Unpacking the “Day Job”

To state the obvious: it is very hard to work a full-time job and also write a book. I cannot imagine doing both of those things while also raising a family. You have to carve out time in the mornings and nights, and ideally block weekends because the best thing to have as a writer IMO—with novels, especially—are extended blocks of time. The brain ... See more

So, no. I do not sit around and write all day—if only. I have a day job. Almost all novelists do, unless they’re Sally Rooney or have a spouse who supports them.

Because I work in tech, which is a grossly overpaid industry, for the past seven years or so since I started writing, I have taken 4-6 months off every few years between jobs to write. This is a huge privilege, obviously (and maintaining the ability to do this is one of many reasons why I don’t think I’ll have kids and also why I work in tech). But... See more