How does a first-time author get funding for publishing?
This question might as well be how does any author get funding for publishing, except that once you have a track record it is somewhat easier. Essentially, for a magazine piece, you write a query, and you either get an assignment or you don’t, but you don’t get paid until you have written the piece–so you need another source of cash flow if you need something to live on while writing (which is why beginners are often advised to keep their day job while launching a freelance career). For a nonfiction book, you write a book proposal, and the publisher either offers a contract or doesn’t, but again, although you may be paid part of the advance against royalties on signing, for a first-time author this will usually be a fairly small sum, and hard to live on during the time it takes to write the book (which almost always takes longer than you think it will). And the advance seldom covers your cost of living for the entire time you are writing, unless you are smart or lucky enough to come u
