Recording together in Brooklyn, the Book Friends are back to discuss one really hot topic..money matters! This isn’t always an easy subject to talk about for anyone, but listen in to hear what some of their journeys have been like with regards to finance in their careers.

What’s been going on with them this week? Grace was speaking at the Brooklyn Book Festival and they’re also preparing to host the Carle Honors together in New York! They have spent some quality time together in Brooklyn including going to eat dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai!

Take a trip down memory lane as Grace recalls her first advance for her very first book, The Ugly Vegetables, from 20 years ago.

It was a very low amount of money at the time but from there, everything else in her career after that seemed like a huge success! This brought them around to re-visiting Episode 11 where they talked about early success vs. later success. Early success means perhaps not being a part of the hussle in trying to make it or learning business models along the way. If you have later success, you can appreciate all the lessons you learned over time through trial and error.

As a an author and illustrator , Grace decided to make more money in addition to book advances by doing school visits which has turned out to be very successful.

Alvina dives into what it meant for her to come from a privileged place regarding finances and how she worked her way up to earning a 6-figure salary. Hear more about her trials and tribulations trying to get out of debt and working towards a stable salary. This led to a conversation about how making a salary is completely stable and always secured, as opposed to the life of an author who is trying to win the big lottery with an amazing best selling book! “You’re only as good as your last book” in many ways. There are pros and cons to having both types of income.

Grace and Alvina end with what they are grateful for. Grace is thankful for her husband Alex who helps keep their home alive while she can travel and stay career focused. Alvina is thankful for the delicious food in NYC of course but also new challenges such as hosting the Carle Honors!

2-Minute Book Review with Alison Morris!

Book: Moth by Isabel Thomas, Daniel Egneus (Illustrator)

Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children's book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years' experience matching books to readers. As the Senior Director of Title Selection for nonprofit First Book, she oversees the curation of children’s and young adult books on the First Book Marketplace, hand-selecting a diverse range of titles that speak to and address the needs of kids in underserved communities, with a keen eye to inclusion, authenticity, and kid-appeal. She previously served as Senior Editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, Children's Book Buyer for Wellesley Booksmith and The Dartmouth Bookstore, and was the founding blogger of the ShelfTalker children’s book blog for Publishers Weekly. She'll be joining us from her home near Washington, DC where she spends LOTS of time discussing books with her husband, illustrator and graphic novelist Gareth Hinds.