I hate that phrase. It is insulting, smug, and mean. But when it comes to work as a freelancer, sometimes I can’t help but say it to myself.
I was both unlucky and lucky to discover my passion for writing while I was working full-time at a corporate software company. Unlucky because as soon as I realized I wanted to write for a living all I wanted to do was quit my job. Suddenly my 9-5 became the enemy as it took up time I felt like I could have spent writing and sapped my energy and creativity. However, I was also lucky to have a steady job when I had my epiphany because, as I have found, writing for a living is sometimes very challenging.
My first writing gig was as a product reviewer on a consumer website, and I was paid $2 for every review I completed on any product I chose. "This is easy," I thought as I got a check at the end of the month for $300 and began to have serious fantasies of quitting my 9-5. I did a few calculations in my head and came to the conclusion that if I could get a few freelancing gigs going at the same time I would be able to make as much as I made in the corporate world, so therefore could leave. However, as I applied to more and more freelance positions I began to think that maybe my success on the review site was really a fluke, that it wasn’t that easy to score gigs, especially as a novice writer.
It seemed unfair: I wasn’t making enough money writing to quit my "real" job, but I couldn’t devote enough time to getting more writing gigs because I was working there. One writer I spoke to vehemently advised against quitting my day job. "There are some days when I literally write to eat," she confessed with a grimace. I grimaced right back at her – that was not the kind of encouragement I wanted. Frustrated, several months went by without me touching my keyboard or pen.
But it didn’t feel right not to write, so I picked up my spirits and tried to get back in the game. I still felt frustrated with doing writing only on the side; it felt like I was selling out a bit, sacrificing my art for material stability. I confessed this guilt to another writer-friend of mine over coffee one morning. She has wanted to be an author since we were eight, and for the past several years she has continuously worked at odd part-time jobs to keep level while writing. I asked her how she stayed motivated to do them all just to finance her dream. She looked up at me, as the steam rose out of her cup, and said, "Writing is my job, I am completely and forever committed to it, and I just do whatever I have to do to make it work."
The statement was simple, but one I desperately needed to hear. You do whatever you can to make it work. So I do: I wake up early and get in some writing before work, I use my lunch break to flush out some projects, and I try to keep as much weekend time free as possible to focus on writing. I am still not at a point where I can quit my corporate job and stay afloat. However, I have made peace with it and the time it takes away from my real work. In fact, I consider myself very lucky that I am not living the life of a penniless writer (as much as I would like to be sometimes).
My advice to those who also live a professional double life like me is don’t quit your day job – at least not yet. It is a luxury to be able to devote all your time to writing, but it is an equal luxury to be able to write without worry about being able to pay your bills. I will know when the right time comes to leave my corporate job, but until then I just need to focus on balance and making time to write each day. It isn’t ideal, and it isn’t where I want to be.
But I’ll get there someday. I’ll just do whatever I have to until then to make it work.
It’s a catch-22 to be sure, wanting to be able to dedicate more time for the writing job while earning a decent, steady income. But if you have some steady clients as a part-timer, it makes it easier to pinch your nose and take the plunge. Then the trick is to treat it as a growing business, not a hobby, if you want it to be successful.
Sue – thanks for the comment, I appreciate the advice. I’ve never thought of treating it like a business, but I really like that idea and will consider it as such going forward!
I really enjoyed your article, Nacie. Although I discovered my passion for writing at a very young age and, as a result, never made it to the corporate world, I understand your dilemma. I’m entering my Sophomore year of college in the Fall, and the idea of switching majors from Journalism to Business have crossed my mind quite a few times. But then I just tell myself what your friend told you–I love writing and I know it’s what I’m meant to do in life, so I’ll just have to make it work.
Great article!
It is certainly worthwhile to wait until the right time to quit the day job. The worse thing is panicking your way into a freelance writing career and taking on work that you don’t necessarily want, just because you’re getting paid.
Quitting my day job would have entailed abandoning my kids – so realistically this phrase has never applied to me.
I write for my job as well as my passion, and it is sometimes hard to keep going. I have been kind of forced to “sell out” and write some things that I”m not fond of, but I look at my beautiful baby girl and grit my teeth as I write about colon cleansing.
I have to write, it’s something that can’t be ignored and I feel lucky that I have the ability and can do this as my job and more. You can make it work if it’s something that you have to do to survive.
I love it even if it gets hard sometimes. It’s me!!
Nacie:
As an recent college graduate having earned an English degree with plans to go to law school, but always knew I wanted to be a writer I can totally relate. I’m trying to get into freelancing now, and I can relate to your sentiments. I admire those who write full time, and I feel disdain for myself because I cannot commit to my own writing full time because of work. However, I chose to forgo law school, follow my dreams, and become a writer while working! As you said, it can be done!
What better way to thumb your nose at someone who says, “Don’t quit your day job” than to go after your dream and make it work for you! I heard Elvis Presley was told not to quit his day job by a record exec who didn’t think he had what it takes to make it in music. Just goes to show you that we shouldn’t take what the naysayers say to heart.
Please accept this in the spirit in which it is intended, which is one of helpfulness.
“…flush out some projects”. Urghhhh….
I think you want to “flesh” them out. You can flush out a radiator or a fire hydrant. Not a project. Unless, of course…
Oh, never mind.
Jim
Nacie,you have expressed sentiments that I have felt. I too have a day job and write part time. I know that I feel pulled in one direction or another. Obligations to my day job pull me one way yet the desire and need to write Pulls me in the other direction. I often remind myself of Mary Higgins Clark. She had been widowed with several children, so she had no choice but to work full time. She would get up around 5 or so and write for a couple of hours before getting her children up for school. Then she would go to work at her day job. She always wrote books, so you can imagine all the work that she had to do. I figure if she could do it, as a single parent so can I amd I am not a single parent.
Thanks again for your article.
I appreciate the realness of your post. Freelancing can be unpredictable, and before a person quits their day job, they need to carefully consider the cons. Being broke isn’t fun. And unfortunately, I know a couple of freelancers who jumped the gun and quit their jobs prematurely. It didn’t turn out so well for them. Telling someone “Don’t quit your day job” isn’t the most encouraging advice. Still, this simple statement can potentially save a person from making a bad decision – at least until the time is right.
@Jim: point taken – I appreciate your editorial comment, and am flattered you read the article deeply enough to catch that! (I would like to say it was planted, but sadly I am blushing and saying thank you…so you can guess…)
@all: I am so thankful for all of your reactions thus far, I can’t tell you what support I feel knowing I am not alone, and what hope I now have for the future!
@Sydney: I have a degree in English, and still find myself toiling in corporate America (though at least in an industry I love). Everyone told me to get a Business degree, but now I look at my friends with Business degrees and think, “At least I enjoyed getting my degree!”
@Nacie: Your article comes at a great time for me. I’ve been freelancing on the side for over a year now, and I’m just starting to feel very boxed in. I’m going to really try to look at it in a more healthy light, like you!
Hi Nacie
Thanks for your collegial reaction; spoken like a true fellow writer.
I want to commend http://penonfire.blogspot.com/ to your attention along with its hostess, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. She is the host of “Writers on Writing”, a public radio show from Irvine, CA which is also available as a podcast from iTunes (free!). Her book is “Pen on Fire”, and the subtitle is “A busy woman’s guide” to finding time to write. I eagerly wrote her to buy her book. I read that subtitle something like this, “Hey, a busy woman is going to give advice on writing. If SHE can ind time to do this, I sure as heck can…” She sent me a lovely autographed edition, and was pleasantly surprised that I, a guy, would interpret the “busy woman’s guide” as I did. Superficially read, that subtitle excludes 50% of her potential readership (save those such as I, who can “think outside the box”). I still wonder what that publisher was thinking…
Another morale booster will certainly be Mur Lafferty’s work. Check her out at http://murverse.com/. She also podcasts, (also available from iTunes — I’m lazy, OK?) Mur is a young Mom, a former wannabe-fiction-writer. Well, now she’s got a book, but her hat still fits. Her unique humor and folksy podcast will lift your spirits (a busy Mom, she — her kids sometimes are audible in the background on her podcast audio, which, to me at least, adds to her credibility).
I always turn to one of these busy young women to shame me into getting on with my writing. Maybe they’ll inspire you, too!
As ol’ Garrison K says, be well, do good work, and stay in touch.
Jim
Nacie: This article is EXACTLY what I needed to read today. I’ve been freelancing part time on top of my regular editing job since January, and it hasn’t been easy. I want to be able to take the plunge and write full-time, but I know I’m not quite there yet.
Keep up the great work—it’s helpful to know how many of us are in the same situation!
@Jim – I loved Pen on Fire.
@Nacie – I freelanced part-time for a long time, up through my pregnancy and maternity leave. I’m transitioning as we speak to full-time freelancing because I want to work from home and be with my 6-month-old son. He has been my motivation to find a way to make freelancing work (that, and I love writing). It will work because it has to, because I’m determined it will. Best of luck to you.
Nacie, this post really resonated with me because I am currently struggling with wanting to be a writer, but not having enough time to really dedicate energy to that end. In fact, we even work in similar industries (software), and sometimes it is a real drag to write code instead of English!
Thanks for this post as it has helped to put things into perspective.
Nancie:
You’re bang on the money. I particularly like your statement: “However, I have made peace with it and the time it takes away from my real work. In fact, I consider myself very lucky that I am not living the life of a penniless writer (as much as I would like to be sometimes).”
I’m like you, only I’m a fiction writer…and for me, the odds are stacked even more firmly against me ever quitting the day job. I’ve learned to accept that, and to also start strategizing on ways to *use* the day job as leverage to help my writing career. After ten years of beating my head against the wall, this change in approach has helped enormously. I’m no longer vibrating with stress all the time, and Mondays aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be (but they’re still a pain.)
I should say, in case my wife ever reads this, that leaving the money and relative reliability of the technology field was hard…but I’d be lying. Fact is, despite the constant stress of working out what I can afford (and taking on projects once in a while that are like pulling teeth), I’d rather be free to schedule my day how I choose and spend the time with my kids. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take a regular job again, but I know now that I can take one on my terms. That knowledge, and the freedom that comes with it, is worth every second I spent drudging through the paces in corporate America.
What a timely article for me! I am having fantabulous time working my day job because I’m really developing myself, but in the long term, I see myself working entirely remotely. It’s a struggle to do both, but I’m young(ish) and don’t have little ones (unless you count my husband).
I loved this post and would welcome a follow up elborating on the practical tips those who have juggled both have come up with. My main issue is my husband’s lack of understanding of what I do…he comes from a different cultural and economic background, and therefore thinks I can’t possibly be working on the computer. It’s helped when i show him my PayPal account, but I still feel tension and irritation from him when he sees me “playing” on my compu.
Oh, I know exactly the feeling! For those who are serious enough and have a few steady part-time freelance gigs already ready to go, I highly recommend quitting the f/t job when you’re ready and at least taking on a p/t job for steady income. Then you can dedicate more hours to your freelancing and not be risking as much financially. After a while, you can quit the p/t job when it gets to be too much.
Wow…this is just what I needed to hear today. Writing has been a passion for me since I was 13 and I abhor having to work in an office. I actually do editing, so it’s even harder for me to want to write when I get home. Thank you for this! It’s nice sometimes to hear about other people in the same situation.
Well, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one. I’d love to quit the full time job, but when it comes down to it, I write more because I have the job. if I didn’t have a full time job, then I’d be focused on things other than writing (like finding a job to pay the mortgage). I think of freelance writing as hobby that I love. most hobbies chew up money. What other hobby other than freelance writing PAYS you?