Quitting your day job....

I don't write as a living, but I do work in Hollywood. I've never had a traditional day job, but when I first got started I had day-job-gigs I didn't want to be spending all my time on, and the way I realized I didn't need them anymore was that I ran out of time to do them. It's a metric that worked for me!

I do pay through the nose for my health insurance though, and it's been a nightmare. And judging from the number of views a blog post of mine about the difficulties of getting health insurance as a freelancer got, a lot of people feel the same way. For some people it's not bad, but in the U.S. it's heavily dependent on the state you live in and the condition of your individual health. So do take it into consideration.

Many years ago I read that earning a living as a writer (in the U.S.) is less likely than earning a living as a gambler.

I was able to make a career as a freelance writer but only because my wife and I also made a career, so to speak, of living within our very limited means. When I've taught writing, the first pearl of hard-earned wisdom that I share is, "learn to cook, because you won't be eating out".

I am in awe of housewives who write bestselling novels in between doing the laundry and sending the kids off to school. My best work requires my total and constant attention. When I'm in full creative gear I have no social life or other distractions. This would be impossible if my wife didn't help by answering the phone, fending off friends, and acting as my beta reader.

Needless to say, we don't have kids.

Is it worth it?

Yes, at least it has been for us.

While I'm by far not a huge 'success', I do make my living as a writer and have since Oct. 2011.

It's not easy, by any means, nor is it impossible, though. Now that I have to look at my passion as my way of helping pay our family's bills there is added pressure. I have to sit down four days a week and generate a product for the market. It almost requires two different mindsets working simultaneously. One=artist, two=businesswoman.

I didn't have a 'can quit' moment, either. It was more like 'our kid has allergies so severe she can't be a in daycare situation safely' OMG moment and I had to find a way to make my talents pay. I got very, very lucky (and have a very supportive DH who works hard and carries the insurance/benefits).

I also worked my tail off from Jan 2011 until that day in Oct ten months later. And I still work my tail off. I probably always will.

Jamesaritchie said:

No, but fear stops far more than lack of talent. So many just assume they're going to fail, assume they'll have so little money they can't afford to pay the bills or buy insurance, are so afraid of taking a chance that they die still doing little more than making ends meet. That's a poor way to live. This would scare me far more than taking a chance.

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Depending on the individual's circumstances, this attitude could range from the romantic to the irresponsible.

Besides, holding a decent job while writing doesn't mean you're not taking a chance. Whatever time you spend writing is time you could have spent making money or enjoying life in another way -- you're betting that time will lead to publication and income.

In other words, we all take chances, and we all weigh the odds according to our situations. To accept the possibility of failure is not dismiss the possibility of success. It's not an act of cowardice to provide for all contingencies. It's an act of good sense.