Saturday, December 27, 2014

Writers Are Like Actors: Most Work Two Jobs



Are you a writer? Well, unless a rich relative recently left you a million-dollar bequest in a will or you have a winning lottery ticket in your safe deposit box, it is doubtful you will be able to quit your day job. If writing full time is your goal, there are three essentials to consider when contemplating writing full time. They are:
·         Personal finances
·         Assignment or publication frequency
·         Contract and deadline obligations
If you are writing on spec or as a freelancer, how often are you selling your work or getting assignments?  If you are writing books, will you receive an advance from your publisher and, if so, how long can you live on it?  (The advance will probably be paid in increments as you meet your submission deadlines.)
What is your financial situation?  How much money do you need each month to meet obligations such as rent or mortgage and utilities?  Do others depend on your income?  Notice I didn’t include food. How literally are you living the starving artist label?  How much money will you need to market your work? In other words, do you know what it will cost you to become a full time writer?
Review your current income and expenses. Determine what you are willing to give up and what you can afford to spend on your business. How much help and support will you get from your spouse or family?  After you use up your vacation time, how many unpaid days off will your employer allow?  How many can you afford to take?
Until you are able to leave the employment that pays the bills, you will be working two jobs. Give some thought to how you will budget time as well as money.

The preceding paragraphs are pulled from Dollars and Sense for Writers, Chapter One. So many readers, reading articles about J. K. Rowling’s wealth, think all writers make a lot of money. Nothing could be further from the truth. Being a writer is not easy and eking out a living from it is extremely difficult.  But if you truly love to write, you’ll do it anyway.  Just like I do.