I’m going to be doing a skype visit this Friday morning insha Allah with some kids at a school in Brooklyn about career choices and I’ve been thinking about what it takes to make it as an author.

Thing is you need to have a number of ‘income streams’.

I know that sounds kind of like fishing, but hey, it may be the technical name for it.

There are times when the writing will dry up. When the books will not be working properly.

I seem to be going through a period like that, where I’m receiving a lot of rejections.

I could look at it in a very depressing mode, but I figure I must just be growing.

You know when you go through a growth spurt, nothing fits and you’re all awkward and gangly and bumping into things? Well that’s kind of like how some of my writing is going.

If I didn’t have the other streams going, then I’d probably be in a lot of trouble.

You need to have grants you apply for. They’ll help give you the funds to work out the kinks and get the writing going. Just received another Artist in Library grant for example, and that will provide three months of income come September to December, like it did last year.

For me, it has REALLY REALLY helped that I’m also a storyteller! Because I always, so far, alhamdu lillah, have had the storytelling and the presentations to fall back on.

Even though most all authors are suffering from a shortage of school presentations, I’ve been pretty fortunate because I still have been getting more than enough to keep me going.

Then there are the royalties and the foreign sales on past titles. Those cheques are very nice. Like finding money, sometimes a LOT!

And then, in Canada, there are the other found money sources, the ACCESS copyright and PLR cheques.

And then there are the book sales. I do sell my books when I visit schools and venues and you know what? It adds up.

It all adds up.

Got invited to do a storytelling gig in an underprivileged area on Wednesday afternoon. They weren’t offering a lot, but I said yes anyway.

I figured that even though it’s not a lot it’s still more than I’d make sitting home.

And you never know when a moment like that can lead to a story idea. You just never know.

This is definitely a field in which patience and perseverance triumphs.

And I’ve noticed a change, a very subtle change recently.

People are starting to treat me differently.

I really do feel more ‘established’ now.

Feels weird, but good, alhamdu lillah.