In order to be paid for your work as a professional illustrator you will need to go through the, often challenging, process of finding work.  While you are searching for paid work, it may be valuable to do unpaid jobs which will help you build up for portfolio. If you wish to be paid for your work, try contacting anyone you know in the business of publishing or editing books to see if they can help point you in the right direction. You can also contact a publishing company by phone or letter; in doing this, you may get a chance to have your portfolio considered. You are likely to be rejected many times, so be persistent! This may be via phone or email, or it may be in person. Regardless, this is the time to agree upon deadlines, any special requirements of the author, your timetable and availability, or any other questions you might have. You will repeat this step many times throughout the process. You will need to show the author/s and publishers samples of what you have so far in order to agree that it is moving in the right direction. When you finally do find someone in need of your services, they will give you either one or many options of different novels and books. You must, of course, read a draft or if the story is a reprint read the original book previous to the reprint. You may be lucky enough to have the opportunity do a cover or dust-jacket design. You must make sure you thoroughly understand the plot and its characters; remember their emotions are expressed through your art. If you have agreed that you enjoy the story, and that you would like to illustrate it, you should meet with the author to discuss and agree upon a number of things such as: the cover (and whether or not you will illustrate it), which pages should be illustrated, what kind of media you will use (i.e. what kind of illustrations you are going to make), etc. After you've met with the author and agreed on the details, you will need to sign a contract that specifies all the details of your agreement with the publishing company and/or author.  Make sure the contract includes pertinent information such as when you should be finished and how much you should be paid. Make sure to get a copy of the contract which includes the signatures of all involved parties and the date it was signed. How this step proceeds depends on how you, as an artist, prefer to work. Some illustrators like to begin with making some pencil sketches of the ideas they have in their head, comparing them and getting feedback from friends and family. While others just free draw. However you do it, you need to start coming up with a solid idea of what each character will look like, and what the style of the illustrations will be. Your method for illustrating may be completely different, and that is OK. If you are successfully creating illustrations, there is no reason to try to change anything. Once you have come up with a sketch that fits with the guidelines of the publisher (these will be different for every publisher, and probably every job), you will need to come up with rough sketches for each required page that you will review with the author/publishers. Sometimes it can be hard to receive feedback from others, especially if it is critical; however, you should try not to take this personally. They only want the book to be as good as it can be. Based on the feedback of the authors you should do your best to revise them so that all parties can be happy with the end product. Be sure that the illustrations will fit the dimensions of the book! If you draw the image too big, parts of the image will be missing from the book, and the effect may not be the same. After what is likely to be several rounds of feedback on your work, you will be able to complete a final illustration. You will then send these to the publisher, where the sketches and the story will be put together to create the final product!
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Find a job. Meet with the art director. Read drafts. Meet with the author. Sign a contract. Begin the process of illustration. Refine your drawings. Revise your illustrations. Finish your illustrations.


If you have a mortgage on the property, total the mortgage payments you would make over the course of a year, including interest, taxes, and any associated fees. These payments are part of your cost of owning the property.  Even if you don't have a mortgage, you're likely still responsible for property taxes on the property. Those would also be considered part of your costs of ownership. If you don't own the property yet, use an estimate of mortgage payments or get an offer from a mortgage company for the property and use that number instead. If you rent out the property, you'll typically need landlord insurance, which may have different rates than homeowner's insurance. If you don't already own the property, a quote from a reputable insurer will help you estimate this cost.  In addition to landlord's insurance, you may also want to consider other types of insurance to cover damage to the property. Rent insurance may also be available to you, which provides you some money in the event your tenant breaks their lease or needs to be evicted for nonpayment of rent. If you've hired a management company to run the property on your behalf, their fees are considered part of your costs. You may also have other property expenses or fees, depending on where the property is located.  For example, if you only own the building but not the land, you may have to pay rent for the land that the property sits on. If you have a unit in an apartment building or condominium complex, you may also have association fees to consider. Over the course of the year, your tenant may have things break that need to be repaired. While you can't necessarily predict all of these expenses, you can typically come up with a reasonable estimate based on the age of the property and its fixtures. You also want to consider major repairs that may be necessary in the event of a natural disaster or other event. While your insurance may cover some of this expense, you'll likely still have to pay a deductible.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary --
Calculate your yearly mortgage payments. Get a quote for insurance. Include any management fees or other property expenses. Estimate costs for repairs and maintenance.