Wow, that was super helpful! Just found your account on Instagram. I’m a freelance boardgame illustrator (started January 2023), so I’m still new to this whole publishing thing. But I feel like, with your help, this year will be better. :)
Such an insightful piece thanks for sharing this! It gives me a lot to think about and aspire to in my illustration career. I’m so excited that you'll be making some more YouTube vids.
My game plan this year is to put myself out there more—YouTube, public speaking, querying, ... 😳
This was such a great salary breakdown! Also, I really enjoyed your point about schools needing to invite illustrators just as much as authors. We definitely deserve the same respect as these are PICTURE books. Plus seeing us draw is always pure magic for kids.
I don't think this is related to respect, it's more related to curriculum tie ins. Art appreciation and art techniques are also part of education but, sadly, not as high a priority when you only have so much time for teaching kids to read and write and many other things.
I definitely can understand that pov, but illustrators can bring so much more to the table than just our art. I think that can be a real misconception about us. When I visit schools I actually talk about how my art helped me become a better writer, and how it can help conquer your fear of a blank page as a kid when you can doodle your ideas for writing. :)
Thank you for being so open about this! I'm in the process of making a 2023 overview for myself, because it's always so interesting to see where what goes.
May I ask where you are based? I'm suprised by the percentage of taxes, compared to the Dutch system. It's 21% here on your total income, and then another 42% on your profit (so, after expenses are paid). Also, book advances seem to be a lot more profitable where you are. Here's, it's about €1.500 per book.
Hi Marloes! The percentage would have been higher if my publishers were Canadian but they are all in the US; we have HST tax (I think similar to VAT?) of 13% that we have to charge for client work, but international clients are exempt from it. So I think this does reduce my taxes a bit although I still am taxed for my overall income too.
I always appreciate your insights and transparency Anoosha - thank you! This year for me is gonna be the year where I really take the momentum I started building with my YouTube channel before depression had me take a hiatus for a few months. I actually ended up getting monetized during that hiatus, so I'm gonna try to start uploading more consistently now! I've also decided to look for full time work again, I've gotten really tired of the freelance hustling game, and my part time job started reducing my hours significantly so I am missing the consistency I once had from it. So more Youtube and getting a full time job are my main goals for this year!
Thank you so much for this, on the road to becoming a children's book illustrators and this year sounds a lot like your "gap" year, developing pitches etc. You have been a wonderful guide throughout my journey even before I started my career change. Thank you Anoosha :)
Yes! I’m always learning about new ways artists are supporting themselves. I know someone who has a nice side income just from making those little custom emojis for peoples’ twitch/discords!
Wow, that was super helpful! Just found your account on Instagram. I’m a freelance boardgame illustrator (started January 2023), so I’m still new to this whole publishing thing. But I feel like, with your help, this year will be better. :)
Very interesting, Anoosha - thanks for sharing!
Such an insightful piece thanks for sharing this! It gives me a lot to think about and aspire to in my illustration career. I’m so excited that you'll be making some more YouTube vids.
My game plan this year is to put myself out there more—YouTube, public speaking, querying, ... 😳
Such a great insight, thank you for sharing
This is so interesting! Thank you for sharing this breakdown.
Thank you!
This was such a great salary breakdown! Also, I really enjoyed your point about schools needing to invite illustrators just as much as authors. We definitely deserve the same respect as these are PICTURE books. Plus seeing us draw is always pure magic for kids.
I don't think this is related to respect, it's more related to curriculum tie ins. Art appreciation and art techniques are also part of education but, sadly, not as high a priority when you only have so much time for teaching kids to read and write and many other things.
I definitely can understand that pov, but illustrators can bring so much more to the table than just our art. I think that can be a real misconception about us. When I visit schools I actually talk about how my art helped me become a better writer, and how it can help conquer your fear of a blank page as a kid when you can doodle your ideas for writing. :)
YOU! 🏆
🫣❤️❤️
Anoosha, thank you so much for taking your time to write down such an insightful overview! Highly appreciated.
Thanks so much for sharing this, it’s very interesting to read!
Thank you for being so open about this! I'm in the process of making a 2023 overview for myself, because it's always so interesting to see where what goes.
May I ask where you are based? I'm suprised by the percentage of taxes, compared to the Dutch system. It's 21% here on your total income, and then another 42% on your profit (so, after expenses are paid). Also, book advances seem to be a lot more profitable where you are. Here's, it's about €1.500 per book.
Never mind, just saw you're based in Canada :)
Hi Marloes! The percentage would have been higher if my publishers were Canadian but they are all in the US; we have HST tax (I think similar to VAT?) of 13% that we have to charge for client work, but international clients are exempt from it. So I think this does reduce my taxes a bit although I still am taxed for my overall income too.
Thank you for explaining, I find these things very interesting :)
I always appreciate your insights and transparency Anoosha - thank you! This year for me is gonna be the year where I really take the momentum I started building with my YouTube channel before depression had me take a hiatus for a few months. I actually ended up getting monetized during that hiatus, so I'm gonna try to start uploading more consistently now! I've also decided to look for full time work again, I've gotten really tired of the freelance hustling game, and my part time job started reducing my hours significantly so I am missing the consistency I once had from it. So more Youtube and getting a full time job are my main goals for this year!
Thank you so much for this, on the road to becoming a children's book illustrators and this year sounds a lot like your "gap" year, developing pitches etc. You have been a wonderful guide throughout my journey even before I started my career change. Thank you Anoosha :)
Love your insights! There's so many different ways to make money as an artist/illustrator to try
Yes! I’m always learning about new ways artists are supporting themselves. I know someone who has a nice side income just from making those little custom emojis for peoples’ twitch/discords!
What a generous post! I appreciate these kinds of breakdowns and think many more people could benefit from this resource!
Thanks!!
This was so insightful, thank you for taking the time to share!
I'm glad it was helpful!