If we haven't had the chance to meet before, happy New Year! I'm Annette. I celebrate curiosity and write nonfiction for children (mostly). This blog post summarizes a bit of my year as a professional children's writer and presenter. I don't have a set number of hours I work each week, but I do appreciate my flexible schedule which allows time for taking care of my family. (I have three teens!) I generally work a full-time schedule, with 30-40+ hours a week. 
With another year behind us, I thought I would share a bit about my work. This blog post summarizes my work as a writer, focusing on my three main work categories: writing, consultations, and presentations. This was my busiest year for projects, events, and consultations. (And though I haven't added it all up, I suspect the most profitable if that matters to you.)
Writing Projects
These writing projects include loads of research and revisions. Whether my idea or a publishers, I love diving into the details of a topic and making it engaging for kids.
9 published books (details below)
2 published books I pitched
Chomp! The Truth About Sharks (Reycraft Books)
7 published books I was hired to write (publishers' ideas)
Christmas (Quarto Kids, words & pictures)
Series of 6 books: All About North American Insects (Mitchell Lane)
Fire Ants
Butterflies
Honey Bees
Yellowjackets
Beetles
Grasshoppers
13 contracted and completed manuscripts (about 27,000 words total with publishers not announced yet)
5 short biographies
6 animal books
2 longer books in a large series
These were all work-for-hire. If you're curious about getting assignments from editors, you may want to read my blog post about writing for the educational market. (And/or attend my upcoming workshop. Details to come.)
4 potential books
3 books on submission to publishers (written before 2024), but...
0 new contracts based on my ideas
1 historic nonfiction middle grade proposal and sample manuscript completed and ready to submit
25 blog posts
17 at AnnetteWhipple.com
Most popular children's nonfiction blog posts written in 2024:
8 at WilderCompanion.com
Most popular Little House-related blog posts written in 2024:
Writing Income
I'm sharing this because I think it's important for people to understand most authors do not make a living through their written words. (Yes, some authors have huge incomes. But most of us need another source to pay the bills. I'm grateful to my husband for that.) Most of us don't make much. I earned less than $18,000 with the writing of 13 books/27,000 words mentioned above. Based on the word count, you might have figured these were all short books. Five of them were less than 300 words each! (I also earned a wee bit in royalties from previously published books, but that was truly a small amount and doesn't change the total shared above.) And of course, blog posts provide no income and potential books may one day, but they certainly don't pay the bills right now.
However, much of my work as a writer isn't actually writing. Read on.
Consultations & Critiques
Over the years, I've learned a ton from others in the industry. I like using what I've learned and helping others. This year I had multiple clients return to me for additional consultations. Many I met through social media or teaching a writing workshop. A few came to me through others' recommendations. Thank you!
31 writers and/or organizations helped through critiques or consultations as well as editorial work.
Events & Presentations
I was once a teacher, so I love to teach and help all ages through my events and presentations. Some school visits and writing conferences last for multiple days. A MomCo (formerly MOPS) talk might last just 20 minutes--active speaking time anyway. Others events take place online. This year most of my events were near to me in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware. However, I also visited Texas and had an online event with a group in Taiwan!
The numbers below don't reflect how many presentations I shared. In-person author visits often have 3-4 presentations in a day. At writing conferences I teach as many sessions as requested. Sometimes it's intense. Other times it's low-key. No matter what, there's always a lot of preparation involved (even if I've taught the same topic before).
32 total days of events
13 days of author visits (at schools or online)
9 days of community events (like zoo, library, church, museum, book festival, story time events)
10 days of writing/educator/history conference/workshops (in person and online)
(Also, I'm an introvert. I need a day to recover from nearly every event because I give so much energy to it...but I love people, and they're worth it.)
Additional Work
I'm sure you understand that reading is part of my work--including researching. This typically happens away from my desk (and often throughout evenings and weekends). Social media marketing definitely consumes a lot of time. Some week and months I share more than other times. Sometimes I'm invited to a podcast or interview for an article or blog. This year, I met the voice behind Larry the Cucumber during a podcast interview! It's all part of the job. See more guest posts and interviews here.
Want More?
What surprised you the most about my writing year?
I know many are surprised how little money I actually make through writing books. Many are equally surprised at how much nonwriting is still work. What surprises you?
I'm also curious if you find posts like this helpful. I like learning about others' work and how it often includes something different than what I thought.
Is there anything you're curious about that I didn't address?
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Thanks for this enlightening post! I think it's important to be as transparent as we can and to share the realities of our industry, especially with those who are just starting out.
ReplyDeleteI know those conversations were really important to me, too!
DeleteI'm surprised about how much work you accomplished in a year. Good for you!! This must be a labor of love with the monetary return you received from your work not to mention the amount of time and energy for all the things you do unpaid. I appreciate your social media presence as it's always enjoyable to follow and wish you the best of luck in future work!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I love what I do AND love helping others, so it's definitely a labor of love! THANK you for your encouragement!
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