Unpacking the “Day Job”
substack.com
Unpacking the “Day Job”
The whole time I was practicing to be a writer, I always had a day job. Even after I got published, I didn’t quit my day job, just to be on the safe side. In fact, I didn’t quit my day job (or my day jobs, I should say) until I had already written three books—and those three books were all published by major houses and were all reviewed nicely in t
... See moreElizabeth Gilbert • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: wannabe writers ask me all the time how I schedule my day, sometimes adding sadly: “I’d love to write, but I just don’t have the time”. Honey, none of us has the time. Maybe if you are male, and Victorian, and have a wife and servants and lock yourself in the study for several months at a go, being served bee
... See moreCaitlin Evans added
These are fantastic questions, and I have to be honest that I’ve never not had another job in addition to writing fiction. And, so, when I meet someone, I generally just say that I teach, because that’s my 9 to 5 job that pays our bills. It’s not that I don’t think I’m a writer or even feel weird about asserting it, but most people who ask are just... See more
Kevin Wilson • On What Makes a Good Writer with Kevin Wilson
Writing novels is hard, and requires vast, unbroken slabs of time. Four quiet hours is a resource that I can put to good use. Two slabs of time, each two hours long, might add up to the same four hours, but are not nearly as productive as an unbroken four. If I know that I am going to be interrupted, I can’t concentrate, and if I suspect that I mig... See more
Neal Stephenson • Neal Stephenson - Why I Am a Bad Correspondent
sari and added
I used ChatGPT to find role models who had tread this path before me. While I had feared that no one else had successfully combined being a writer with building a valuable business, I learned that I was wrong. Sam Harris, Bill Simmons, Kevin Espiritu, and several other creators had done exactly this—and well.
I hired Kate Lee as our editor in chief ... See more
I hired Kate Lee as our editor in chief ... See more
Dan Shipper • Every’s Master Plan
Lisa Dunford Dickman added
7/23/24
If you really want to cultivate your passion and purpose, you’re always going to need a way to pay for that passion and purpose. But don’t expect this to happen quickly, and find stopgap measures in the interim. I was a bartender for the first decade of my writing career,
Steven Kotler • The Art of Impossible
Kaustubh Sule added
.psychology
I held on to my day jobs for so long because I wanted to keep my creativity free and safe. I maintained alternative streams of income so that, when my inspiration wasn’t flowing, I could say to it reassuringly, “No worries, mate. Just take your time. I’m here whenever you’re ready.” I was always willing to work hard so that my creativity could play
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