There's more to being an author than just writing great books. Natasha Lester and Emily Gale take us off the page to find out how to make a living as an author. We explore both writing for adults and for kids, creating opportunities, social media v Substack and generating income.
With my middle grade novel One Wrong Turn coming out this July, I’ve been really fascinated with the business side of being an author. It turns out there’s a lot more to it than just writing books, if you’re wanting to treat writing like a career, or a side job, rather than just a hobby.
I definitely don’t have all the answers yet, so I decided to find some people who did.
Giving us an insight into writing for adults is Natasha Lester. Natasha is the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Seamstress, The French Photographer, The Paris Secret, The Riviera House and most recently, The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre. Her novels have been translated into many different languages are published all around the world.
And for the children’s side of things, we’re joined by Emily Gale. Emily’s worked in the children’s book industry for 25 years, in various roles such as in-house editor, consultant to a literary agent, children’s book buyer, award judge, reviewer, freelance manuscript assessor, and as a writer-in-residence in a high school library.
Emily’s books include The Goodbye Year, The Other Side of Summer and its companion novel I Am Out with Lanterns, the Eliza Boom Diaries, Steal My Sunshine and Girl, Aloud, as well as her middle-grade collaboration with friend and fellow author Nova Weetman, called Elsewhere Girls.