A Labor of Love

We’ve all heard of success stories like James Patterson’s rise to fame and fortune. The same can be said of other writers like Stephen King or E. L. James.

But unfortunately, for every J. K. Rowling, there are millions of working writers we’ve never even heard of.

I have a touchy topic to discuss with you today, so I apologize to you in advance if you take this the wrong way. I don’t want to discourage any of you to pursue your dreams. But I don’t think this will come as any great shock to you:

Realistically, most of us won’t be able to live strictly off of our own writing. As writers, if we’re going to be in it for the long haul, we need to find jobs that will allow us to make enough money for us to live.

So, to address this, there are two important aspects to consider when choosing a good job to sustain your writing life:

1. A good job should allow you to create or maintain a writing routine.
2. A good job should not drain your inspiration to write.

We all know people who work long hours and come home exhausted, too tired to do anything but watch TV, especially in this economy. I had a friend who worked as a copy editor, and when he was done with his day at the office, he didn’t want to work on his fiction. He spent all day working on other people’s manuscripts, and it sucked all the joy out of writing from him. The job wasn’t a good fit if he wanted a writing life.

I’ve heard of writers working as graveyard shift security guards, scribbling their thoughts on pads of paper, reaching for paperbacks from out of their back pockets. That could be a better fit.

From the outside looking in, my allergist has working hours that would be a great fit for the writing life. He never arrives to his office before 10:30 a.m. And he hardly ever stays past 5:30 p.m. He schedules no work on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. He never takes his work home with him. And he makes bank. You should see the invoices that he sends to my insurance!

The best work I’ve found for myself is in teaching college writing. The pay might not be as great as other professions, but I enjoy standing in front of a group of students and sharing what I’ve learned with them, while embracing and encouraging them to be the best writers and people that they can be. I can be passionate about it because I love writing. I can share tips and strategies I’ve gleaned from other writers, and my students appreciate my efforts because they are in the class to improve their abilities.

I particularly love teaching at the college level because my students don’t have to be there. Some high school students approach class as if they’re serving jail time. But in college, when a guy picks his desk in the back of one of my classrooms on the first day of the semester, you can’t tell me that he isn’t making sacrifices to be there. He is dedicating time and energy and resources. I’d be willing to bet that if he’s honest with himself, some part of him wants to be there, and that part of him wants to be a better writer! I love working with these students. It inspires me and energizes my writing when I am able to witness someone’s marked improvement, sometimes over the course of year or longer, if the student takes multiple courses with me.

My whole point is: Like college athletes, writers need a backup plan. You might never find work that you love in the same way that you love writing, but hopefully, you will be able to find work you love in a different way–not less–and it will afford you the lifestyle needed to write your heart out!

Photo credit: Little, Brown and Company