Writing as a Job

Most people who write as a hobby probably give at least a passing thought to what it would be like to write professionally. For me the attraction would be doing something I love, working from home, and being able to set my own schedule for the most part. No more going to bed at 9 and getting up at 5:30 even though I'm a night owl. No more hour spent on the interstate every day. For a successful writer there would be book tours with hellish schedules but they wouldn't be a day-to-day grind sort of thing.

A lot of people have a fantasy tough that once you sell one novel you will live a life of relative luxury. You will sleep until noon, do three or four hours of work, and then relax in your hot tub or head out to a party. After all J.K. Rowling only has to put out a less than a book a year and she's one of the richest women in the UK.

But she's the exception. The sad fact is that many pros often can't make a living at writing alone. If they do often theirs is the second income and their spouse has a “real job” with benefits and retirement plans. Often they moonlight as a professional writer and make the bulk of their money doing something else like teaching. The stats are better for writers than for actors but they still aren't very encouraging.

 

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