writer
- I Am Patient
- I Am Confident
- I Continue to Improve
- I Deserve to Be Paid
- I Am Flexible
SECTION TWO: Income Streams
- I Just Want to Write!
- 3 Basic Categories of Income
- Stream + Stream + Stream = River!
- Finding Work
- Handy Skills and Traits
- Trade Books
- Nonfiction Books for the Educational Market
- Assessment Passages
- Other Freelance Writing
- School Visits and Other Events for Kids
- Speaking to Educators
- Teaching or Critiquing Writers
- Editing
- Copyediting
- Monetizing Other Skills
- Choose Your Income Stream
SECTION THREE: Preparing for Your Career
- Money
- Basic Career Elements
- Tools
- Core Truths
SECTION FOUR: 16 Habits for Success
- Habit 1: Write a Lot and Meet People
- Habit 2: Write Through Chaos
- Habit 3: Stay Focused
- Habit 4: Specialize
- Habit 5: But Diversify!
- Habit 6: Set Goals
- Habit 7: Revisit Goals
- Habit 8: Spend Money
- Habit 9: Drum Up Business
- Habit 10: Keep Up with the Industry
- Habit 11: Do Nothing
- Habit 12: Learn Just in Time
- Habit 13: Batch Process
- Habit 14: Back Up Work!
- Habit 15: Waste Nothing
- Habit 16: Go on Retreats
SECTION FIVE: Organizing Your Business
- Ongoing Organizational Tools
- Annual Organizational Tools
- Monthly Organizational Tools
- Weekly Organizational Tools
- Your System
SECTION SIX: Networking and Promotion
- Networking vs. Promotion
- What’s a Platform?
- Social Media
- Networking
- Promotion
SECTION SEVEN: Business Skills
- The Basics
- Strengthen Your Business Weaknesses
- Interpersonal Skills
- Getting Published Is a Business Skill
- Skills for Steering Your Business
SECTION EIGHT: Tips on…
- Working with Agents
- Choosing Conferences and Classes
- Not-Writing Conferences
- Dealing with Success and Failure
- Public Speaking
- Delayed Revision
- Writing for Websites
- Writer’s Block
- Writing for Just You
- Being the Lobster
- People Giving You Ideas
- Picture Book Series
- Deciding Whether to Self-Publish
- Résumés
- Author Photos
- Family Support
- Workaholic Habits
- The Down Side of Efficiency
- Health Insurance
- Letting Go
- Saying No
- Handling Humiliation
- Bursts of Speed
- Dealing with Art Fiascos
- Self-Care Habits
- Making Decisions
- The Circle of Inspiration
SECTION NINE: Now What?
Appendix A: Sample Business Plan
Appendix B: A Week in the Life
Glossary
About the Author
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