Writing & Working

Define writing full time.


IMO: You should be working before your writing takes off, not the other way around.
If you need money (that's the reason why you're getting the job), focus on that. I'm 100% sure you can find the time to write after your situation has leveled off.

The main disadvantage to having a full time (or part time) job is that it takes up time you could be using for other stuff. (Writing, research, whatever.) Also, very rarely, you may end up with a contract that doesn't let you do something else. (I believe John Ringo mentioned one of these, but I haven't heard any other writers mention such things, so I think they're incredibly rare.)

The advantages to another job are:

1. Additional income (writing tends to pay very poorly). This income is also likely to be far more steady than whatever you're getting writing.

2. Life experience that can be useful in writing. (I can't imagine that it *wasn't* helpful for, say, Grisham and Crighton to have experience in fields that they drew from at least somewhat when writing. T.C. McCarthy has also discussed how useful it's been that he has a real career that relates at least somewhat to his fiction.)

3. Interacting with other people. Writing is lonely. I like that I get to spend 8+ hours a day with living, breathing people.

4. No need to produce. If I wrote as my primary form of income, I'd *need* to write stuff that made money - probably mostly non-fiction articles. I couldn't fuss around with an experimental story that might or might not ever sell just because I was enjoying writing it. Neither could I wait forever to perfect a novel before sending it out. There's a lot of freedom in not being reliant upon selling writing to make a living.

Probably some others, too. IDK. If I was making 7 figures a year from writing, I'd probably consider dropping my day job. Up until then, though, it's a source of inspiration, company and...oh yeah, income.

I concur with Mutive. Writing gets lonely. I do do it full time.
Also, I suspect that writers make lousy employees. This is based purely on a highly inaccurate sample: a was on a panel at a conference back in 2009 (?) where we all talked about making our living as writers. Every single other person on the panel had at least a part-time job, and every other person openly admitted to working on writing projects during work time. When I was working full time... I did the exact same thing.

When I think about being able to give up my day job, what strikes me is how pitifully little I would have to make writing in order to do that. I work with at risk kids, stressful and rewarding, and like most jobs with our nation's future, it doesn't pay much.
So what would I do if I sold a book that got me that pitiful year's salary? I'm not sure. Yes, it would be awesome to pay off my car, get some dental work, and keep the day job. It would also be awesome to take a year off of the day job and dedicate it to writing. The good thing about working in a fairly menial and underpaid field is that there are always jobs open. I could easily take a year off, and pick up another job later if needed.

Writing full time to me means I'm making a living at it. When the days comes that I can support my family, and make enough to put away for retirement, is the day I'd write full time and quit any other job.

These days I write nonfiction to pay the bills. I spent a lot of years building websites back when you needed to know HTML code to correct the incompetent WYSIWYG errors. When the tools became foolproof and everyone started building websites, I transferred into SEO and did that for a number of years. When I couldn't stand being a part of the corporate world any longer, I started freelancing, offering both writing and SEO. That is more or less what I am doing now, but I also take other writing jobs as they come to me.

The drawback to having all these other obligations is that it does take away from the time I would otherwise be spending on my novel. Because of that, I took a year off and just wrote. It was fantastic, until the stress of needing to find work again kicked in. It can be very hard to start over if you take that much time off. Now that I've secured work again, I find I have too much of it. No real complaints about that, but I have very little time to work on my novel.

That was a long winded way of saying that it can be a struggle to maintain a balance, but I'd much rather have my practical life handled and have less time to write for myself. I would not give up my day job again, unless I am ever lucky enough to sell my novel(s) at a price that can support my life...and even then I would be very cautious about giving up my security again.

gettingby said:

I should say that the job I have been offered is also a writing job. Once a week they want a political piece from me. It is paid. My hesitation has to do with the fact that I will soon be starting an MFA program which is giving me a stipend so that I can really focus on my writing. I think I am just worried about taking on too much.

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That's not even a part-time job, that's a side-job worth a couple hours of your time. I don't think you should worry about it eating up your days.

Um... I'm going to mention that some MFA for writing programs really don't help writers; they can sometimes purely focus on writing, rather than the craft of writing. Example would be: They teach you sentence structures, but not how to structure your sentences--big difference.

Methinks, if you're worried about wasting your time, don't go for the MFA as even if it's a great program, some of your time is going to be wasted. I'd say it's better time (and money) spent reading and writing and working hard towards your craft.


You're not taking on too much, I can tell you that. I have freetime to write after my college (which I do over double credits) with sidejobs daily, and housework, and reading/wasting time here. You have to prioritize your time effectively and not waste any.

My $0.02

gettingby said:

If you could be a full time writer, would you still want to work at another job, say part time? What do you guys see as the advantages or disadvantages of having a job while writing full time? Thanks.

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No, I would not continue working another job if I could make a living as a writer. I would even take a slight pay decrease to stay home as a writer. Unfortunately, I am accustomed to taking care of my family on the salary of an RN, and it is difficult to pare back once you have a house to keep paying for. I like to think I would work one or two days a month to keep up my license, but probably not.

Disadvantages to having a job? I can't focus on my day job when I have a story in my head I want to write. I get frustrated and crabby when the job keeps me from writing. It just makes me grouchy when the job takes up my time.

It's pretty much my dream at the moment—finish book, find agent, sell book, quit day job—but I'm hyper-realistic and paranoid about money, savings, and health insurance. So for the time being, I need to stick with my day job and write every morning before work and weekends. For a time I considered quitting my day job to write freelance FT (for more schedule flexibility/independence), but I realized that finding work would be my new FT job, and I need to reserve some energy for my personal writing. (Plus, I was getting ripped off left and right in the freelance market, sending custom "writing samples" to people and never hearing from them again. I just can't deal with that stress right now.)

I work as a web content writer in my FT time. I write my book on my lunch breaks. My colleagues are supportive and ask about my progresses. If I wrote novels full time I wouldn't work on anything else. Just my work

gettingby said:

Thanks for your advice. I feel a little like I keep getting pulled back into journalism even while trying to shift into fiction. And about the MFA program. It is not costing me a thing. I got full tuition with the stipend so they are actually paying me to go there. I feel like it is a real chance to learn more about the role I want to play as a fiction writer.

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Cool, as long as you think your time is worth it.

I'm still going to uphold that the program won't teach you much about fiction writing. Still, research and looking around in the forums for that.

Diana_Rajchel said:

every other person openly admitted to working on writing projects during work time. When I was working full time... I did the exact same thing.

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Lol, guilty as charged! Arrest me, officer! But if you're going to lock me up and give me free room and board, can I take my laptop too? I have bunnies to plot...

My shift starts an hour before anyone else gets there. What I've found is that I rarely get my lunch or breaks--I'm usually eating and dealing with stuff at the same time. So I've started taking that time during that hour in the morning to write whatever I plotted during the drive to work. Then I plot on the drive home and write that when I get there. It's not fast progress, but it's steady. The big disadvantage is that I think it leaves my narrative a bit--lumpy? Or maybe that's just how it feels to me, because of how I ended up putting it together.

geminirising said:

It's pretty much my dream at the moment—finish book, find agent, sell book, quit day job—but I'm hyper-realistic and paranoid about money, savings, and health insurance. So for the time being, I need to stick with my day job and write every morning before work and weekends. For a time I considered quitting my day job to write freelance FT (for more schedule flexibility/independence), but I realized that finding work would be my new FT job, and I need to reserve some energy for my personal writing. (Plus, I was getting ripped off left and right in the freelance market, sending custom "writing samples" to people and never hearing from them again. I just can't deal with that stress right now.)

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I had one client who ripped me off years ago. Thinking about it still infuriates me. The good part was it taught me about formalizing agreements up front, so the client is legally obligated before I ever send them anything other than generic samples. At this point, I mainly work for one company that prefers to deal with independent contractors. It's a good arrangement for me, because I no longer have to spend tons of time procuring new clients. I will still take on other work, if the right job falls into my lap, and the terms are agreeable, but working with the company means I can be super picky.

Hrm, I think I would still work at something else, even if my writing career took off in a big way. Writing is a very solitary occupation, and I tend towards hermit-like behaviour anyway. A writer needs to see the world too, or else what is she going to write about? I would run out of inspiration quite quickly without an outside job of some sort.

Really, my dream scenario in some hazy future when the kid(s) are school-age, is to have a job as a college professor someplace, and then write best-selling fiction in my off-time.
A girl's gotta have dreams, right?

gettingby said:

If you could be a full time writer, would you still want to work at another job, say part time? What do you guys see as the advantages or disadvantages of having a job while writing full time? Thanks.

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I am a full-time writer, and I quit working within two months of selling fiction. I really don't look at advantages and disadvantages. If I like doing something, I do it. If I don't like doing something, I don't do it. Life is too short.

If I find something I enjoy doing enough, I don't let writing get in the way, I just don't get paid for most of these other things. But if I found a job I enjoy more than writing, I'd be all over it.

If I could make my living writing, I would stay at home and do that. I might even get crazy and do something like more consistent housework.

I agree that writing is/can be solitary (it tends to be for me, at any rate), but misanthrope that I am, I don't mind. I'd get out with the dog more, which would also be awesome.

I will say that if writing is isolating and solitary, that's the writer's fault. One of the things I love most about writing full-time is that I can get out whenever I want, go wherever I want, see new places and things regularly, far more easily than I could if I were locked down in a nine to five job that really eats up ten or more hours per day.

I don't have to show up at work, I can take my work with me. I write five hours per day, five days per week, but I can write any five hours I wish, I can write sitting at home, or while sitting out in the wood, on a beach, or anywhere else.

As a writer, working vacations are the norm, not the exception. Writing isn't isolating, it's a way of being less isolated, or being able to get out and do more. Meeting new people, seeing new places, trying new things, should be part and parcel of a writer's experience.

gettingby said:

If you could be a full time writer, would you still want to work at another job, say part time? What do you guys see as the advantages or disadvantages of having a job while writing full time? Thanks.

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I would do whatever it took to make ends meet. I have friends who are full time writers who have part time jobs still.

At this time in my life, I don't want to write full time. I love my career. Writing is my sideline.

gettingby said:

I should say that the job I have been offered is also a writing job. Once a week they want a political piece from me. It is paid. My hesitation has to do with the fact that I will soon be starting an MFA program which is giving me a stipend so that I can really focus on my writing. I think I am just worried about taking on too much.

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How fun! I would do the political piece in addition to my MFA. It's just once a week and will look great on your curriculum vitae.

Good luck!

I don't have the patience do only be doing One Activity at a time. I get bored. (Well, I seem to get bored regardless of all outside factors, but that's beside the point. There are levels of intensity... )

I would continue to do Things With Animals in some fashion if I got paid a million dollars a book because a) I like it, and b) I need something to force me to get off my ass and out of the house. The main problem with Things With Animals as a job is that it's damn difficult to make enough money, and if that issue was gone, I would probably have a lot less angst about my job. Win-win.

You can do an MFA and a one-time-a-week thing. It'll most likely be better for you in the long run. IMO, experience means a bit more than education, and this way you'll have some of both.