Is it hard/expensive to be a writer?

[BandeauSally]

I suppose that's a "how long is a piece of string" question?

I've always had several book ideas floating around in my head. I've a few notebooks on the go with my different book ideas at various stages of development. I've just never got to the actual writing with the intention of other people reading it stage. Lack of confidence really. Terrified of being a terrible writer and people knowing it! I think I'm ready to take the leap now and go for it. Is it very hard? My stories are children's books if that makes a difference. What do I need to be thinking of, planning for, budgeting for?

Is it hard? Moderately hard, yes. You need to commit a lot of time and attention to write something of publishable standard, and then a whole lot more time and attention to finding an agent and publisher.

Is it expensive? No. All you need is something to write on, something to write with, and something to say. That's it. Publishing costs money (editing, illustrations, cover art, printing), but if you find a publisher they will pay, not you. If you set-publish then you will pay, but you also get to keep all of the profits. Be very wary of anyone who offers you a publishing deal where you pay them - they're basically very expensive self-publishing offers and you can almost certainly get a better deal elsewhere.

If you enjoy writing, then go for it! Time spent doing something you love is never wasted.

I've NC for this (was due a change anyway!)

I make a living as a writer, and I'm happy with it, but I do a lot of work to commission rather than just sending off my own manuscripts IYSWIM. I can do that because I've built up contacts and a reputation over a long time. It's hard work, I'm self-employed, have a lot of deadlines and there is no option to have writers' block or wander around being inspired :o - to make a living I have to be efficient and organised. It suits me because it's flexible with having DC and I enjoy it a lot, but with my education and skills I could have done something a lot better paid. It's high-status and impresses people, and of course rewarding, but not so much financially!

(On the plus side there's very little to invest, you just need a computer)

With children's picture books, very few people do that as their career and don't do anything else. It's possible if you are very popular and prolific like Julia Donaldson, or have a massive hit like Guess How Much I love You etc. But generally picture book writers will be doing it part time and working in creative writing teaching, doing a lot of school visits, or still have a day job of some other kind.

Be aware that most writers earn way less than average, in surveys writers' earnings from writing averaged below 11K a year - that's why they do other jobs. You hear a lot about rich and famous writers but that skews the reality.

With picture books, what you need to do is joins some kind of writing group or course, an Arvon course would be ideal - then you can get professional advice on what you have so far, how good it is and how to polish it up. Then get the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook which has lots of advice on how to submit your idea or manuscript, and lists of publishers and agents so you can find the most suitable ones to send it to.

There are also some publishers who have annual competitions for new picture book authors - the Yearbook should help with this. Also google for writing organisations and websites where they list things like competitions and calls for submissions, and have helpful forums etc.

You could strike it big but you have to plan for it always being a sideline, IYSWIM.

There's also self-publishing / e-publishing and that can be a success, so look into that.

Thank you both! I have another job, this is really just something I want to do rather than because I need to make money from it.

Some really helpful advice here, thank you.

The biggest expense of being a writer is time.

People vastly underestimate how long writing takes.

I write for hours and hours and hours each week. I've been doing that day in day out for almost fifteen years.

Can I recommend the organisation SCBWI which is run by volunteers? You don't have to be published to join. Local groups get together to run critique sessions and focus on a relevant topic. It's brilliant for building experience and learning from others how the industry works. britishisles.scbwi.org

Thanks for that recommendation dunlurking, and thanks geta too for your post.

Go for it - but do it in your spare time as a hobby. Don't expect to make any money out of it. Children's books are almost impossible to make money out of, unless you become the next Julia Donaldson.
As a hobby it's great fun. Aside from SCBWI, there are lots of creative writing courses around - from individual day courses to actual degrees. If you live anywhere near Bath Spa, Winchester, Manchester or Norwich, these universities have specialist 'children's writing' courses. i know Winchester (and probably the others) run writing festivals where anyone can go along and show your writing to an agent or listen to talks about creative writing.

A very small percentage of people who write children's books actually get published the traditional way, but these days you can pay for someone to edit your work (eg. Cornerstones or similar agency) and you can always self publish on Amazon etc.

The main thing is to enjoy it, and don't expect to make any money out of it.