Guest Author - Lucinda Moriarty

As a writer, you spend most of your time using your imagination. You happily dedicate hours crafting plots, developing characters, and envisioning worlds that currently exist only at your fingertips. You write, revise, and write again. All with the goal of perfecting your manuscript so you can send it to publishers for consideration.

With creativity oozing through your veins, it can be somewhat difficult to treat your writing career as a cold, hard business.

But if your intention is to make money writing books for children it is time to face the fact: you are indeed in business. And in a writing business, you need to establish your own guidelines for success.

One staple of any business is the business plan.

A business plan is essentially an outline of how you intend to accomplish your goals as a writer. It sounds complicated, intimidating and perhaps a little boring. But it can be a valuable tool.

Once you define the reason you write for children, a business plan takes your vision and breaks it down into specific points about how to accomplish your goal. The result is a customized action plan that you can use to keep goal-focused and on track.

In order for your business plan to be effective, you need to be honest with yourself. Look into your heart and understand why you want to write for children. Is it to educate? To become wealthy? Or are you just looking for a creative career you can do from home?

There are no wrong answers; just be truthful with yourself.

After your plan is in place, you are ready to take action. Let's assume you only want to write sports biographies for teenagers. Your plan states you want to be self-published and sell your books yourself.

The marketing section of your plan might include establishing a website. You also may plan to produce a weekly newsletter for sports-minded teens that will drive them to that website. How about a promotion where you arrange to sell your books at a local sporting event? All of these are great ideas. And because you refer to them in your business plan, you can take action in a deliberate and productive manner.

Is it absolutely necessary for a writer to have a business plan? No. There are no rules that say you must have one. Publishers and agents do not require them.

However, a solid business plan can keep you on track to publication. And if you want to earn the best living you can as a writer for children, you owe it to yourself to admit you are open for business.