Jaye Lawrence ([info]wordswoman) wrote,
@ 2008-04-16 05:54:00
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On (Not) Qutting Your Day Job
James Van Pelt has a candid article over on The Fix, entitled The Day Job: Quitting It. But it's really about not quitting it.

On  related note:
Do we notice a trend here, class?

Even if I had a book contract (which would presuppose finishing a book, a somewhat large detail), I wouldn't be quitting my day job. For one thing, my day job takes place at a fine and lovely Midwestern college, where I am surrounded by intelligent, interesting people. All these people help make possible the education of 2000 or so of the smartest young people on the planet.

As day jobs go, this does not suck.

But even if it did, I wouldn't be quitting my day job. Because it also provides:
  • Health insurance
  • Retirement plan contributions
  • A predictable salary
  • College tuition benefits for my children
Selling a novel, for 99.9% of all writers, would not make possible any of the above.

And that is why I'm not quitting my day job.

That, and the fact that I haven't actually finished a novel, much less sold one.

Details, details.

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[info]mmerriam
2008-04-16 12:40 pm UTC (link)
That's one of the major differences between me and other neo-pros and aspiring novelist. All I really need is one mid-level book contract to get started, and I would be able to stop working part-time.

Because the government takes care of my retirement (I draw an SSDI payment) and medical (I have Medicare) and other things that most people need that regular day job for.

Of course, the trade off is that I'm legally blind and will eventually be completely blind.

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[info]wordswoman
2008-04-16 01:54 pm UTC (link)
A largish tradeoff, it's true. :(

But you writing full-time is a happy prospect for your readers. :)

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[info]jimhines
2008-04-16 12:42 pm UTC (link)
I've sold six. I'm not even close to the point where I could quit my day job, mostly for the reasons you list. (Except for the college tuition benefits for the kids. Sigh. That would be awfully nice...)

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[info]wordswoman
2008-04-16 01:57 pm UTC (link)
It is a big plus. Doesn't kick in until my 6th anniversary with the college, but thankfully that will be soon enough to help with 3 years of tuition for my eldest and all 4 for my youngest.

A strong incentive to keep loving my job.

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[info]jimhines
2008-04-16 02:00 pm UTC (link)
Very nice...

My oldest will be ready for college in a little under 10 years. So I figure I've got less than a decade to start hitting the bestseller lists or land a movie deal :-)

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[info]wordswoman
2008-04-16 02:13 pm UTC (link)
Or, you know, start a savings account. ;)

A Goblin Quest movie would be fabulous, though!

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