What Does It Mean to Be A Full-Time Author?

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What Does It Mean to Be A Full-Time Author?

Established or not, most of us in creative fields put in as many hours as those with traditional day jobs—probably more—but how should these hours be spent? How should writers’ daily responsibilities change as their careers gain momentum? And what if their return on investment is low And what if their return on investment is low, or it leads to extreme but short-lived financial success, as it did for this writer? I asked literary agents Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret and Paula Munier of Talcott Notch Literary. 

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"Cast, Color & Gender" Panel at JLF - New York

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"Cast, Color & Gender" Panel at JLF - New York

The panel “Caste, Color, and Gender,” moderated by Prajwal Parajuly, opened with Yashica Dutt’s account of how she’d spent a lifetime pretending to be someone else… Sharmila Sen had grown up in a society full of different hierarchies—language, religion, social class, gender—but not race… Margo Jefferson didn’t grow up “rich.” “You would say ‘comfortable,’” she explained about her upbringing in Chicago, which she details in her award-winning memoir NEGROLAND.

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How to Establish a Long-Term Writing Career: Insight From Two Literary Agents

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How to Establish a Long-Term Writing Career: Insight From Two Literary Agents

For novelists and nonfiction writers seeking traditional publication, landing a book deal is the dream. And if that deal receives publicity—perhaps due to a multi-publisher auction—then there’s even more reason for the writer to feel like they’ve “made it.”

Some writers will be content with that first deal and have no desire to publish more books. But what about the writers who hope it will be followed by many more—the ones who aspire to make money from their writing, or build a career out of it? How can writers endure in a field that’s known for its instability?

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Beyond Good Writing: Two Literary Agents Discuss What Matters Most

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Beyond Good Writing: Two Literary Agents Discuss What Matters Most

Almost anyone who has spent time in the query trenches knows how challenging it is to capture the attention of a literary agent. Most agents, even new agents eager to build their client list, pass on over 90 percent of the queries they receive. In some cases, the reason is obvious: The agent doesn’t represent the writer’s genre; the writer has written a synopsis rather than a query letter; the agent isn’t accepting queries, at all.

The writer might be doing everything right—researching agents, following submission guidelines, querying only once they have a polished manuscript—but still experience radio silence. Or, maybe they are receiving requests for pages, or feedback from the agent along with the opportunity to resubmit, but an offer of representation just isn’t coming through. If the writing is good or at least shows potential—how else would they have come this far?—shouldn’t this be enough to land an agent? Does the writer’s professionalism count for something? I asked literary agents Linda Camacho and Jennifer March Soloway.

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