Can I make a living in writing?
Yes and no. If you want to write poetry, serious novels, scholarly works, or short stories, your chances of living by your writing are exceedingly slim. Think of all the bands that never play outside the garage, the actors who wait on tables, the dancers who will never make the New York City Ballet. Serious writers are in the same situation. Maybe 1% will become rich and famous. The rest are working day jobs.
On the other hand, there are writers whom you've never heard of making good livings, some of them writing fiction, although non-fiction has many, many more opportunities for profit. But, if you are a good story teller, work hard, enjoy one of the genres- romance, mystery, sci-fi, action adventure_ and can turn out a lot of copy, you can turn a profit. As with other jobs in the arts, you need to be productive and you need to market yourself intelligently and relentlessly.
So fiction is hard, what about non-fiction?
Think of all the paper in our daily lives: newspapers, advertisements, annual reports, catalogues, magazines, public relations releases, reference books, etc. Someone writes each of these items and some of those people are very well compensated. Add in publications you are less apt to see, like government reports, business memos, grant applications, trade journals ( a much bigger field than the consumer magazines you see at the newsstand) and you will see that there are enormous opportunities for someone who can write clean, accurate, efficient prose.
I should add, too, that in the book market, non-fiction also offers far greater opportunites, for both serious and commercial work, than fiction.
How do I get such jobs?
Be prepared and know people in the industry. Skill and contacts are the two essentials. Develop your skill by learning the journalistic style of writing, polishing up your spelling and grammar, and becoming obsessive about accuracy. Make contacts via internships and any writing/publishing/editing people in your circle of friends and family. Don't be shy. Success is indeed in part who you know. Remember, you may be the world's greatest writer, but if people don't know who you are, talent isn't going to do you any good.
I've written, or want to write, a children's book. Do I need to illustrate it?
No you need not illustrate the work. In fact, unless you're Maurice Sendak, editors would rather you didn't try. Children's books, being short, normally are submitted as a whole manuscript, but as with all books, you are advised to query before sending in anything.
I've written a book ( or a novel or a children's book). How do I find a publisher?
There's a couple of ways to research this always difficult question: The two big guide books are the very expensiveLiterary Marketplace (LMP), available in all big libraries and Writer's Market, which is cheap enough to buy. These list publishers and indicate which handle novels, non-fiction, children's books and genre fiction, etc.
Also very advisable, go to your local bookstores and libraries and see what sorts of books are being published. If you find a publisher who's doing something similar to your book, that publishing house may be a good prospect.
The web is another excellent source. I have some links from the publishing class webpageA Selection of World Wide Web Resources for Writing and Publishing Students and there are literally dozens of other good sites. One you get started, you will find an abundance of links. You can also get information about most publishing houses on line.
What about getting an agent?
Unless you have sold a book or stories already or have a dynamite non-fiction proposal and good clips or are seriously famous, you'll find agents can be as hard to come by as publishers. However, there are sometimes exceptions. Look for agents in Literary Market Place or Writer's Market or check one of the specialized books on agents which are now available in bigger book stores. Again, if you know someone who has an agent and can recommend you, that is often your best opportunity.
What about self-publishing?
One distinction: vanity presses and self publishing. In both cases, the writer pays for having the work published, but the self-publisher is committed to a marketing and sales campaign and really intends to make a business venture out of the project. Some people have done very well with self publishing ( see Virginia Woolf!)
Sad to say to prospective novelists, non-fiction is usually more profitable.
Best advice is to do your research and homework on presses and prices. There are a number of good books, including Applebaum's How to Get Happily Published, and again, an enormous amount of information on the web.
Finally, do not overlook the many new on-line publishers. I've had good luck re-issuing books with iUniverse.com. This is an area which is revolutionizing publishing. It is too early to tell yet whether it will ever be profitable, but for writers who are willing to market, market, market, the web offers real possibilities.