Many moons ago I wrote a post explaining that it is possible to earn a comfortable living as a writer.
The post generated a lot of comments, which makes me happy. I like comments. The post also generated a number of personal emails, which makes me, I think, even happier.
Most of these emails asked me the same thing:
HOW can you earn a comfortable living as a writer?
Ah, right, I did overlook that.
For me, it was always about balancing salaried writing with personal writing. When I decided to do this for a living, I sought out any writing job I could find that would provide a salary and benefits. What I found was a weekly newspaper gig, which paid terribly but offered up a regular byline and a wealth of experience. Weeklies are still a great place for any unpublished writer and, since the hours are sort of flexible, I found time to write and send out plays, which earned me a few (very few, but, hey, a few is still a few) bucks on the side.
Newspaper writing, I learned, gives you just enough credibility to get better paying work. I went from working on a newspaper to a private school’s Communications Office, writing web stories and press releases and editing the alumni magazine. This Communications Office job led to a better Communications Office job where the web stories and press release stuff was left to other people. I just do the magazines now and I always look for ways to make the articles fun.
But the real fun — the reason why I got into this profession in the first place — was to write my stuff. I find time to do that, too.
If my stuff makes money, great. But if , for example, I receive 114 children’s book rejections or watch one of my plays fail in a very, very public way, my salaried writing income cushions the blow. Sure, I might not be writing exactly what I want to be writing about, but I’m still writing and still earning.
Your Writing Career story will almost certainly be different from mine because there are many paths to earning a living as a writer. But the key, as I mentioned in my old post, is doggedness.
Be patient. Be determined. Be focused. Be resourceful. If you really want this, then promise me that you’ll never, ever, give up, OK?
I’m rooting for you.
Hey, Look! A Writer Fellow! 