We recently connected with Sherry Ellis and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sherry thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. But it’s not the traditional 9-5 job, or even one job. I do many things to make it work. As a musician, I teach and perform. I have a studio of about 30 violin, viola, and piano students. I also play with local orchestras and do freelance gigs, including weddings. Most of my musician work is done during weekday evenings or on weekends.

On the author side, I earn royalties from the books I have written. I wish I could say I could live comfortably off of this, but the reality is that it’s pocket change. I earn most of my money through speaking engagements and school visits.

Building a business as a creative takes time. It’s about being consistent, making connections, showing up, and doing a great job. Word of mouth really helps. If you have a great product or offer a great service, you’ll build your business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been a musician and author for over thirty years. My career has been multi-faceted. As a musician, I perform with orchestras and teach. I’m currently the principal violist of the Georgia Philharmonic and Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra. I also teach violin, viola, and piano lessons at Musik21, a conservatory in Johns Creek. Some of the highlights of my musical career include being a semifinalist in the 2004 International Viola Competition in Paris, France, performing as a soloist in Germany, and performing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra with The Georgia Philharmonic at Dragon Con 2024. I am also the Executive Director of the Georgia Philharmonic. Managing the business side of an arts organization has added a nice balance to my career.

As an author, I have ten published books. Most are children’s books—picture books and middle-grade books. I enjoy attending author events and connecting with young readers at school and library visits.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Sure. This is the story of my book, Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China. Most authors can share stories about querying publishers and receiving countless rejection letters. I am no different. Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China, even after numerous revisions, received many rejection letters. Most were standard with no reason given for the rejection, or suggestions for how to improve the manuscript. But one editor offered the idea of changing the point of view to a first person point of view. I took his advice and rewrote the entire story. A short time later, a publisher accepted it. How long did this take? Ten years!

Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China was published by Dancing Lemur Press in 2018, and has received numerous awards including a first place Purple Dragonfly Book Award, and the silver medal from Reader’s Favorite.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is about showing up, providing entertaining or educational content, and interacting with others on the platform.

When I begin using a social media platform, I set up my bio, making it very clear who I am, what I do, and where I can be found. Linktree is a great tool for including social media, website, newsletter, and book links. I may also include a request, like, “Read my books,” pointing to a buy link.

Then I post. This should be every day if possible, especially when you start out. This gives the algorithms a chance to know you. Use hashtags related to your content. Examples of this could be, #bookstagram, or #authorsofinstagram.

Social media is just that—social. This means you should like other peoples’ content, leave comments, and reply to others’ comments on your own material. If you do this consistently, you should see growth. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen over time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sherryellis.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherry_ellis_author/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherryellisbooksandmusic/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherry-ellis-71585521/
• Twitter: https://x.com/513sherrye
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sherryellis4456
• Other: Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/sherryellisauthor.bsky.social
  Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/profile/07844837212122243321

Image Credits

Musician photos credit: Eric Burkard