To give myself a year to write a children’s book?

[Tryingtothinkofanoriginalname]

Am I being completely ridiculous/having pie in the sky ideas?
Dd will start school in September, I have a year until I *Have to definitely be working, things will be fairly tight for a while, but had Dd later (years of trying) worked all my life and it’s doable for a year.
Having Dd has confirmed further for me that I don’t want to return to my previous job (full time teaching) I want to try to work around her school hours ideally and to work from home (again, ideally)
Am I being totally unrealistic to think that I could even attempt to set myself a goal of working everyday on ideas on a children’s book for a year? It’s something I’ve always wanted to do

I’m being ridiculous aren’t I? As if that could happen

Any other ideas of jobs working from home based around DD’s school hours…don’t make me return to teaching and to answering to bosses in generally toxic environments 😫

As a general goal, sounds great.

I wouldn't count on this making you much money however, even if you do get it done and it's published. If you need to bring in the cash, I'd be researching other options.

Nope go for it! Seth Godin says make a 100 day commitment to writing and shipping! Google it because he has good stuff to say about committing to your art. Also google The War of Art book by Steven pressfield. I cannot recommend it enough!

If it is financially doable then you should absolutely try.

You are worthy of the shot.

Have a look at 20BooksTo50K on Facebook. I don't write but it's a really interesting group.

@TheKeatingFive Yes, there’s where I’m also likely being unrealistic

Get up half an hour early every day and do half an hour every day. If you can do that for a month then you might have commitment to get through a year of it.
It's the motivation you need, not the time.

@cloverlover I will check him out, thank you!

@MonkeyPuddle It’s something I’ve always thought about…but then I think, I’m sure many have too and it feels ridiculous.

@Gladioli23 Sounds interesting, I’ll look, thank you

It’s entirely possible, I’ve published two books in the last 6 months - but I’ve done it as a hobby and ‘pin’ money, making a regular salary is the hard bit.

So what if it is ridiculous? Especially in children's literature, my kids love ridiculous! Doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying for!

@mumda Yes, definitely. I had a little time just before becoming pregnant with Dd when I could have committed, time wise, but never did. Once I’d dropped Dd off and walked the dog, if I was motivated enough, I could do until 3 at pick up (obviously bits to do in between) but I could do a few hours per day, if I was disciplined enough and didn’t piss about.

Has anyone ever done similar or taken up writing/freelance writing at home or perhaps something completely different career wise?
I don’t want to return to the 9-5 (or generally much longer hours) or work if I can possibly help it, but I need to work. Trying to get ideas on motion for something different, life’s too short and having Dd and everything happening the last couple of years has made me realise more and more that life’s far too short and I spent years never really being happy career wise.

@Costacoffeeplease Oh wow, congratulations, that’s impressive!
I can’t even imagine getting to that point to be honest. What does the process involve, what are the earnings like?

*Of work if I can possibly help it.

Most authors do not make a living from writing.

If you want to write a novel then go for it, but do not go into it thinking it is the answer to financial security. It isnt.

I'm not exact on this number, but authors make an average of something like £13k a year. That'd an average, so that includes the huge names. The bestseller millionaires. The bestseller hundred-thiusanders. So the real figure for all the very low down writers is much lower.

Just, go into it knowing that. It isnt a money making idea. You have to love it.

Writing is hard work. Having the idea, creating the characters, creating your plot points. All of that takes a very long time. Then, you need to actually sit down and write every single word. It is hard, hard work. It is amazing and I love it, but it is hard work.

You can make money from it but it is again, hard hard work. So, be ready for that.

Thank you. I’m self published from a standing start.

I’m very pleased with my sales so far, which are steadily increasing, but I earn roughly 3€ per book, so you have to sell a lot of books to make any real money

Of course you aren’t being ridiculous. Try the November writing month thingie or an Arvon course.

However the chances of you making a living as a writer are very slim. Even if your book were a bestseller, you’d have to write a few more and build up a stream of royalties. So do it for fun.

To figure out a business idea, Career shifters are a good organisation.

I think if you've wanted to do it then you absolutely should. Sounds great. I'm also a teacher and would love to do similar. The authors I know make their money from touring schools and running workshops. That won't be within school hours for your daughter unless it's local schools. Chances are it won't be a money maker but if you're fine with that then great. Plus you could be the next big thing, who knows

There was a MNer that I sort of recognised when she popped up - she won RNA Novel of the year and had something like 12 published novels and wrote ALL THE TIME while not working in a supermarket to give herself enough to pay the bills and she said she got about £5k a year from writing. That’s from 12 books and a National award. She was driven off the boards by people calling her over privileged for having this extra income on top of her wage in coop, it was disgusting. Anyway. She was and is a genuinely successful author in her field and £5k a year is not even attempting to be minimum wage. But most authors don’t or can’t do it for the money.