Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Are you a full-time writer?

This is topic Are you a full-time writer? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by kingtermite (Member # 7794) on :

Do you have a "real job" and write on the side or are you a full-time writer? I'm curious how many are seriously trying make this their full-time career?

Where are you? What's your mind set?

I am just finally trying my dream of writing, but I have a full-time job/career. I am going to write on the side and see where that takes me. Although I think it would be fun to write full-time, I don't have misplaced illusions that writing will be my full-time bread earning endeavor.

How about you?

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Well, I tried going without other occupations, but writing never paid out for me, in money at any rate. To date, the best I did was a promise of ten dollars on publication that never came. You can't stretch that kind of money over a lifetime, no matter how hard you try. So, in order to maintain an indulgent lifestyle, I took work that drains my energy and leaves me with little time for writing.

Not that I'd probably produce that much more if I wasn't working full-time---of late I'm a five-hundred-words-a-day guy when I'm actually working on something---and I haven't produced much more than that at times I've been off-the-clock.

(Actually, I'd like to dispense with the soul-draining job. If I told you what I had to put up with, you wouldn't believe me. But that won't happen until I retire, which is a minimum of ten years away, I figure.)

Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :

I have just commited myself to write full time. As full time as one can be with three school age children. I don't expect to make a living at it anytime soon, as I have just started. I need some experience. So I'll polish my grammar and give it an honest try. I write alot(1000-4000 wd/day)which is good. I am not in it for the money as much as doing something that I enjoy and something I can be remembered for, even if it is only my family that remembers.

Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :

1) Many novelists are not "full-time" writers, though they put out yearly novels.

2) Whether or not you can comfortably quit your "day job" has little to do with how serious a person is.

A writer is defined as someone who writes. A prolific writer writes often. I think you can more aptly think of a serious writer as one who writes everyday, at every opportunity--one who is clearly working at perfecting the craft.

Look to the Fragments&Feedback sections and challenges and I think you will see who is serious. A beginner; an adolescent; and a retiree can be just as serious as anyone else. That's a state of mind, of determination.

Not everyone can be a Stephen King and find an unexploited vein to tap, that will pay back in the multimillions--though, it'd be nice.

I write every day, every chance I get, trying to master the craft. I work a 9-10 hour-a-day full time job, too. But I am serious about writing and getting published.

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited February 11, 2008).]

Posted by DebbieKW (Member # 5058) on :

Am I a full-time writer? Yes, though what I write varies (mainly pen-pal letters, my blog, and novels, but also non-fiction and short stories).

Do I earn a living at it? No. I manage my parent's farm in return for a free place to live. I also grow much of my own food, so my expenses are relatively cheap. The farm work usually doesn't take more than a few hours each day, so I usually have plenty of writing time. Last year, I wrote 4-8 hours a day. However, for the next few months, much more of my time will be spent managing the farm and I'm only spending 1-3 hours each day on my writing. Since this situation is temporary, though, I still count writing as my "main" job.

What's my mind set? I will make a living off of my writing someday. To that end, I'll work hard to polish my writing and get more of my stuff published.

quote:
a serious writer as one who writes everyday

I try to write something on my novel, even if it's just one paragraph, six days each week. I usually write at least half a page once I get that first sentence of the day down. But I'd burn out if I wrote on the same thing every single day. I do agree with InarticulateBabbler that serious writers don't all become or even have the goal of becoming full time writers. KT, are you asking who's serious about becoming a repeatedly-published author or who's serious about quitting their day job?

Posted by Cheyne (Member # 7710) on :

Full-time. I am writing at work, on the way too work, while on break, walking my dog, and in bed. In my head, that is.

The physical act of writing I do part time.
I have a full time professional career, a wife, a family, an acreage, and pets. I make time to write as often as I can. I write every day and have little or no social life beyond home. That said, I am happiest when I have time to write.
Someone mentioned Stephen King and yes we all want to have his problems (Ok, maybe not his physical problems).

I am 25k into my first novel and would be happy to have it published and hopefully read by someone. I would be even happier if the sale of said novel would allow me to quit working full time. I would be very happy to write for the rest of my life without having to worry about who would pay the bills.

Posted by gobi13x (Member # 6837) on :

I second that idea Cheyne. It would be sweet to live off my writings.
I am a full time student, and I end up writing a lot, so in that aspect I am a full time writer. Regrettable most of it is for school, but I do get some time into my works went I can.

Posted by A.R. Martin (Member # 7793) on :

I will be a full-time writer and a very popular author. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, "will" being the key word. For now though writing is whenever I can fit it in. However, I ALWAYS make sure that I at least finish a page a day - I don't go to sleep until I do. I'm trying to break out of writing for free, slowly but surely. I've been doing that for years and years and I never even thought about making money doing it... but then again I was either in the military or living at home and had no need for money. Now that I'm living off of $1-$2 a day for food and car pooling whenever I can to get to work - money has become a little more important. Bean burritoes and having a neighbor that lets you plant a vegitable garden in their back yard are wonderful things and a great source of manditory diet; and cleaning houses is a great source of secondary income.

The only thing I splurge on is my internet connection and keeping my labtop and smart phone in top condition.

Posted by AstroStewart (Member # 2597) on :

I am not a full time writer, and I have no intention of becoming one. I am serious about my craft and I make an effort to improve and perfect my skills, but even if I finally sold my first novel (of a planned series) and became a wild success, I would not quit my job.

I do have fantasies of being a physics professor / fantasy author one day though, and doing both simultaneously, but my academic career always comes first.

Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :

Cheyne,
I hear you about the social life. I feel like all of my friends have given up on me because I have neglected them so much for writing. I basically structure my day around getting those two or three hours in. There is time for little else.
*sigh*
Oh well, who need friends when I have my characters? (I wish I could say that was a joke)

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

I thought of listing "writer" as my occupation on my tax return forms...but chickened out. Arguably "writer" is my occupation, and everything else is just a sideline or lucrative hobby. But in proportion to the time I spend on it and the income it yields, my paying job wins out.

Posted by Igwiz (Member # 6867) on :

Yeah, not sure I ever plan to quit my day job, even if I do sell my novel (still a WIP), and get my short stories published in every pro-market possible.

Also, the "work for yourself" has more implications that just base income. I don't want to have to worry about paying for my own insurance, my own 401(k), or paying both sides of the fringe benefit tax structure...

Posted by JamieFord (Member # 3112) on :

Writing is my day job. And sometimes my night job. But, it's my only job.

Posted by MrsBrown (Member # 5195) on :

I write tech manuals for my day job and squeeze in working on my novel when I can. But my family comes first, so my time choices for the WIP are quite limited. Am I serious? Well, I have a made a decision, a committment, that I'm in for the long haul, as much or as little as I can produce at a given time.

Posted by lehollis (Member # 2883) on :

I write emails for a living.

I've acquired the impression that whatever you do, if it becomes your full-time job and means of income, it loses it's luster a bit. OSC mentioned this happening to him when he began to write full-time. A job is a job. When you have to do it, it's not as fun.

Maybe that's true, or maybe not. I don't know from experience. It's kind of hard to see how that could be true from where I stand now.

I'm not sure I'd ever write full time without a day job. I'd have to hit fairly huge success to take that leap. I think I'd have to have at least ten to thirty books on the shelves, too.

Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :

I would happily give up my day job to do writing full-time. Though after working for eight hours per day with heroin addicts I often feel fairly f***ed. I seldom write.

I do spend a lot of time writing in my head. Every moment, when I have any mental time, I think about ideas, plots and characters, often trying to ensure my story arcs feel solid.

I usually only write when the story completes in my head, then I set it down on paper.

"..In this life or the next, I will have my best seller..."
Maximus Rewardus

[This message has been edited by skadder (edited February 12, 2008).]

Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :

I'm moving toward a career in the film/television industry, where I'll be writing screenplays and script treatments, spec scripts and proposals. And, if I have anything to say about it, directing. That's quite a bit of creative writing, though probably not in the context of your original question. I'm looking forward to being paid for doing all that professionally.

Plus I intend to continue writing original speculative fiction on the side, and hopefully work toward serious publication. If I play my cards right (and God willing, that'll happen) I'll be hitting the creative markets from both sides...visually and with the written word.

Inkwell
------------------
"The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp."
-Anonymous

[This message has been edited by Inkwell (edited February 13, 2008).]

Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :

Sure, I'm a full-time writer.

And a nose-wiper, carpool driver, mom extraordinaire.

I don't get paid for ANY of my jobs, so I might as well claim I'm a full-time writer in there. I expect the "not getting paid for any" part of that sentence to change at some point, it's just a matter of what fills in the blank. I like the idea of earning money from writing, since I feel like I'm writing all day anyway. Emails, blog posts, online bulletin board (like this one) posts, personal journals, short stories, a completed but desperately needing revisions novel, project proposals, spec docs for a nonprofit, other spec docs for another nonprofit (man these nonprofits are getting a BARGAIN when it comes to the work I do for free for them!) - I'm always writing something. So sure. I'm a writer. Are you?

Posted by MartinV (Member # 5512) on :

All I know is that ideas never cease to come to me and that I have a list of 72 stories ready to be developed and written anytime I wish. That being said, the time and energy are the only problem.

I'm a student and I'm probably going to get a job after that's done. That's to keep me living well enough for me to keep writing. No work is attractive enough for me to put my writing aside. If I ever become a published writer, that's good. I don't dream of becoming a multi-millionare by writing.

Posted by Alethea Kontis (Member # 3748) on :

I am a full-time writer with a full-time dayjob. While slightly difficult to juggle, the two are not mutually exclusive. (But it does explain why my house is a mess.) I do not have to worry about benefits and 401K. I do have to worry about paying someone to mow my lawn and file my taxes.

The thing about writing is that it's all freelance. Sure, I made more writing than I did at my dayjob last year, but I'm not deluded enough to think that will happen every year. The bonus is that I love my dayjob. I don't want to leave it.

Where am I? Literally: Tennessee. Figuratively: Busy.

Where is my mind? Travis Tritt and Spinach. No...really. If I find myself doing nothing, I move to the next thing on the list and keep on going.