I've been reading a lot lately about the misconception that published authors earn so much from their work, they are in an enviable financial position where they can immediately give up their regular job and concentrate solely on writing.
To earn enough from writing alone, a writer needs quantity as well as quality. Presumably - and I'm not an expert - the authors who are able to rely on their creative writing alone are a very rare species - which will probably become rarer with the global down turn biting us hard. We're all affected by it - in my own world I've seen a dropping off of some work. To be fair, I've also seen an increase in other sectors of my work - people still need advertising, marketing, brochures and web content. My work is 'steady' so I've got my fingers very firmly crossed.
Would I be happy to give it all up to promote and champion my novel? You bet I would!
What work do you do in your world? Would you be happy to give it up for a writing career, or would you think twice before jumping in with both feet?
Lots of love
Valentina x
P.S. A big thank you to Martin Willoughby for my new award, One Lovely Blog. I'd hoped that I would receive this one, and thanks to wonderful Martin, it has pride of place on my shelf. Thanks Martin!
10 comments:
I wanted to be a self-supporting writer from my twenties on, but it never happened. I had to help pay the bills. I'm retired now, so it's not that important anymore. Of course, I still have bills to pay.
I look forward to the day I can retire from life and write full time. For now, I fix PCs, remove viruses and explain how to use software.
(It's nice to know I've given someone a gift they've always wanted)
There are some YA authors who have never written anything before that get what's called a "major book deal". That's industry speak for an advance that's over $500,000 in cash. To put that in perspective...that is ten years (at a minimum) of me working at my job.
So yeah...some YA authors are making bank. If they say they aren't getting paid all that much (and yes I know one that got a major deal) it's because they live in expensive zip codes like Orange County where homes go for a million dollars.
I don't sympathize with them one bit. They are spoiled, gazing up at the palm and lime trees, lamenting that their million dollars can't let them retire...well it could if you didn't live in Orange County miss. Yes, it could if you didn't live in Laguna Beach and shop at Neiman Marcus.
The thing is...they all crave that. IT's in the American genome now. It's called entitlement and the millennials are the most spoiled generation to ever walk this earth.
I'm a stay-at-home mom/writer, so I can't give up my day job. Ha! But I do wonder what it will be like when my children are older. Will I have more time to write, or will I fill that time with something else?
I'm a stay-at-home mom too (Hi up there Emily!), so me not getting paid for work I do is par for the course.
Hi Richard ~ You haven't given up though, have you?
Hi Martin ~ That's an important job you do ~ we all need people like you at some point! My computer always seems to need a PC doctor.
Hi Michael ~ Thank you for the heads up. I've never looked at it like that before but I guess it's not what's coming in, but more about what's going out!
Hi Emily ~ In my experience, family and friends always want our time. We just have to be strong and put some aside for ourselves.
Hi Elizabeth ~ Not paid in money, maybe, but I bet you're paid in heaps of love.
When writing is looked upon as a real job by everyone, I guess we can expect money. For now, we'll accept the good feelings we get from writing in lieu of money.
Just keep having fun then. That's really what you're saying. lol. We can't all be the rockstars, but dang it, we can try.
I worked with fourth graders struggling with math and language arts. About two months ago, I did give it up to write full time! I definitely jumped in with both feet. This is what I've wanted to do for so long.
I just never guessed that I would STILL not be able to find enough time in the day to do all I need to do! I kind of figured that would be a thing of the past when I quit the day job. How wrong I was!
I work from home a few hours a week, writing for a local company. And I'm a full-time mommy! I'll be fine when my work-work is no longer necessary, but I love the being a mom part. :)
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