I would like to introduce my guest blogger, Sudipta Bardham-Quallen.  She is not only talented and personable but has a strong sense of business.  She has recently done a trailer for her latest book, Quackenstein Hatches a Family, you can view it here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OfhC38QdAw  And as always you can check out her webpage at www.sudipta.com Welcome to our blog, Sudipta!

I am a full-time professional writer. I know many other full-time professional writers, but I also know many full-time professional writer-wannabes, many of whom are totally unaware of their wannabe status.

How do you figure out if you are the real deal or just a poser?

Here are some facts about full-time professional writers:

1)      We write every day, and we both love it (because it is our passion) and hate it (because it is our job). The hate part is key – you never hate a hobby!

2)      We know that playing Sudoku totally counts as brainstorming time.

3)      We earn a living on our writing (and writing-related endeavors, like speaking engagements).

4)      We’d rather write something embarrassing (like, say, a Strawberry Shortcake book) to pay our bills than get a different job (because it is at least still writing).

5)      We treat our writing like a real small business with an eye toward profit and loss, advertising and promotion, creating of new products, and, of course, total control over our own expense accounts.

Does that sound like you? Almost? Maybe not?

Obviously, different professional writers approach their careers in different ways. But I am only qualified to tell you how I do it, so that’s what my post will be about.

The truth is, my writing career became significantly more successful when I actually stopped thinking of myself as only a “professional writer” but, instead, as a small business owner. My business creates products, markets them and sells them to consumers, innovates new offerings for our core consumers, and all the other good things that real businesses do. But another key insight was when I realized exactly what I product my business really sells. The product is not my newest book, or any of my books – the product is me. (Let’s hope that my name and “for sale” together do not pop up in some strange Google searches!)

Yes, I sell books. First I sell them to publishers, and then I sell them to consumers. But as a children’s book author, my audience of kids ages out very, very quickly, so either I have to keep building a new audience base – or I have to change my business model.

The products that I offer to my customers now extend well beyond books. I offer school visits, book fair appearances, professional development for teachers, professional development for writers, community programs – and anything else I can find a market for! And the best thing is that each of these new additions actually helps me sell more books!

Now you can’t just decide, “I’m going to do all the things outlined above,” and expect that the bookings will just roll in. Like any business selling a product, you have to advertise and promote. But you also have to make sure your business is profitable. Here’s where bookkeeping comes in – it makes no sense to set goals if you have no way of knowing whether you are coming close to meeting them. When you keep track of your income and expenses, you immediately know which projects were successful and should be repeated in the future, and which should be written off as experiments gone bad.

Among the things I do to promote my business (all out of my own pocket) are:

1)      Traveling to and speaking at educator conferences around the country

2)      Speaking at SCBWI and other writing conferences around the country

3)      Postcard printing and mailings

4)      Brochure printing and mailings

5)      Having educator guides made to accompany my books and having copies made to hand out to teachers and parents

6)      Having event kits made to accompany my books

7)      Attending book festivals

8)      Donating books to schools, libraries, media organizations, etc

These are just thing things I thought of in the first sixty seconds. There are probably dozens of other examples I could give.

Obviously, there is so much more that could be said about running your writing career like a small business, but hopefully this has given you something to chew on mentally. Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear them.

Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen