I SO adored the blog post by Emily Gould, “How Much my Novel Cost Me.” We must have been sisters in another life. Honestly, I can relate to the experience of getting an MFA in New York. Of having “broke” trust fund friends. Of augmenting my writing by teaching yoga, for very little…And, of course, of the reality of how much debt one can go into when writing a novel. My first book, the thesis of my MFA program, cost me almost $40,000…and then after my agent died, I took an editor position at a magazine in order to pay off debt. I can also relate to the ticking clock need to have a baby! Insert two children and nearly 10 years of NOT writing fiction, and now I’m back at it, working on my 4th novel.
If you are an aspiring author, read her post as she outlines her years in debt, what she learned and how her book deal came about. Yes, you may go in debt, even if you get a book deal. And no, getting a book deal won’t guarantee your happiness. It might, however, help you to feed your cat, to pay off debt and to start the next novel without too much fear of not being able to buy groceries or make the rent for a few months while you write!
Enjoy. Thanks Emily for the wonderful post. (Read it HERE.) I look forward to reading your next book!
