What is the best job for an aspiring novelist?

[Prawn]

I am not saying president of a publishing company or anything that give you an "in" at the publishing stage, but what job fits an aspiring novelist best?

I am a teacher, so I can write during lunch, and I also have almost an hour after school before my kids come home in which to write. I find myself wondering if I was not a teacher, how would I find the time to write?

It seems like being a reporter would give you experience, but if I wrote all day at my day job, it would be hard to face the laptop after work.

What job fits the lifestyle of aspiring writer the best?

[Ziljon]

midshipmen seem to have a lot of time to make up epic poems...

ya slab-sided dutch-built bugger. ;)

[DeleyanLee]

Whatever job pays the bills and doesn't suck up your creativity so you can't write.

Now--what you should look for in a job is not only something you don't mind doing for the time spend, but something that puts you in contact with people and things happening, that gives you opportunity to observe and soak in future story fodder.

[WendyNYC]

A writer for a Newscorp or Viacom magazine, so you would already have an in at HarperCollins or Simon & Schuster. (She said sarcastically.)

I think a teacher would be a good job for an aspiring writer. Or an owner of a bookstore. Or a night time security guard. Or a stay at home mom with kids in school.

[scarletpeaches]

I'd say my job's pretty good. Part-time and pretty mindless. Trouble is, it's the most physically demanding job I've ever had so by the time I get home I'm too tired to write. I'll get used to it soon, though. If the job becomes permanent, I'll give serious thought to learning shorthand so I can write more in the time I have; for instance, on the bus or during lunch breaks.

[Ziljon]

I've always thought being a fireman would have been good (I'm too old now) because you have three days on and four days off. Also dreamt of working on a off-shore oil-rig, can't do now that I have the wife and kiddies.

I've often wondered about being either a car salesman or an insurance salesman.

[scarletpeaches]

Fireman = there's the whole 'you might die at work' thing to contend with, though. And there are plenty of family men in the oil business. I know many, living on the East coast of Scotland myself. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with my husband disappearing for a couple of weeks at a time. Well, if I had one! I couldn't imagine ever wanting to live in someone's pocket, married or no.

[vfury]

I work in a bookstore, which is fine, I guess. It pays my bills, I get a discount on books, and it's a job I can leave at the door when the day is over. I have to admit, spending an hour or so stocking the fiction shelves has me craving to write, and it's interesting to see what sells, what has heavy marketing campaigns behind them, and how the markets and trends are changing.

I'm hoping to move into library work next summer and I'm getting ready to apply for some graduate publishing schemes as well. I'm a little wary of the publishings jobs, though, mostly because I'm afraid the stress and hours will suck every bit of creativity from me and leave me exhausted, but hopefully I'll be able to adapt if the opportunity presents itself.

[sunna]

Well, when I was in college I worked as a farmhand during summer break. I don't think I ever wrote so much or so obsessively: I kept a notebook in my bag, and every few hours I'd sit in the fields and scribble for a bit. And after work (and a lengthy shower), I'd write for hours.

Fresh air and demanding physical work in the great outdoors can do wonders as inspiration, at least for me. I think it's why I write so much more after I've been working out. Hell, a while back we had a several-times published author apply to be a groundskeeper, for the very same reasons. :)

[job]

I'd come down on the side of a job that puts you in close contact with people.

Writing is a solitary profession, at its heart. Writers -- this is a sweeping and inaccurate generalization -- tend to be inner-directed, cerebral people.

Social worker, criminal lawyer, bartender -- and yes, teacher -- psychologist, minister, con man, cop, beautician ... any job where you talk to people at length and hear their stories and actively try to understand them. People are the raw material of fiction, after all.

[DamaNegra]

Right now I'm a full-time student, and damn does it suck the life and creativity out of me! On the other hand, my school's an asylum, so I get to know about all these weird people and situations that could eventually make great stories.

[Momento Mori]

Well I can definitely say that being a lawyer is not a job compatible with writing ... :(

MM

[scarletpeaches]

You might want to tell John Grisham that.

[Momento Mori]

Meh. If John Grisham worked the hours I've been working recently, he'd agree with me.

MM

[C.bronco]

I write after my son's bedtime. :)
The best job would be one that you enjoy and pays the bills.

[maestrowork]

My old job was pretty good for my writing, except when I was working 60-80 hours a week plus travel. But the traveling gave me time to write -- when you're on a plane for 2 to 5 hours, it's perfect time to write. The technical stuff was so dry during the day that after work I couldn't wait to do something creative. So usually between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. at the hotel, instead of watching TV, I'd be working on my WIP. Worked out pretty well.

[CaroGirl]

I'm a technical documentation editor, which is boring enough to make you want to anything else, like write fiction, and supports the editing skills required. The pay can be good too, if you can find a contract.

[roger]

Prawn, I think being a teacher is a pretty good occupation, seeing as you get all those holidays!

Anything freelance or part time would be good, because you could plan your work around your writing.

[NeuroFizz]

The answer to this question is going to be as individual as the personalities, life experiences, and educational/work background of the people who populate AW. What is "best" for one person won't be "best" for another.

[ORION]

Prawn if you look at my blog profile you'll see I've been a lot of different things (ending up as a teacher). I think the varied careers helped give my writing depth and being a teacher gave me blocks of time to write in the summer. But yanno - I think if you really wanna write -- you'll find time to write.
Right now I'm writing full time and it's not at all as I imagined it. The discipline required is even greater and the deadlines more serious (from agent and editor).
JMHO

[Prawn]

I know many, living on the East coast of Scotland myself.

Hey! Do you know where Achiltibuie is? One summer I managed a youth hostel there at Achininver. That was a great job for writing.

[dpaterso]

I'm surprised no one has listed "Rich woman's plaything." I'd recommend that job to anyone. Oh yes.

-Derek

[JohnDavidPaxton]

I tend bar. It allows me to steal other peoples stories and incorporate them in my work. I enjoy it simply because it allows me achieve results without putting in effort. I could come up with a story arc, or I can just piece it together from the three different drunks I heard last night.

[Garpy]

I'm my wife's play thing.

Before I went full time with this writing malarky, I was a computer games designer. There weren't a lot of spare hours to be honest, but it was one helluva creative environment to work in, and I have to admit to having quite a few ideas in my little black book, inspired in part by some of the arse we came up with during our blue-sky creative brainstorming sessions.

[maestrowork]

I'm surprised no one has listed "Rich woman's plaything." I'd recommend that job to anyone. Oh yes.

-Derek

It really isn't much of a job. At least not for me.

[maestrowork]

Right now I'm writing full time and it's not at all as I imagined it. The discipline required is even greater and the deadlines more serious (from agent and editor).

Amen.

[Momento Mori]

maestrowork - you mean it's a hobby? ;)

Some days I'd happily settle for being a kept woman.

MM

[badducky]

THe best job for an aspiring novelist is simple:

Novelist.

Wake up each day and treat that like your true profession and your true job. Treat it like your job, and prioritize it like one, and don't let any other day gig fill your head with notions of profession-ness.

I always approached my non-writing jobs - even my current one - as "urban exploration". I went out to learn all I could about all the different corners and clusters of life in my town. I still do.

Writing is my job. I spend more hours per week doing it. I treated it that way even before I was "making it".

[eric11210]

Well I was working as a teacher and found I had some time for writing. I started a new job two months ago as a rabbi on a college campus and am only now finding a few moments here and there to write. Today is the first slow day I've had pretty much since I got here. No programs I'm responsible for today or next week (well I have three next week, but no work to do for them really).

I'd have to say teacher. Especially if you're writing childrens stuff (my personal fav, though I have written other work). You get to see how real kids act and write about it. Then again, I love my new job and am truly happy doing what I do, so I'd have to say whatever makes you happy.

Eric

[RedScylla]

[in sing-song voice] Mindless, menial secretarial work at a big university.

Let's just say, my job as a departmental secretary doesn't require a lot of brain power. I can do the whole job in about 9 hours a week, but they pay me to sit in front of my computer for 40.

[job]

THe best job for an aspiring novelist is simple:
Novelist.

... as soon as it comes with a dental plan.

[Rhea L]

I'm a graphic designer with a web design company, but it doesn't drain my creativity as it just happens to be a completely different area. But it doesn't come without a catch of its own: if I'm stuck and can't write, my design ideas disappear as well. If I'm on a roll writing-wise, I whip up decent layouts in no time, too.

The only bad thing about it is that after sitting in front of my computer for eight hours a day, in a fast-paced, stressful environment, I am exhausted and can't write nearly as much as I would like to.

The best job for a novelist is, well, like someone above said - novelist. :P I like what I do for a living, but nothing beats spending all those hours writing.

[jannawrites]

... Or an owner of a bookstore... Or a stay at home mom with kids in school.

Seems like working at a book store would sure provide a lot of motivation!

I completely agree with Wendy. I know it doesn't fly for everyone (sorry, Prawn) - and that it's not considered a "job" in most reaches, but being a stay-at-home is very conducive to being a writer. For now, with both my girls being preschoolers, my time is limited but sufficient. And I dream of the day they're both in school and it's just me and my keyboard.

Prawn, I think your job as a teacher is a great fit!

[bluemoonscribe]

I was a newspaper reporter for about 10 years. That taught me discipline. I got used to writing everyday, quickly, and trained myself to stay on task until the job got done. I learned to write concisely and, hopefully, show instead of tell.


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The downsides were that my schedule was unpredictable. I was pretty tired of writing by the time I got home. And if you're a frustrated novelist working with other talented writers, and they publish something, you kind of start to hate them. Not that I would know anything about that....

[Pisarz]

What's the best job for an aspiring novelist?

Hint: It's not "full-time academic editor who does freelance editing and freelance writing on the side."

Because then you just beat yourself up that much more for somehow still not having the chops to get an agent. :Shrug:

[wayndom]

Swing-shift or graveyard security guard in an office building. Weeknights after six your time is your own (you're really being paid just to be there), weekends you can write the whole day while getting paid by the hour. This presumes you're not working for an uptight company...

[wayndom]

I was a newspaper reporter for about 10 years. That taught me discipline. I got used to writing everyday, quickly, and trained myself to stay on task until the job got done. I learned to write concisely and, hopefully, show instead of tell.


I was a radio news reporter for 4 years. Best writing school I could've asked for... In newspaper news, you write the most important stuff first, then the lesser stuff (on the assumption that readers fall off rapidly with each successive paragraph). In radio news (like all radio), if you bore the listener for one second, she'll tune to another station and may not come back, so you have to grab and hold their attention throughout. Also, radio news is the most condensed, since a 30-second story is considered on the long side, so you really learn how little it takes to tell a story.

When I first started radio reporting, I might have written:

"San Francisco Police Chief Joe Blow held a news conference this morning at the downtown Hilton Hotel to announce that he's resigning the force as of the end of this month."

Four years later, the same story would be:

"San Francisco Police Chief Joe Blow says he's resigning at the end of the month."

I also learned that the difference between writing fast (in radio news, your deadline is usually an hour from now) and writing slow is that you spend more time sitting on your hands when you write slow.

[Enzo]

Either a job related to writing, or one with no overtime.

I left my job as a reporter nine months ago, and I'm still happy and working hard on my WIP - and on my first NaNoWriMo but that's been really useful in driving up my tempo.
When I'm in need of money - maybe sometime toward April next year - I'm pretty much sure I can find some part-time gig that still leaves me lots of free time.

[scarletpeaches]

I used to think being unemployed was great, but certainly in my case the more spare time I have, the more spare time I waste.

If you want something done, ask a busy man.

If you want something done properly, ask a busy woman. ;)

Anyway...it's not true for me that I get more done, the more time I have. It's all about priorities, no matter what your secular job is.

[Kryianna]

I've heard that being a tollbooth operator in the graveyard and weekend shifts is awesome. A lot of college students take that job, because the pay is great and they can do their homework easily between cars.

[James D. Macdonald]

What is the best job for an aspiring novelist?

One with health insurance.

[goatpiper]

I don't have insurance through my job, but I have damn good insurance through my wife's job - lucky me.

I'm a waiter. So typical. Pays the bills, sucks my soul away, but hoping to find a way out before I launch into 7-figure Rowling superstardom. Oh, wait...that's the morning whisky talking.

[jannawrites]

If you want something done, ask a busy man.

If you want something done properly, ask a busy woman. ;)




Ooh ooh! Does that come on a bumper sticker?

[scarletpeaches]

You may use it, as long as you say a prayer for me every time you do so. :D

[Sean D. Schaffer]

I am not saying president of a publishing company or anything that give you an "in" at the publishing stage, but what job fits an aspiring novelist best?

I am a teacher, so I can write during lunch, and I also have almost an hour after school before my kids come home in which to write. I find myself wondering if I was not a teacher, how would I find the time to write?

It seems like being a reporter would give you experience, but if I wrote all day at my day job, it would be hard to face the laptop after work.

What job fits the lifestyle of aspiring writer the best?


Anything aside from Social Security. Getting to sit around the house all day and do nothing, just is not conducive to great writing.

Although it does seem to add to the Internet Usage factor...

Seriously, though, like at least one other poster has said, whatever pays the bills. I don't think there really is a 'Best' job for an aspiring writer. As long as the bills are paid and the writer still gets to read and write, just about any job will do.

[DamaNegra]

What is the best job for an aspiring novelist?

One with health insurance.
Always the practical man ;)

[gp101]

A good third-shift job that pays benefits works out nicely. Trust me. If you find an overnight gig somewhere, especially in hotels--security, desk clerk, phone operator--you'll usually have few hours of actual work, and plenty of down time. Bring a laptop (if you're allowed), find a quiet corner, and you have hours to write, while you get paid, no less.

Downfalls? These jobs usually don't pay a helluva lot, and you're screwed if you have any type of family you want to spend time with. It's great for someone with no family to support and few bills.

[scarletpeaches]

What is the best job for an aspiring novelist?

One with health insurance.

That'll be EVERY job in the UK then, owing to God's own NHS.

[Thump]

I'm looking for a job myself if I don't wanna end up stuck with the parentals in Peru... No one wants me! >_< Even with my Awesome GPA of Awesomness. Makes me want to be a housewife. But.... No one wants me! *sob*

<- feels teh ugly.

[mario_c]

A good third-shift job that pays benefits works out nicely. Trust me. If you find an overnight gig somewhere, especially in hotels--security, desk clerk, phone operator--you'll usually have few hours of actual work, and plenty of down time. Bring a laptop (if you're allowed), find a quiet corner, and you have hours to write, while you get paid, no less.

Downfalls? These jobs usually don't pay a helluva lot, and you're screwed if you have any type of family you want to spend time with. It's great for someone with no family to support and few bills.Amen. Or sketchpad or whatever you do. My job on Sundays used to be like that, but they insisted on switching me to Saturday days which is hella busier. And they broke my chops over me having a laptop open, even if I was only running a virus scan because it was a waste of time to do it at home (old computer + CPU bashing Norton = HUGE waste of productivity).
Now my laptop is dead and I work 9 to 5 and write on my dual Mac minis at home. It sucks to be me.

[Elliot Cowan]

Boy wizard.
Serial killer.
Vampire hunter.
Mad scientist.
All useful professions to be involved in if you are looking for inspiration from your vocation.

[goatpiper]

I haven't read the entire thread, so I apologize if I am repeating anything already mentioned.

I wait tables at a restaurant only open for dinner five days a week. Someone posted about tending bar, and I feel the same way about waiting tables. You overhear some crazy stuff, sometimes, and on a bad night you at least get a lot of good visual descriptors for characters. I also make more money waiting tables than I could doing anything else. I'm in my thirties and working on my first novel, though I've been writing since I was ten years old. I let my ego take hold at the end of my high school years and decided to go to school for performing arts, even though everything I did beforehand indicated that I'd major in literature or writing. I now have a useless degree, in real-world terms, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Oh, wait...I'm drunk, and rambling. Apologies.

Aaron