Can I Really Make A Living At This?

I can't speak to making a living at it, but I just finished my first novel, so it can be done. I wasn't certain I could stay with it, so I didn't even tell my wife I was writing a novel. Last weekend, I printed it out and handed it to her. She read it and loved it, but then I realize she's biased.

I wrote nearly all of it in three very long days, while she was on a trip. I've been rewriting and cleaning it up for about 3 months, and now have two beta readers waiting for me to properly format it. With luck, I should be ready to begin testing the marketing waters in a couple of weeks.

IThinkICan29 said:

Hello everyone....I'm extremely new here and I think the one thing that has me paralyzed is that I'm deathly afraid, I'll end up living in my car and writing my book on old notebook paper. This has had a huge effect on my ability to write. I'm so afraid that I'll never finish the novel I've been working on, that I can't sit down to finish it. I guess I just want to know if it's possible to actually make a living at this? Does writing truly pay? If so when....when when when...... Someone, please help me!

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ITIC, The answer is yes. However, there are conditions that have to be in place first. Here is what author Elizabeth George says on the subject.

"You will be published if you possess three qualities—talent, passion, and discipline.
You will probably be published if you possess two of the three qualities in either combination—either talent and discipline, or passion and discipline.
You will likely be published if you possess neither talent nor passion but still have discipline. Just go to the bookstore and pick up a few “notable” titles and you’ll see what I mean.
But if all you possess is talent or passion, if all you possess is talent and passion, you will not be published. The likelihood is you will never be published. And if by some miracle you are published, it will probably never happen again."

Good luck

Few people earn a living exclusively from writing non-fiction books, fewer still from writing novels. It can be done, but it is rare.

Beginning to write primarily because one wants money is like becoming a teacher because of the long vacations: people who do that don't last long in either profession.

But you can certainly complete a novel, and submit it. If you enjoy writing, by all means do it!

(Edited to add: Rats. I was writing this while Vomaxx posted. Sorry for the partial repetition.)

I don't want to be a downer, but here's the honest answer:

Probably not.

Do *some* people make a living writing novels? Yes. But even many writers whose books are on your shelves right now still have day jobs. It's one of the toughest ways there is to make a full-time living.

If you haven't finished your first novel yet, the "when" could be very far off, if it happens at all. Most people do not sell their first novels. For some, it takes three, four, or more manuscripts before they have written something publishable.

But even if you get that far, an editor will probably offer you less than $10,000 for your first advance. (I think mine was $2500-- and that was a nonfiction book, which is easier to sell.) There is no guarantee that you'll ever see anything beyond the advance money. If you count up all the hours it took you to write, edit, submit, proofread, publicize, etc., there's almost no way that first book can be financially worth it unless you break out right away to bestseller-like numbers (in which case, your royalties may be very good).

Keeping a day job (or having a really understanding spouse with a great job) is imperative until you can actually live off your book money.

It is easier-- though still not "easy" by any means-- to make a living as a nonfiction writer. I've done it for the past 9 years, writing mostly for magazines and books I was hired to write.

With fiction, I believe the question really has to become this:

"If I knew I'd never get paid for my writing, would I do it anyway?"

If so, you have nothing to worry about. Write because you love it, write because it's a challenge and a creative outlet and to share with people you love-- and if the money follows, it's a bonus.

If not, you may be setting yourself up for a world of frustration. There are about 6 bazillion easier ways to make money out there.

My vote? Finish the book. See how you feel about it. See if this is something you want to keep doing, to keep perfecting your craft and learning. See if you're willing to have a day job and write during your "free time" at night or in the early mornings and weekends. If so, be patient with your talent and see where it leads you.

Good luck!

Oh Jenna::::

Did I miss an announcement vis-a-vis that little cradle?

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34218

JennaGlatzer said:

With fiction, I believe the question really has to become this:

"If I knew I'd never get paid for my writing, would I do it anyway?"

If so, you have nothing to worry about. Write because you love it, write because it's a challenge and a creative outlet and to share with people you love-- and if the money follows, it's a bonus.

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Jenna knows way more about the writing business than I do, so listen to what she says. I'm singling out this part of Jenna's post because I learned to ask myself the same question about acting. Making a living in the arts is tough because your product is subjective and you can't predict what people will buy (at least not exactly).

So, like Jenna says: If you love it, do it. And yes, try to make a living at it. And while you're doing so, be open to other things as well. Those other things will one day combine with your writing skills into what becomes your career.

I've come to the conclusion that I won't make a living from writing (though, I secretely hold onto that dream). I'm looking for a job, something to earn me some money, whilst I write. I need a job to write because living like this is not a good way to be inspired.

Most authors don't make a living at it. But likewise they don't end up living in their cars. You're experiencing some very extreme thinking here! Understandable, but not helpful to you. If you're committed to this (as already said, if you'd do it without ever being paid because you love it so much), then you'll find the time to do it as well as the day job.

Good luck with it!

Living

IThinkICan29 said:

Hello everyone....I'm extremely new here and I think the one thing that has me paralyzed is that I'm deathly afraid, I'll end up living in my car and writing my book on old notebook paper. This has had a huge effect on my ability to write. I'm so afraid that I'll never finish the novel I've been working on, that I can't sit down to finish it. I guess I just want to know if it's possible to actually make a living at this? Does writing truly pay? If so when....when when when...... Someone, please help me!

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Quite a few writers do earn a living from wriitng, and some few earn many millions of dollars each year. Whether or not you can depends on what you write, how much you write, and how much people like your work.

Most people who try to earn a living from writing fail. Most people who try to earn a living at any creative enterprise fail. But, shoot, four out of five people who try to start their own business fail, as well.

The point is that some succeed, and succeed very, very well. The only way to know whether you're one of the few is to try, and to keep trying.

And what's wrong with living in a car and writing on old notebook paper? I know a very successful businessman who started just this way, except he was living in his car and drawing plans and outlining his dream business on old notebook paper.

But I know this. If you don't finish the novel you're working, failure is guaranteed.

Do what JK Rowling did: work a paying job while you write. Finish the darn book and send it out. Things won't happen no matter how much you pray -- you've just gotta do it.

Plant your feet firmly on the ground while you try to reach for the stars. And make sure you eat.

As Michael Chabon put it, success as a novelist is based on three requirements: talent, luck, and discipline. Discipline is the only element that you can control, and so that is the one that you have to focus on controlling, and you just have to hope and trust in the other two.

Always have a day job.

My best friend sells books in the high four to low five figure advance range but her day job pays the bills. She still manages to write 4-5 books a year.

I've been at this for dang near 20 years and still only get high four to low five figure advances. I have a day job to live on between book sales.

Day jobs have insurance, medical plans, and other percs.

A full time writer has to pay all that out of pocket plus self-employment & social security taxes. Publishers don't deduct that from the advance check.

Writers who get the million buck advances & movie deals allowing them to write full time are the equivalent to lottery winners. The rest of us have day jobs to support the habit.

There's maybe a hundred or so of big earners in publishing compared with the thousands of others who don't get the big bucks.

When I tell people I'm a writer, without fail they light up and say-- "Oh, you must be rich."

They get over that when I point out my car in the lot.

I don't live in that car, but have come close a few times in my life. That threat went away after I got a day job. I have a steady income, pay my bills, live within my means, and write.

Holly Lisle has a good article about this subject as well.

Writing is possibly the one creative field less lucrative than art, which is what I do for a living.*

I have never yet met an artist who did not work a day job for years on end, or have somebody else work a day job that they mooched off. Whenever I find my in-box filling with the nerve-wracking letters from young artists desperate to make a living in the field, I tell 'em the same thing--get a day job. A day job is not a sign of failure. Everybody gets one. It takes years before your art gets to the point where you're losing money by going to work in the morning, which is the ideal time to quit the day job. Art is hard enough without living in constant terror of the repo man.

So, assuming writing is like art in that regard, the answer is "Yes, you probably can really make a living at this--but not right out of the gate, and not what we'd consider a decent living for quite awhile." It takes time--years--before you'll be able to live off it. Those will be very, very work intensive years, because you'll go to your day job, come home, and paint (or write, or whatever.) It really works best if you'd be doing that anyway, because you have to write or paint, and have no choice in the matter. Otherwise it's quite a slog.

So don't quit your day job just yet, or you really will be living in a car writing on old notebook paper. Expect to keep your day job for quite awhile. But ultimately, yes, it is possible to make a living as a writer.



*Okay, okay, mime probably isn't that lucrative either...

writing

One thing to remember is that you don't have to earn a living exclusively from writing novels in order to earn living from a writing. I've never been able to earn a living from writing only novels, but I do earn a living by being willing and able to write pretty much anything and everything for anyone and everyone.

For me, writing is writing, and I enjoy almost all of it, whether I'm writing a novel, a short story, an article, an essay, or a recipe. For every writer who earns a living exclusively from writing fiction, there are dozens who earn a living the way I do.

In all honesty, I'm probably better off earning a living this way. I'm a lazy cuss by nature, and if I ever do write a novel that brings in millions, I might just buy a fishing pole, a little boat, and spend the rest of my life drowning worms.

If it's any solace, starting out as a publisher means you have to keep your day job, too.

Jamesaritchie said:

One thing to remember is that you don't have to earn a living exclusively from writing novels in order to earn living from a writing. I've never been able to earn a living from writing only novels, but I do earn a living by being willing and able to write pretty much anything and everything for anyone and everyone.

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I just read an interview with Michael Chabon. You would have thought that someone of that caliber and esteem would be making millions writing novels or selling movie options to his novels. But that's not true. He said he would love to make a living solely on writing novels, but that's really not the case. He IS making a living writing, but not from novels alone. He has to supplement his income by writing for TV and movies because he can get benefits/insurance etc. for his family (one wife, four kids) through WGA.

The key here is that you can have your head in the clouds, but you still live on Earth. Be realistic, but don't lose sight of your dreams. Someone like Chabon could have written something greater and more marketable than anything Dan Brown could have done, but he chooses to write what he loves and sticks with it, and 100 years from now people will still be reading a Michael Chabon classic. Meanwhile, he knows where the money is (TV and movies) that doesn't really give him the same satisfaction or name recognition -- but it's a nice day job that keeps him writing.

I make a few bucks here and there from short items, as far as writing. I used to work for newspapers, which paid the bills and also provided a lot of chances to observe human nature at work in a lot of settings.

Right now I am writing but also farming with my husband and keeping my eyes open for a bill-paying job.

My parents are artists (not to brag, but they win awards and sell their work for tidy sums) but they always worked in town, too. It helps that my dad has ADHD and drinks about three pots of coffee a day, and Mom tries to keep up with him

I guess I look at writing same as my poultry -- a money making hobby that involves a lot of satisfaction.

Art that does not necessarily make a lot of money also benefits society by getting us to think

Good luck!
Ann

It depends, too, on how you define "making a living." I know authors who are making well above $50K a year, but don't consider that a living wage, and therefore maintain a day job. Others might be able to live on half that and consider themselves living in luxury, as long as they can do the writing they love.

JD

money

JanDarby said:

It depends, too, on how you define "making a living." I know authors who are making well above $50K a year, but don't consider that a living wage, and therefore maintain a day job. Others might be able to live on half that and consider themselves living in luxury, as long as they can do the writing they love.

JD

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Very true. It does depend on what you call "making a living."

For that matter, I've known several writers who earned many times as much from writing as from their day jobs, but still work nine to five purely because they enjoy what they do. Not every writer wants to quit his day job or drop his career, no matter how much he earns from writing.

It also depends on how you define being paid for writing. A friend of mine has a day job writing PR for a municipality. She considers that being paid for her writing (I do, too). After work at the office, she's at home working on her novels and short stories. She's a full-time writer, making a living at what she loves to do.

I don't plan on ever making a living writing novels. I wish I could pretend I had that kind of confidence in myself, but I don't. I'm a head-in-the-clouds realist. Yes, that is an impossible thing to be. That's why I also feel like a push-me-pull-ya...those two headed animals in Dr. Doolittle.

I make a great second income writing, but I have yet to make money on a novel. I have a couple finished and a couple in the works, but I've never submitted one before. I have the motivation of a gnat. (They are not very motivational. Or so I hear.)

You can always make a living doing something else while you're writing your novel. That's the beauty of novel writing...for me, anyway.

I think it also depends on what you consider "a living". I've read comments from authors complaining they only make around 20k a year.

I could live like a king on that. There's all this talk about making more money, but very little on trimming down how much you need, which would be another way to make writing full time a reality.