Interesting! If only I enjoyed fighting against the odds to get my 32 line story seen by an agent in order for the small royalty cheque that goes mostly to the illustrator that is much more well known than I so gets the bigger cut!

[–] liv 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

True, true, the only way to make money seems to be self publish and for that you need space for a garage full of books!

I'm not sure what it's like these days but NZ was always so small we don't really need an agent for local publishers, though.

[–] Dave 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

From a young age I have known I wanted to be someone that sits at a desk with a steady pay cheque. I've never dreamed of entrepreneurship.

Also I spelt entrepreneurship right on the first try and I'm super proud of that 😆

[–] liv 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

So you should, "entrepreneurship" is a Big Kids word! 😄

I hear you on the pay cheque. Preferably from a large organization.

As far as I can see being an author in NZ is not what to do if you want money, it's more a side thing done by people who already have good jobs.

[–] Dave 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I've heard it's the same for the top kiwi musicians, the famous-in-NZ kiwi artists ain't retiring on their money.

Large organisations are a great place to work. You can get job because they take on 10 people at a time so you only have to be the 10th best candidate, they have professional development, and you get the opportunity to trial roles or build skills via sharing with other areas of the organisation.

There are downsides but I prefer it to some owner operator boss who thinks you have to do whatever he says.

[–] liv 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That's another plus about organizations, while they may also think you have to do whatever they say, they're more realistic about what that is because it has likely already been tested in court.

[–] Dave 2 points 4 months ago

Haha yes, I'm a bit of a job hopper so people tend to not try to tell me what to do. Definitely seen people who dread the thought of a new job be taken advantage of, though.