Hi Brandon --
No one has mentioned this, but I'll throw it out in regards to school.
Don't major in journalism. It's still defining itself in the new age, and a J-School degree isn't very helpful anymore. I say this as a former reporter.
I wouldn't major in English, either. It's a nice degree while you're getting it, but the actual use of it is rather limited. You'd be better served finding the secondary interest you have and minoring in English. The ability of a program to teach you how to write is very limited, and unless you're at a top-flight CW school, it won't matter. Plus, the more you diversify your knowledge base, the better writer you'll be.
As someone with a BA in English and an MFA, I think this is good advice (though I will say that all of my BA English pals and my MFA crew have pretty decent jobs now).
Also, for anyone considering an MFA, I'd say that about 1/3 of my fellow classmates in the program actually had a BA in English. There really was a mix of majors. A comm studies major, a sociology major, even a guy who had focused mostly on pre-law in his degree.
If I could do it again, I would have probably majored in something that made me more marketable in terms of career (knowing that I could still get into an MFA program).
Why?
Because becoming a writer is a marathon, not a sprint. If you think you're going to crank out a book and BANG, be able to live off those funds solely "in no time," then it's just about the same as me walking up to Steven Spielberg and saying, "Hey, I'm going to win an Oscar next year."
Maybe you're the one in a billion that can pull it off. Are those odds you want to take?
99.9999999999999% of writers work their butts off. It is their life. It is toiling and scraping. And some of it isn't even the writing itself--it's the business of writing.
I know a guy who's sold 50 novel-length books. And he still has to piece together workshops and writing conferences and events to keep incoming steady.
Most writers will be working while they write. A full-time job. Not in the writing field.
If I were to offer any advice, it would be: Slow down. Take a deep breath and consider that so many writers are their own worst enemy. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen this:
1. Finish book. YAY!
2. Half-ass edit it.
3. Write a query letter in 25 minutes (using some form template they get online). Proofread it once.
4. Send it out to 80 agents.
5. Get 80 rejections.
6. Give up because, "They just don't get my brilliance" and you've burned all your bridges.
Consider this publication path instead:
1. Finish book. YAY!
2. Edit the holy living hell out of it.
3. Sit on it for a month (or two or three).
4. Edit it again.
5. Revise it some more
6. Get some beta readers
7. Revise again
Somewhere between step 1 and 7, get your query letter perfect. I mean, you research queries. You read other peoples' queries who have sold. You take a workshop or two on queries. You submit your query to "Query Letter Hell" here on AW. Get feedback. Revise. Get feedback. Revise.
Then, after #7 is complete, revisit your query letter. Get it perfect. Like, every single letter in place.
Somewhere between step 1 and 7, you're also researching agents, right? Follow them on Twitter, read their blogs, read their websites. Make sure they represent your genre. Make sure they're not "Sick of X_thing you might have in your story." (Trends change.)
Is your manuscript done?
Completely done?
As in, you could summon Edgar Allen Poe from the dead just to hand him your story and feel 100% proud and awesome that you've done your absolute best? Ever?
Is your query letter done?
Like, so good you almost pee yourself? That good?
Pick 10 agents on your list.
Send 10 queries.
Wait.
If you get no hits, your query letter sucks. Do it again.
And send out 10 more.
And if no hits.
Do again, and sent out 10 more.
And how much time do you think has passed since you started step 1? (Just the finishing of the book)
Do you know how many people go route #1 and give up? Because they are SO FREAKIN EXCITED OMG I NEED TO SHOW THIS TO THE WORLD RIGHT NOooooOOOwwwWWW!!111!!!
Lots. And Lots. And Lots.
So, yeah. Consider all of that.
And also? Make sure you research your agents. I know an agent who rejects about 60% of queries because people send in genres that she does NOT represent (like horror, for instance). Easy way into the recycle bin.