Thanks for this post. Your writing/financial life sounds a lot like mine. (Minus the $50,000 advance.:-) It's SO hard to make a living as a writer. And weird how some terrible writers make a make a fortune. Maybe even weirder that some good writers do, too--but there's no possible way of figuring how to get into that group. Even so, for serious writers, writing is NOT a hobby. There seems nothing in our culture to differentiate between a hobby and a job. I guess because people think of both in terms of money.
Barbara—I’m nodding at everything you’ve said above. Another thing that also drives me a bit nuts is when some readers say, It must be a good book if it’s sold a lot of copies! Well, in fact, no, it doesn’t have to be!
I left my well-compensated "job" in corporate marketing five years ago. From my writing in 2023, I made 0.5% of what I made in my last year in the business world. I spent 30 years writing for other people to make enough money so that I could write for myself. I am a writer. It's not a J.O.B. job in the traditional sense, but I'm working harder (and with more purpose and joy) than I ever have.
Thanks for this, Christine. I feel fortunate that as a professor of English and creative writing, my job is intertwined with my writing life. I get to read, write, and teach writing. But it's still a job, which becomes more clear with each new attack on universities in general and the humanities and arts in particular. And people don't realize it, but as a full professor at my university, I make less than many high school teachers.
I don't think most people know that quite a few high school teaching jobs (and many community college gigs) pay better than tenure track university English and writing jobs do (if you're a prof in the business school, however, that's another story). I had a non-tenure track full-time teaching gig in Chicago for several years, which paid about $46K; I did have insurance and some retirement benefits but the pay wasn't enough to live on and I also taught as an adjunct at Northwestern; my current teaching is all adjunct too and my admin job is part-time. Higher ed seems to be run more and more based on profit-seeking/corporate models.
I agree that most people don't know how little universities pay (EXCEPT BUSINESS SCHOOLS, as you say and which I'm amplifying), which is why I like to mention that I make less than most HS teachers. But I also WAS a high school teacher for a few years, and you couldn't pay me to do it again! :) Thanks for being so transparent about your financial experiences!
Elementary, junior high, and high school teachers - the original influencers! (and if only the best ones were paid as well as internet influencers - but that word - oy...not a fan.)
I am motivated to write because I whish to share my research discoveries and new or improved science with the rest of the world and anyone who takes me seriously. This kind of information can help to make this a better world. I do not seek any financial remuneration, but an occasional few words of encouragement would be nice!
Journalist. College professor. Broadcaster. Thank God. These careers have allowed me to write. Yes, I've made some money writing (books, some freelance, some awards) but I'd be under a tent on the edges of Chicago's Grant Park soliciting for money if I had relied solely on being an author. You are right...writing is NOT a job. Not for most of us. But, it hasn't stopped me, and never will. I didn't first sit down at a keyboard to tell a story thinking about how much money I would make. That may be good or bad. But, in the end, I don't write to make money. I write, because it's what I do.
I do think writing is a job - I was actually annoyed with the "It's not a job!" take - but it generally has to be a job done along with at least one other in order for a person to keep at it since making a living from one's writing, as you of course know first-hand, is so difficult, and only getting more so. :\
Good point. I guess I don't see it, more specifically, as a life-sustainer, as a "job" is traditionally seen. And yes, you better know what you're in for if you take that gig!
Thanks for this post. Your writing/financial life sounds a lot like mine. (Minus the $50,000 advance.:-) It's SO hard to make a living as a writer. And weird how some terrible writers make a make a fortune. Maybe even weirder that some good writers do, too--but there's no possible way of figuring how to get into that group. Even so, for serious writers, writing is NOT a hobby. There seems nothing in our culture to differentiate between a hobby and a job. I guess because people think of both in terms of money.
Barbara—I’m nodding at everything you’ve said above. Another thing that also drives me a bit nuts is when some readers say, It must be a good book if it’s sold a lot of copies! Well, in fact, no, it doesn’t have to be!
Really nice post. For still more places to locate job announcements, I invite everyone to check the resources at https://www.erikadreifus.com/resources/jobs/.
Thank you, Erika - I'll add this link to the post - much appreciated.
I left my well-compensated "job" in corporate marketing five years ago. From my writing in 2023, I made 0.5% of what I made in my last year in the business world. I spent 30 years writing for other people to make enough money so that I could write for myself. I am a writer. It's not a J.O.B. job in the traditional sense, but I'm working harder (and with more purpose and joy) than I ever have.
The joy and sense of purpose are truly what keep so many of us at our desks - onward!
I appreciate the transparency and the wake up call! I have recently decided to pursue writing as a career but this gives me something to chew on…
It's very hard to earn enough money to live on as a writer - the writing itself has to be its own reward, I always tell students (and myself...)
It’s never been a job and more thus with the poet. Good reminding!
Thanks for this, Christine. I feel fortunate that as a professor of English and creative writing, my job is intertwined with my writing life. I get to read, write, and teach writing. But it's still a job, which becomes more clear with each new attack on universities in general and the humanities and arts in particular. And people don't realize it, but as a full professor at my university, I make less than many high school teachers.
I don't think most people know that quite a few high school teaching jobs (and many community college gigs) pay better than tenure track university English and writing jobs do (if you're a prof in the business school, however, that's another story). I had a non-tenure track full-time teaching gig in Chicago for several years, which paid about $46K; I did have insurance and some retirement benefits but the pay wasn't enough to live on and I also taught as an adjunct at Northwestern; my current teaching is all adjunct too and my admin job is part-time. Higher ed seems to be run more and more based on profit-seeking/corporate models.
I agree that most people don't know how little universities pay (EXCEPT BUSINESS SCHOOLS, as you say and which I'm amplifying), which is why I like to mention that I make less than most HS teachers. But I also WAS a high school teacher for a few years, and you couldn't pay me to do it again! :) Thanks for being so transparent about your financial experiences!
Elementary, junior high, and high school teachers - the original influencers! (and if only the best ones were paid as well as internet influencers - but that word - oy...not a fan.)
Oh, man, same here! It's all too often the reverse!
I am motivated to write because I whish to share my research discoveries and new or improved science with the rest of the world and anyone who takes me seriously. This kind of information can help to make this a better world. I do not seek any financial remuneration, but an occasional few words of encouragement would be nice!
Receiving encouragement is for sure an important part of keeping at it.
Journalist. College professor. Broadcaster. Thank God. These careers have allowed me to write. Yes, I've made some money writing (books, some freelance, some awards) but I'd be under a tent on the edges of Chicago's Grant Park soliciting for money if I had relied solely on being an author. You are right...writing is NOT a job. Not for most of us. But, it hasn't stopped me, and never will. I didn't first sit down at a keyboard to tell a story thinking about how much money I would make. That may be good or bad. But, in the end, I don't write to make money. I write, because it's what I do.
I do think writing is a job - I was actually annoyed with the "It's not a job!" take - but it generally has to be a job done along with at least one other in order for a person to keep at it since making a living from one's writing, as you of course know first-hand, is so difficult, and only getting more so. :\
Good point. I guess I don't see it, more specifically, as a life-sustainer, as a "job" is traditionally seen. And yes, you better know what you're in for if you take that gig!
I know you know what I mean by this: emotionally and intellectually writing is a life-sustainer but financially...right - gah...!
Very thoughtful, Christine. Yes, writing has many rewards, but the money part requires extensive hustling, flexibility, and persistence.
It really does. Happy birthday to you, by the way!