Is the economy affecting you as a writer?

Jackfishwoman · Sep 22, 2008

Are you personally feeling the pain of the bad economy?

How has it affected your writing/career? Or not?

Darzian · Sep 23, 2008

Ummm...I'm in Sri Lanka, and there is a war going on. As a result, all my leisure activities are hopelessly limited to the extent where I spend most of my time at home. And so, I write much more than I normally would.

Deccydiva · Sep 23, 2008

Nope! I've been unemployed and just above the poverty line for so long now I'm used to it!

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 23, 2008

No.

And No.

Sassee · Sep 23, 2008

The economy has caused my company to be bought out, but as far as writing...

The sun still rises, I still write, and my characters continue to frustrate me. This does not change with the current state of the economy. lol

vixey · Sep 23, 2008

No. I wish I had some clever answer, but, it's just no.

mlhernandez · Sep 23, 2008

No. Or rather I'll know when I get my next royalty check. If my first month release numbers dip, then I'll know readers are feeling the pinch. Luckily I don't depend on my writing income.

Kate Thornton · Sep 23, 2008

Yes.
I spend time worrying that my IRA has lost 50% of its value in the last 6 months and I have no way to make up the losses. The time I spend working to get Social Security Disability (they don't make it easy) is time lost to writing, which is already difficult with only one hand (and the wrong non-writing hand at that) but I have no choice as I must eat. The cost of basic necessities has gone up, and I really do feel the pinch. There are so many things I would like to afford (physical therapy, new socks, etc.) but must watch the pennies.

I am living okay, but I do worry about the future and that affects my writing in a negative way.

C'mon - tell me something uplifting! Give me something to smile about! Tell me the DJIA is going back up to 15000! Tell me my solar energy stocks are going to rise up and power us all!

Claudia Gray · Sep 23, 2008

For now, no.

I am wondering how it may affect my plans to try to go full-time in a couple of years, though. It is going to be tough to save the way I should, and there's no telling what my IRA is going to look like at that point.

angelgirl · Sep 23, 2008

DarzianUmmm...I'm in Sri Lanka, and there is a war going on.

Thanks for putting things in perspective. Here's hoping that you and your loved ones stay safe.

Darzian · Sep 23, 2008

angelgirl said:
DarzianUmmm...I'm in Sri Lanka, and there is a war going on.

Thanks for putting things in perspective. Here's hoping that you and your loved ones stay safe.

I'm not sure I understand the first part of that post.

But in case my post seems offensive in any way:

I did not, in any way, suggest that the financial crisis in the US is lesser to any other problem in any other nation.
*************************************************

angelgirl said:
Here's hoping that you and your loved ones stay safe.

Thank You. I hope to remain alive too. At least until I get published. Luckily, I am in the capital, and not in the places where the actual fighting occurs. Others are not as fortunate.

mscelina · Sep 23, 2008

Nope. I just went full time in June and we were fortunately well-set for it. Actually, me writing full-time is saving us money--the car stays in the driveway, my smoking habit is down to a pack a week, no more happy hour bills or ordering pizza--works really well.

That and I make money lying on my couch in my sweats. *shrug* It all works out.

mscelina · Sep 23, 2008

Darzian said:
I'm not sure I understand the first part of that post.

.

She was quoting your post so that people would know to whom she referred. She was giving you a compliment.

Darzian · Sep 23, 2008

mscelina said:
She was quoting your post so that people would know to whom she referred. She was giving you a compliment.

Ah ok. I'm always paranoid about offending people.
Thanks

Robin Bayne · Sep 23, 2008

I am getting less done lately-- we don't go away on short trips like we used to. Instead we stay home and do things needed around the house. Yuck. I want my day trips back so I can get some words down.

Phaeal · Sep 23, 2008

Well, I'm just going to write harder -- it's cheap entertainment, and there's always the chance it'll bring in a few shekels.

For the rest, I'm just praying Congress won't approve any measures that put still more power in the executive and administrative branches, or that will let the finance execs float off to the Caiman Islands on their golden parachutes.

angelgirl · Sep 23, 2008

Sorry, Darzian, if I seemed offended in any way because that was not my intent. I thought your original post served as a good reminder that things could always be worse. Now if I could just figure out how to quote previous posts in those nifty little boxes....

Personally, the poor economy has actually motivated me to write more. I've always dabbled a little bit, but the necessity of pulling in a little more money has made me get my butt in gear.

Straka · Sep 23, 2008

Since I'm unpublished no in that respect. But since cost of living has gone up, I need to work more and that cuts into writing time.

Darzian · Sep 23, 2008

angelgirl said:
Sorry, Darzian, if I seemed offended in any way because that was not my intent. I thought your original post served as a good reminder that things could always be worse. Now if I could just figure out how to quote previous posts in those nifty little boxes....

Personally, the poor economy has actually motivated me to write more. I've always dabbled a little bit, but the necessity of pulling in a little more money has made me get my butt in gear.

Oh my gosh, don't apologize- I'm the one who misinterpreted. Well, glad everything's cleared up.

If you want to quote, don't hit the 'reply' button. Instead click on 'quote' in the bottom right corner of the member's post that you wish to quote.

BTW, I'be given up caring about the war. I used to- but it isn't worth it any more. Too many people actually support it. Anyhow, I'm writing much more because of it- since I don't go about much.

Sean D. Schaffer · Sep 23, 2008

Shadow_Ferret said:
No.

And No.

Ditto.

Dara · Sep 25, 2008

I've felt no effects from the bad economy. I can't tell how it's affecting publishers, but from this end as long as I've got the money for my ink cartriges, postage, and paper I'm pretty content.

CheshireCat · Sep 25, 2008

Jackfishwoman said:
Are you personally feeling the pain of the bad economy?

How has it affected your writing/career? Or not?

It hasn't affected my career.

Yet anyway.

rhymegirl · Sep 26, 2008

Yes, it is.

I quit one newspaper freelancing situation because he wouldn't give me a raise.

Then I managed to get another newspaper editor to give me the amount I wanted. I wrote 3 articles for him (including a front page story), then pitched 3 more article ideas. Know what he said? "I'm over-budget on my freelance money, so I can't give you any more assignments." Oh wonderful. I waited for about 4 or 5 months, then called him again. "A spending freeze." So no more work.

I've tried many other newspapers and they tell me the same type of thing. The freelance budget is the first thing they cut.

Michael Parks · Sep 26, 2008

I had to leave my job at a financial services company due to a domino effect that started with failed real estate investment deals which triggered unhappy investors filing suit which led to advisors leaving which led to a huge drop in revenue which combined with the lawsuits and a freeze on raises made me unsure of the stability of the company so I found another job at a tv station which leaves me three times more busy and stressed which in turn makes getting into writing mode more of a challenge every night.

Add onto that the rising cost of damn near everything (including gas, of which I have to buy 4 times more of since I now commute 40 miles a day) and the fact that I'm the single income earner in a family of four with a mortgage and rising utility rates and I'm putting my wife through college....

Yeah, money's on my mind in an unpleasant manner. I will say this: the challenge to write is greater, but as a result, so is my determination to do it.

scheherazade · Sep 28, 2008

Well... I was laid off six months ago and decided to devote the time to building up my confidence & habits as a writer. I took some workshops, started a novel, and found some tremendously helpful writer peers to encourage me. I feel a lot more confident now about my writing, but I'm still not doing nearly enough of it, and my novel is stuck.

I'm trying to return to work now after a summer off. It's taking some time to find something. If I don't find a job with a similar salary by November, I'll have to move back in with my parents. My mother is a huge creativity killer, so I'm seriously hoping a job will come through. But I'm in Canada, so we're not hit as extremely as in the U.S.

Is the economy affecting you as a writer?

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