I'm not trying to sound like "The Secret", but...

[fabulousfrock]

I want to talk a bit about the ever popular subject of money. Specifically, something that irks me. The idea that writers can't make a living. Periodically a blog post or something comes along about how poor writers are and gets everybody depressed

Comments

[kellyrfineman]

More lentils sounds like a good idea in any event.

[fabulousfrock]

That's true. They are tasty and quite convenient!

[soniag]

When I hear again and again that a debut novelist should never quit their day job, for some reason I feel a little as if that person is shaking a finger at me.

I know exactly what you mean!

Of course, I quit my day job two years ago so . . . I'm not taking a glorious creative risk. Instead I've been weighed down with guilt for sponging off my husband until the check arrives.

Still, I totally feel that finger-shaking thing. Somewhere I read an agent saying he/she didn't want clients to give up jobs to write full-time because writers produce more and better material with the stress and time constraints of their day job! ACK!

[fabulousfrock]

Yes, stuff like what that agent said is what I'm talking about! Now I will admit I write about the same amount as I did when I worked. But marketing is something I definitely have more time for. Especially travel.

[shveta_thakrar]

But please, dream big for yourself. Just because there aren't a lot of authors who make a lot of money doesn't mean you can't be in the lucky few. There is always another spot for you.

Thank you for this. What a great post. I agree totally. If you follow your dreams, yes, sometimes you don't get instant gratification, but if you truly love what you do and don't give up, there's no reason you can't do well.

And as for eating lentils, mmm, Indian and Ethiopian food! :D

[fabulousfrock]

Thanks! And man, we don't have a good Ethiopian restaurant here so when I was in New York I sought one out and we walked a ways to get their and it was closed for lunch even though their website said they were open for lunch. I was devastated. Ethiopian food is so delicious! Indian food, luckily, I have an excellent place for that down the street.

[robinellen]

Very nice post, Jackie (and funny, hehe). I definitely believe that if I do get published, I'll make a nice supplementary income with it (and maybe more...you never know).

[fabulousfrock]

That's right! You never know what will happen when things finally happen!

[olmue]

Kind of reminds me of the perennial question my husband sees on the Chronicle of Higher Education boards (kinda like Verla Kay for academics...) People with a spouse employed in a high-paying career are always wondering if they can afford to go to grad school...or if they can afford to have a kid...or whatever. I mean, a lot depends on what you think you "need" to afford. If you can afford lentils, you can afford to do a lot! And you might just be able to afford a lot more to go with them, you never know. :)

It's true that pb authors don't often make it big (although a pb illustrator could make a career of it), but with novels, I think I know more novelists who have quit their day jobs than not... You're right to qualify it, but also to believe that it's possible to do that very thing.

[fabulousfrock]

That is true. People live on vastly different incomes even in the same city or with the same number of people in their home, etc. so if you really want to make something happen, often times you can, it just depends how much you will sacrifice for that thing.