Can you really make a living doing this?
Tullio Proni (M) - not an author, but made a living off Sci-Fi for 20 years. I make little plastic ray guns.
Yvonne Navarro - Full-time writer of Sci-Fi, mystery and Buffy. I live in the world of dad's free rent, food and phone.
Keith DeCandido - Writer, editor, book packager. Media tie-in novels, short stories. I make more writing than I did in my last day job.
Glen Cook - Writer and huckster, still don't make a living at it.
Josepha Sherman - Full-time writer, fantasy writer, star trek, buffy, bio of Bill Gates (Dark Fantasy) and articles explaining quantum mechanics to 8-year-olds.
Joseph Fleischmann III - I sell books and magazines.
Can you really make a living writing? What do you need to consider before becoming a full-time writer?
Keith: My wife makes a good living so I can fall back on that.
Josepha: I am sole source of support. You can make a living from writing if you look at it creatively and work harder at it than you will at any day job. You have to be willing to write at the drop of a hat, to hustle and publicize yourself. You have to know when to say no. You have to live with the fact that you don't have benefits like a regular paycheck, sick days, disability or health insurance unless you pay for it yourself.
Glen: Fritz Leiber never made more than $5000 in any given year. He lived in a one room place in Venice Beach, CA. I make more money in foreign sales than I do in US sales.
Tullio: It really helps to have some other source of income.
Keith: It is impossible to make a living as a writer if you want to just write your novel, your book, your vision unless your name is Steven King. If you're going to make a living at it, you have to treat it like a job. You have to constantly be hustling for work. I have a two-book star trek thing, a farscaape novel and other stuff in the works. Make people aware of you and hustle up work.
Yvonne: I have no other source of income other than writing. I pay for some food and phone and insurance, but Dad provides housing. I've done web writing. If I'm not writing what I want to write, I may as well go back to work. I am going to concentrate on a solo novel. It's a luxury to not have to beat the deadlines.
Tullio: Social Security expense is hard for those who are self-employed.
Josepha: Do not quit your day job until you have a bank roll in the bank. You get used to irregular income, but you know that it will come in. If it doesn't come in on time you learn to be intimidating.
Glen: I had a regular job, and now a pension, so I have that to fall back on. I write what I want and don't have to write things I'd rather not.
Joseph: Lieber made $5000 which was like $50,000 today. He and his wife had medical problems at the end that were not covered.
Tullio: If you think you can make money writing SciFi, go play the lotto. Your chances are better.
Keith: Not everyone can do it. You have to have a financial cushion. You have to establish yourself to an extent. You must be able to work with an editor and meet deadlines. You can't just jump in and do it. You have to build up to it.
Tullio: Tailor your expectations to be realistic. First you pay the IRS, then you pay the Mafia, then you eat.
Josepha: Quicken and Turbo tax are highly recommended. If you're self-employed, you need to fill out weird forms for the IRS. Keep your receipts and keep records. Every state has different laws, such as sales tax.
Keith: SFWA has an emergency medical fund for writers. Health insurance is your friend. It is a very good thing to have.
Josepha: It's cheaper to pay the doctor than to pay the insurance bills. What we really need is an insurance plan for catastrophic injuries. There are 50 million self-employed people in America who cannot afford health insurance.
Joe: A decent policy costs $400 to 500 per month.
Yvonne: I got my health insurance through SFWA for $270 per month. It's a good policy.
Tullio: More and more companies are going to not covering insurance, forcing people to be self-insured.
Josepha: Ask professionals if there is a discount rate for self-employed people.
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