Sunday, January 13, 2008

A Reader's Questions

HI,
These questions are from a reader whose email address bounced the answers right back to me. As I was trying to reach her, it occured to me that you might be interested in these questions and answers, too.


* Any "how to get started" books you'd suggest?

My favorite books for writers are:
BIRD BY BIRD (Anne LaMott)
WRITING THE NATURAL WAY (Gabrielle Rico) and WRITING DOWN THE BONES.

* Is there a good market for children's books?

Yes -- if the books are original and well written and if you do your homework and send the right sort of book to the right publisher. The easiest ways to do this are to check the WRITER'S MARKET and to cruise the shelves in a bookstore to see which publishers like the sort of book YOU want to write.

* How will I know if my material is any good?
My best advice is to join a group like SCBWI and sit in on some critique groups. I think it's always best to discuss your work with people who read and like the same genre you're writing. For instance, I wouldn't show a romance manuscript to someone who reads only non-fiction, because s/he wouldn't be able to compare the work to what else is in the field.


* Could I hope to pay my bills?
It's possible. However, most writers have other professions for quite a while before writing takes over as their main source of income. That's the case with every published writer I know.

* How do you pay the illustrator?
The good news is: the publisher pays the illustrator! However, in most cases the publisher selects the illustrator, too. That makes some writers unhappy, but I've been fortunate to have wonderful cover artists

Best,
Terri

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 12:49 AM

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