If I shouldn't quit my day job, what day job should I not quit?
Christy Hardin Smith (M) - new writer, legal practice as a partner in her firm, got an ulcer so she left work.
Raymund Eich - new writer, day job: patent agent.
Carrie Vaughn - new writer, would like to quit the day job.
What jobs are best for authors and which ones should be replaced ASAP?
Christy: Law can be a difficult job, along with management and running a business. Treat writing like a second job.
Carrie: Balance writing and job, make sure you have a job that lets you come home at night and not worry about the job. Bookstore job was good, Assistant for CPA was a good job. If you treat writing like a second job, set goals and keep them. Write, send things out and work that into your schedule. Make it a persistent habit.
Ray: Don't turn on TV, surf web, read books or magazines until you've finished your writing for the day. Create a psychological distance between your day job and your writing.
Christy: Some people are emotionally able to separate themselves from their job easily. Some are not. Writing became an important escape for me. Writing for hobby or career - all of us are people who have picked up a pen and scribbled. The most important thing is to know yourself.
Carrie: There are professional writers who could quit their day jobs and don't. I wanted to write and nothing else. Not having a career has given me incentive to work hard on writing.
Ray: I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I also have a lot of interest in science, but hated doing experiments. Working in patent law is a good job. Getting a feel for the steps in commercializing a scientific process is interesting and can be applied to SF.
Christy: Be honest with yourself. I lived my life according to other people's expectations. I ran in circles. Deep down I really wanted to be just a writer. I got a lot of support from friends on SFF.Net. I started thinking of writing as something I really wanted to do, but it was next to impossible to make time for writing. I tried getting up early; I tried staying up late. It was hard. I just couldn't get enough done on weekends. Working writers can be very successful. Some get up early and write, some write late at night.
Carrie: Your family will never stop asking when you're going to get a real job.
Ray: My reward for writing is to turn on the TV after writing. I ducked the 'real job' question by having a real job.
Christy: I gave my parents heart failure by leaving a legal practice to write. I make excuses to take my laptop and go to the mall to do character sketches. A series of books: "The Artist's Way" is amazing if you can get past the new age language. Keep a journal, go on artist's dates (just you, treat yourself). "The Right to Write" was very helpful.
Carrie: "If You Want to Write" by Breanda Euland, down to earth style. Don't sit in front of your computer all day every day.
Christy: Keep a notebook, a hardback journal - keep story ideas in this journal as the ideas pop into your head. Life flits by. The Hugo award winning story will flit by if you don't make a note of the idea.
Carrie: I wrote every day just to see if I could do it. The more I write, the more I have to write. It's like coffee in the morning. If you want to learn about the publishing business, working in an independent bookstore can be very educational about the publishing process.
Christy: Butt to the chair. If you need to write, the only way to do it is to sit down and do it. (Harlan Ellison).
Ray: I try to be disciplined and write every day. But sometimes you need time to just sit around and recharge.
Carrie: It is possible to get to a point where writing becomes a chore and that's counter productive. Keep a balance.
Christy: Treat your writing as a creative process, but also as a business. There are a lot of things that are not part of what you think of as creative. Promote yourself, do face time at cons, schmooze.
Carrie: I make lots of lists: stories I need to revise and send out, list of stories sent out, stories I am working on, go to a party for your job. Find someone who looks like they know what they are doing and stick with them. Finish what you write and put it in the mail. When it comes back, put it in the mail again. Keep doing it.
Ray: Put it in an envelope and send it off. Buying a drink for Gardner is not going to get you published in Asimov's. Some stories have been rejected eight or ten times and then published. Harry Potter was rejected eight times. Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected fifty times.
Christy: Don't consider activity with productivity. Critters.org is a good online group.
Carrie: Keep improving.
Christy: Writing is the only profession where getting a nice rejection letter is a big thrill.
Ray: It's easy to psych yourself out in this game. My wife didn't understand why writing was important to me. That's why I'm not married any more. I have writing friends on line. It's important to associate with writers, since they can identify with the difficulties.
Christy: Killing of Trolls with the names of your clients can be very stress-relieving. Writers tend to be readers too.