What's the life of a (published) writer like?

android415 · Aug 25, 2012

For those of you who are lucky enough to make a living from your writing, or know someone who is (whether it be novels, short stories, plays, etc.), what is a day in your life like?

Do you teach classes? Do you do book signings?

I'm just curious as to what a full-time writer does, when they are not writing

Bufty · Aug 25, 2012

I'm sure one will be along to answer your question shortly but meantime if you pop - Anyone a full-time writer - into the site specific Google Custom Search box to the left below this section of the page you'll find a stack of interesting threads to keep you going.

writerjohnb · Aug 25, 2012

Just because you're published doesn't mean you make enough to write full time. Only a small percentage of published writers make it big.

Kerosene · Aug 25, 2012

I don't know any full-time writer (novelist/author) who make a living.

There are some writing jobs, for business/law and that, which do make a living, some quite well.

gothicangel · Aug 25, 2012

Stressful I would imagine. Publisher deadlines, stressing about sales, agents not liking the proposal for the next book, editing, promotion, doing your own taxes, no-one showing up to book-signings, publisher harrassing you for the new edit, new book etc.

Hard to see anything glamorous about it really.

thethinker42 · Aug 25, 2012

*raises hand* Full-time novelist here.

Typical day? Writing. Anywhere from 8-16 hours, depending on deadlines, momentum, how long it takes me to reach my daily quota (usually 5K words, sometimes more).

Some days are all editing or research, some are at least partially promo. Every once in a while, I have what I call "oh yeah, this is a job, isn't it?" days: paperwork. Taxes. Filing. etc. But the vast majority of my work days are spent writing.

Cyia · Aug 25, 2012

android415 said:
For those of you who are lucky enough to make a living from your writing, or know someone who is (whether it be novels, short stories, plays, etc.), what is a day in your life like?

Do you teach classes? Do you do book signings?

I'm just curious as to what a full-time writer does, when they are not writing

What is this "not writing" of which you speak?

If you're a full-time writer, then you write full time. If you're a doctor full-time, you treat patients. If you're a teacher full-time, you teach. If you're a writer full-time, you ~~Tweet~~, ~~play Bejeweled~~, ~~daydream~~ write.

But in the chair, hands on the keyboard (or pen, if you go old school on first drafts), and words on the screen or page.

It's a job, with deadlines like any other, so you do your job.

As far as the classes/signings/etc. No, I don't teach classes. Book signings are usually determined by your publisher (unless you self-publish) and most writers don't do them, AFAIK. Sometimes, a publisher will send a group of authors out together, with a theme to the group. (all YA authors, or all paranormal authors, etc.)

(And FWIW, I was gainfully unemployed when I got my book deals, so I didn't actually quit a job to write full-time.)

job · Aug 25, 2012

I make a living writing.
Most of the time, my life is like this, seven days a week:

I get up, put on coffee, walk the dog, feed dog and cat, and sit down to write.

If I'm out at a coffee shop, I just write.
If I'm at home I stop writing from time to time to eat or fill the dishwasher or sweep the floor or put laundry in or walk the dog again.

I write for about six hours and then I can't write any more.

The rest of the day I do housework, interact with the family, answer mail, play around on line, and read books.

Once or twice a week I get out and spend the morning with friends.

I usually go to two conferences a year. The only booksignings I do are there at the conference. I give one or maybe two presentations a year at some conference or other.

android415 · Aug 25, 2012

Cyia said:
What is this "not writing" of which you speak?

If you're a full-time writer, then you write full time. If you're a doctor full-time, you treat patients. If you're a teacher full-time, you teach. If you're a writer full-time, you ~~Tweet~~, ~~play Bejeweled~~, ~~daydream~~ write.

But in the chair, hands on the keyboard (or pen, if you go old school on first drafts), and words on the screen or page.

It's a job, with deadlines like any other, so you do your job.

As far as the classes/signings/etc. No, I don't teach classes. Book signings are usually determined by your publisher (unless you self-publish) and most writers don't do them, AFAIK. Sometimes, a publisher will send a group of authors out together, with a theme to the group. (all YA authors, or all paranormal authors, etc.)

(And FWIW, I was gainfully unemployed when I got my book deals, so I didn't actually quit a job to write full-time.)

What I mean is, an accountant doesn't spend literally all day crunching numbers at a cubicle. They may participate in group projects, they may do conferences or meetings.

Just curious as to what else the job entails.

thethinker42 · Aug 25, 2012

android415 said:
What I mean is, an accountant doesn't spend literally all day crunching numbers at a cubicle. They may participate in group projects, they may do conferences or meetings.

Just curious as to what else the job entails.

Promo, taxes, time management, etc. It reminds me a lot of when I ran my photography business a few years ago. Same basic tasks: ordering supplies as needed, trying to find some headspace for things like advertising strategies and website maintenance in between doing the creative stuff I actually like (in this case, writing; back then, photography and post-production), keeping track of every penny spent and earned, things like that.

I probably spend an inordinate amount of time scheduling myself. I usually have a few books on a deadline, and sometimes have to write them in rapid succession or simultaneously in order to meet those deadlines. Plus there's the inevitable edits and galley copies that come along at inopportune moments. As a result, I have white boards, calendars, spreadsheets, and the like to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.

So, at least for me, the non-writing parts of the job are basic housekeeping stuff that would come with running any kind of business, promotion/marketing, and a hell of lot of time management.

JoBird · Aug 25, 2012

I'm guessing that they don't have to stop at red lights, and that their cats don't need litter boxes. And they gather in small VIP rooms to smoke special tobacco without tar.

And they tell each other the best stories, the ones the rest of us never hear.

And they laugh, and they love, and they sparkle in the light of the sun.

VoireyLinger · Aug 25, 2012

I'm not earning a living at it (yet) but my life since I became published is much like it was before I sold. I get the kids off to school, spend an hour checking email and doing some promo, twittering, networking and that kind of thing. Then I write until lunchtime, take a break for food. Then go over what I wrote in the morning. edit, tweak, write for a couple more hours. Another email/promo/networking blitz. Take an hour nap before the kids get home. Spend time doing mom stuff... checking homework, cleaning, cooking, etc. Write some more after dinner. Get the kids to bed. Write a bit longer. One last email/network/promo check and i go to bed. Once a week I have an online crit group meeting in the evenings. One Saturday a month I go to my RWA meeting. I take weekends off to relax and spend time with the family unless I have a deadline or am close to finishing a project.

What's changed: I now get emails from my editor and discuss projects with her. I now have deadlines to factor in and priority projects to complete. I get a monthly check that is usually enough to cover one small bill. Otherwise most of my scheduling is the same.

EarlyBird · Aug 25, 2012

WillSauger said:
I don't know any full-time writer (novelist/author) who make a living.

I do, my mentor/agent. He makes a lot of money, too. Has had I don't know how many books published...oodles. He writes fairly consistently, always seems to have a project going...mostly fiction, sometimes non-fiction. This is with traditional publishing.

The man's a machine when it comes to his craft.

thethinker42 · Aug 25, 2012

JoBird said:
I'm guessing that they don't have to stop at red lights, and that their cats don't need litter boxes.

We also don't have to heed the laws of physics. Because fuck gravity.

And they gather in small VIP rooms to smoke special tobacco without tar.

Small VIP rooms? Pfft. Small. My seven-story hookah wouldn't fit into a "small" VIP room.

And they tell each other the best stories, the ones the rest of us never hear.

Is true.

And they laugh, and they love, and they sparkle in the light of the sun.

Sparkle? SPARKLE???

Uh, no.

I shimmer, damn you. GET IT RIGHT.

blacbird · Aug 25, 2012

Some published writers:

Sylvia Plath
Virginia Woolf
Richard Brautigan
Ernest Hemingway
Hart Crane
Randall Jarrell
Weldon Kees
Hunter S. Thompson
John Berryman
Breece d'J Pancake
Ross Lockridge, Jr.
Thomas Heggen

caw

JoBird · Aug 25, 2012

thethinker42 said:
We also don't have to heed the laws of physics. Because fuck gravity.

Small VIP rooms? Pfft. Small. My seven-story hookah wouldn't fit into a "small" VIP room.

Is true.

Sparkle? SPARKLE???

Uh, no.

I shimmer, damn you. GET IT RIGHT.

I stand corrected, humbled, and weighed down by gravity.

Anninyn · Aug 25, 2012

JoBird said:
I'm guessing that they don't have to stop at red lights, and that their cats don't need litter boxes. And they gather in small VIP rooms to smoke special tobacco without tar.

And they tell each other the best stories, the ones the rest of us never hear.

And they laugh, and they love, and they sparkle in the light of the sun.

I hear that when the moon is full, they come out into the night, shift into their true forms (so beautiful that any normal human who looks upon them will go mad) and sing the truth about the universe in their haunting voices.

Susan Coffin · Aug 25, 2012

I know a few writers who write full time, published traditionally, and have been on NY seller lists. One still works part time as a lawyer, and the other still writes (has gained right back to several of her books and put them out on E books).

There are other authors at this forum who write full time.

FOTSGreg · Aug 25, 2012

Hmmm, do I count? I have a full-time job as a technical writer, and am a self-epublished novelist and short story writer.

My day,

4am - Wake up, turn on TV, lie there, doze off (hopefully)
5:30am - Dismiss the alarm on my phone, switch over to the channel showing Mr Ed reruns, get up & start gathering clothes for the day.
5:45am - The 3 s's
6:15am - Gather laptop, tablets, digital camera & head for the car
6:30-6:40am - Arrive at day job, turn on radio, fire up desktop, check personal email & scan news
7am - Start day job (enter new Time Study & Setup Forms, confirm revisions, ask machinist or Machine Shop Supervisor re: any questions, convert documents to PDFs, check Job Time Calculator and Archive folders for entries, etc., enter daily machine shop personnel efficiency data, check data for accuracy, answer questions re: Setup Forms, Shop Drawings from machine shop, check company email, answer questions from Sales, VP of Production, Purchasing, Shipping & Receiving, Assembly, etc.)
11:30am-12pm - Lunch (grab 15-20 minutes of time working on my own stuff)
12pm - Back at work (afternoons are spent cross-checking data, backing stuff up, writing Installtion & Work Instructions, and answering more questions)
3:30pm - Off work, drive to favorite watering hole
4pm - Sit down in front of cold beer, open up my personal email, surf FaceBook, check AW, socialize, etc. Try to get some personal fiction writing done (250-1500 words on average
6-7:30pm - Head home
7:45pm - Lie down for 2-3 hrs (I can't always sleep/nap)
9-10pm - Get up, grab iPad tablet, write on WIPs for 2 hrs
12 Midnite - Sack out for 4-5 hrs

Wash, rinse, repeat 5 days a week

android415 · Aug 25, 2012

FOTSGreg said:
Hmmm, do I count? I have a full-time job as a technical writer, and am a self-epublished novelist and short story writer.

My day,

4am - Wake up, turn on TV, lie there, doze off (hopefully)
5:30am - Dismiss the alarm on my phone, switch over to the channel showing Mr Ed reruns, get up & start gathering clothes for the day.
5:45am - The 3 s's
6:15am - Gather laptop, tablets, digital camera & head for the car
6:30-6:40am - Arrive at day job, turn on radio, fire up desktop, check personal email & scan news
7am - Start day job (enter new Time Study & Setup Forms, confirm revisions, ask machinist or Machine Shop Supervisor re: any questions, convert documents to PDFs, check Job Time Calculator and Archive folders for entries, etc., enter daily machine shop personnel efficiency data, check data for accuracy, answer questions re: Setup Forms, Shop Drawings from machine shop, check company email, answer questions from Sales, VP of Production, Purchasing, Shipping & Receiving, Assembly, etc.)
11:30am-12pm - Lunch (grab 15-20 minutes of time working on my own stuff)
12pm - Back at work (afternoons are spent cross-checking data, backing stuff up, writing Installtion & Work Instructions, and answering more questions)
3:30pm - Off work, drive to favorite watering hole
4pm - Sit down in front of cold beer, open up my personal email, surf FaceBook, check AW, socialize, etc. Try to get some personal fiction writing done (250-1500 words on average
6-7:30pm - Head home
7:45pm - Lie down for 2-3 hrs (I can't always sleep/nap)
9-10pm - Get up, grab iPad tablet, write on WIPs for 2 hrs
12 Midnite - Sack out for 4-5 hrs

Wash, rinse, repeat 5 days a week

You do count! As a soon-to-be-graduating English major, technical writing has been a curiosity to me. Thanks for posting!

WildScribe · Aug 25, 2012

I don't make a livable income, but fortunately my husband does, so I can continue this silly writing ~~game~~ job. I get up too early, walk the kid to school, come home, goof around online for half an hour or so, and then spend the next couple of hours writing. If I have the energy, time, and brain space, I may edit, update my website, or try to do promotional things before I have to pick the kid up again.

thothguard51 · Aug 25, 2012

I have heard they have a secret life of groupies, orgies and they get into strip clubs for free. But that is just a rumor I heard...

Paul · Aug 25, 2012

thothguard51 said:
I have heard they have a secret life of groupies, orgies and they get into strip clubs for free. But that is just a rumor I heard...

Only if performing.

WildScribe · Aug 25, 2012

Depends on the genre. I know I get to write off things like strip clubs and porn subscriptions, though.

Unimportant · Aug 25, 2012

My partner writes full-time from home. We have very similar schedules. We get up when the alarm goes off, do the various chores (feed cats, feed dog, let dog out, feed chooks, milk cow, fetch firewood, blahblah), drink coffee, eat breakfast, check email, and then go to work. My commute requires a car; my partner's obviously does not.

We work, eat lunch, and work again till 5. I drive home. We then make dinner and do the various animal-chores again. Sometimes we watch TV or whatever. Sometimes we both 'bring work home' -- my partner helps me if my day job has any problematic chemistry issues I need expert input on, and I help my partner with proofreading or chucking around plot ideas or writing a query letter or whatever.

Sure, our jobs are different. Mine involves a lot of asshat colleagues, but it also comes with a steady paycheque. But work is work.

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No COVID yet. Still masking.