What is the best job for an aspiring novelist?

Prawn · Nov 15, 2007

I am not saying president of a publishing company or anything that give you an "in" at the publishing stage, but what job fits an aspiring novelist best?

I am a teacher, so I can write during lunch, and I also have almost an hour after school before my kids come home in which to write. I find myself wondering if I was not a teacher, how would I find the time to write?

It seems like being a reporter would give you experience, but if I wrote all day at my day job, it would be hard to face the laptop after work.

What job fits the lifestyle of aspiring writer the best?

Ziljon · Nov 15, 2007

midshipmen seem to have a lot of time to make up epic poems...

ya slab-sided dutch-built bugger.

DeleyanLee · Nov 15, 2007

Whatever job pays the bills and doesn't suck up your creativity so you can't write.

Now--what you should look for in a job is not only something you don't mind doing for the time spend, but something that puts you in contact with people and things happening, that gives you opportunity to observe and soak in future story fodder.

WendyNYC · Nov 15, 2007

A writer for a Newscorp or Viacom magazine, so you would already have an in at HarperCollins or Simon & Schuster. (She said sarcastically.)

I think a teacher would be a good job for an aspiring writer. Or an owner of a bookstore. Or a night time security guard. Or a stay at home mom with kids in school.

scarletpeaches · Nov 15, 2007

I'd say my job's pretty good. Part-time and pretty mindless. Trouble is, it's the most physically demanding job I've ever had so by the time I get home I'm too tired to write. I'll get used to it soon, though. If the job becomes permanent, I'll give serious thought to learning shorthand so I can write more in the time I have; for instance, on the bus or during lunch breaks.

Ziljon · Nov 15, 2007

I've always thought being a fireman would have been good (I'm too old now) because you have three days on and four days off. Also dreamt of working on a off-shore oil-rig, can't do now that I have the wife and kiddies.

I've often wondered about being either a car salesman or an insurance salesman.

scarletpeaches · Nov 15, 2007

Fireman = there's the whole 'you might die at work' thing to contend with, though. And there are plenty of family men in the oil business. I know many, living on the East coast of Scotland myself. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with my husband disappearing for a couple of weeks at a time. Well, if I had one! I couldn't imagine ever wanting to live in someone's pocket, married or no.

vfury · Nov 15, 2007

I work in a bookstore, which is fine, I guess. It pays my bills, I get a discount on books, and it's a job I can leave at the door when the day is over. I have to admit, spending an hour or so stocking the fiction shelves has me craving to write, and it's interesting to see what sells, what has heavy marketing campaigns behind them, and how the markets and trends are changing.

I'm hoping to move into library work next summer and I'm getting ready to apply for some graduate publishing schemes as well. I'm a little wary of the publishings jobs, though, mostly because I'm afraid the stress and hours will suck every bit of creativity from me and leave me exhausted, but hopefully I'll be able to adapt if the opportunity presents itself.

sunna · Nov 15, 2007

Well, when I was in college I worked as a farmhand during summer break. I don't think I ever wrote so much or so obsessively: I kept a notebook in my bag, and every few hours I'd sit in the fields and scribble for a bit. And after work (and a lengthy shower), I'd write for hours.

Fresh air and demanding physical work in the great outdoors can do wonders as inspiration, at least for me. I think it's why I write so much more after I've been working out. Hell, a while back we had a several-times published author apply to be a groundskeeper, for the very same reasons.

job · Nov 15, 2007

I'd come down on the side of a job that puts you in close contact with people.

Writing is a solitary profession, at its heart. Writers -- this is a sweeping and inaccurate generalization -- tend to be inner-directed, cerebral people.

Social worker, criminal lawyer, bartender -- and yes, teacher -- psychologist, minister, con man, cop, beautician ... any job where you talk to people at length and hear their stories and actively try to understand them. People are the raw material of fiction, after all.

DamaNegra · Nov 15, 2007

Right now I'm a full-time student, and damn does it suck the life and creativity out of me! On the other hand, my school's an asylum, so I get to know about all these weird people and situations that could eventually make great stories.

Momento Mori · Nov 15, 2007

Well I can definitely say that being a lawyer is not a job compatible with writing ...

MM

scarletpeaches · Nov 15, 2007

You might want to tell John Grisham that.

Momento Mori · Nov 15, 2007

Meh. If John Grisham worked the hours I've been working recently, he'd agree with me.

MM

C.bronco · Nov 15, 2007

I write after my son's bedtime.

The best job would be one that you enjoy and pays the bills.

maestrowork · Nov 15, 2007

My old job was pretty good for my writing, except when I was working 60-80 hours a week plus travel. But the traveling gave me time to write -- when you're on a plane for 2 to 5 hours, it's perfect time to write. The technical stuff was so dry during the day that after work I couldn't wait to do something creative. So usually between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. at the hotel, instead of watching TV, I'd be working on my WIP. Worked out pretty well.

CaroGirl · Nov 15, 2007

I'm a technical documentation editor, which is boring enough to make you want to anything else, like write fiction, and supports the editing skills required. The pay can be good too, if you can find a contract.

roger · Nov 15, 2007

Prawn, I think being a teacher is a pretty good occupation, seeing as you get all those holidays!

Anything freelance or part time would be good, because you could plan your work around your writing.

NeuroFizz · Nov 15, 2007

The answer to this question is going to be as individual as the personalities, life experiences, and educational/work background of the people who populate AW. What is "best" for one person won't be "best" for another.

ORION · Nov 15, 2007

Prawn if you look at my blog profile you'll see I've been a lot of different things (ending up as a teacher). I think the varied careers helped give my writing depth and being a teacher gave me blocks of time to write in the summer. But yanno - I think if you really wanna write -- you'll find time to write.
Right now I'm writing full time and it's not at all as I imagined it. The discipline required is even greater and the deadlines more serious (from agent and editor).
JMHO

Prawn · Nov 15, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
I know many, living on the East coast of Scotland myself.

Hey! Do you know where Achiltibuie is? One summer I managed a youth hostel there at Achininver. That was a great job for writing.

dpaterso · Nov 15, 2007

I'm surprised no one has listed "Rich woman's plaything." I'd recommend that job to anyone. Oh yes.

-Derek

JohnDavidPaxton · Nov 15, 2007

I tend bar. It allows me to steal other peoples stories and incorporate them in my work. I enjoy it simply because it allows me achieve results without putting in effort. I could come up with a story arc, or I can just piece it together from the three different drunks I heard last night.

Garpy · Nov 15, 2007

I'm my wife's play thing.

Before I went full time with this writing malarky, I was a computer games designer. There weren't a lot of spare hours to be honest, but it was one helluva creative environment to work in, and I have to admit to having quite a few ideas in my little black book, inspired in part by some of the arse we came up with during our blue-sky creative brainstorming sessions.

maestrowork · Nov 15, 2007

dpaterso said:
I'm surprised no one has listed "Rich woman's plaything." I'd recommend that job to anyone. Oh yes.

-Derek

It really isn't much of a job. At least not for me.

What is the best job for an aspiring novelist?

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