Quitting the Day Job - What's It Really Like?

THE LONG NIGHT OF THE RADIANT STAR - a midwinter holiday fantasy romance in the Heirs of Magic world - is out in the world!

       

This week at the SFF Seven, we're talking Secret Identities! As in, the work we do on the side to make ends meet, partners helping to support us, and quitting the day job.

I'm fortunate that I was able to quit the day job - 18 years of a career as an environmental consultant - about 7 years ago. It was one of those things where the day job quit me: my team was downsized, I got laid off with affection and good severance pay, and I decided to try making a go of it writing for a living and NOT getting another day job. In truth, I was more than ready for that moment. At the same time, I kept waiting to make as much money from writing as I did from the day job (including the value of benefits), which was never quite happening. If I hadn't been kicked from the nest, I might never have voluntarily left it. 

That said, it's the best thing that ever happened to me. My husband has Parkinson's Disease and is no longer able to work, so apart from a small retirement income and his social security payment, keeping us afloat is up to me. That reality has made me really hustle with my writing. Between self-publishing and traditional publishing, I'm now making what I was with the day job.

And I'm ever so much happier. Seriously, after having essentially two careers for over 20 years, it was such a relief to focus on just one. Plus, all the meetings and phone calls I have are about books and writing. It's the best life!

I don't do much work on the side. I do some author coaching and teach the occasional workshop - I'm considering doing more classes - but it's important to me for the happiness quotient. I want writing and making books to be the priority. That's what I quit the day job to have. 

Three Things I Did to Sustain a Full-time Writing Career

The audiobook of BRIGHT FAMILIAR is now available! And GREY MAGIC in audio will be out very soon!! 

This week at the SFF Seven our topic is: Being a full-time writer – is it your dream? How do you pay for life and write, too?

In this instance we're defining "full-time writer" as someone who doesn't have a day job or other paying occupation that competes with writing. Most of us - unless we marry money or inherit a trust fund - continue to work jobs even after our first books are published. Sometimes for a LONG time after that. For myself, I continued to have essentially two careers for just over twenty years after my first publication. 

I worked in environmental consulting while all the while carving out time and energy to write. I kept waiting for my writing income to match my day-job salary - even not figuring in benefits! - and it never got there. Eventually life made the decision for me: my primary project got axed, our team dissolved, and I was laid off with decent severance. 

And, as it was absolutely my dream and my goal, I made the decision to try to have only one career at that point. 

It hasn't been easy! KAK's post from yesterday about being exacting with a budget is super important. This is especially true if, like her, you have only yourself to count on for income. Or if, like me, you are the primary breadwinner for your family. When authors give advice on managing finances as a full-time writer, it behooves you to pay attention to what other financial help they have. It might not be a trust fund, but having a spouse with a steady salary (and benefits!) goes a long way. Other authors live on retirement income or other, similar sources. 

So, how have I done it? 

1) Meticulous budgeting. 

As much as I can, I budget a quarter at a time. Writing income is volatile and, unless you're making buckets of it, you can't count on being able to pay the bills with income from a single month as you can with a regular paycheck. As KAK mentions, you can't figure your disposable income by simply subtracting your expenses from that month's income. You may need that "leftover" money for next month, or the month after. The financial gymnastics require creativity and flexibility.

2) Tracking sales

Data is everything! You can't afford to be only a dreamy creative. You have to wear your business hat and crunch the data from your royalty reports. You have to be ready to be stern with yourself and pay attention to which efforts generate income and which don't. You may find you can't afford those passion projects if your writing is what puts food on the table. OR, that you can afford them only if other projects are paying the bills.

3) Self-Publishing

If writing income is volatile, then income from traditional publishing has the lowest evaporation temperature. It comes, it goes - often on an annual or semi-annual basis. Quarterly is likely the most frequently you'll get paid, and every royalty check is a surprise! Again, unless they're cutting you BIG checks, it likely won't be enough to live on. This is why so many trad-pubbed authors also teach or have other side gigs. Self-publishing provides monthly income. Yes, it fluctuates, but you can also track sales and predict how much money will arrive in two months. Taking the surprise out of the equation helps immensely! You're also not subject to the whims of traditional publishing on a number of levels.

Those are three practices that have helped me manage a career as a full-time writing with essentially no other income. The other, quite obvious step, would be to make buckets of money and never have to think about budgeting again. 

Maybe someday!

Wanna Be A Full-Time Writer? How Good Are You With a Budget?

Being a full-time writer: Is it my dream? How do/will I pay for "life" and write too?

vigorously rubs face

Well, I am a full-time writer, which sometimes translates to living at or below poverty depending on sales.  Shocked? Don't be. Like most creative professions, less than 1% achieve the success that's portrayed in popular entertainment. 

Look--I say this from experience--anyone who is going to walk away from a steady paycheck that affords a middle-class existence (or better) has to accept strict budgeting and lifestyle-reduction changes. This is not an avocado toast soapbox; that's a wholly different discussion. I'm talking about living within seasons of feast and famine. I'm talking about going from having a percent of monthly income being "disposable" after paying essential bills and investments to cutting out things that aren't utilities, rent/mortgage, groceries, car payments, and health insurance. It's a hell of a shock to the system to shift from stability to insecurity. Monthly mani-pedis? Gone. Thursday drinks with the gang? Not every week you don't. That vacation to the Con you attend every year? Eh...maybe. That's now a business cost, so maybe, but you've got to generate enough annual revenue in order to be able to take that as a tax write-off. 

As James mentioned yesterday, US health insurance is an obscene cost of living to which you then have to add actual health care costs--ya know, the list of stuff insurance requires you to pay on top of your premium and deductible and the even longer list of stuff insurance simply doesn't cover. Yes, health insurance costs more than my mortgage. Yes, for the moment, I'm a relatively healthy person. However, health insurance is an inescapable cost at my age, and it's not like I can get a roommate to help share the costs of health insurance (adding a person to the policy would triple the costs!). And predicting the annual increase in premiums? Fugetaboutit, which makes it a bitch to budget. Alas, I can't control the capitalist death-panels that are the US health industry, so I do things like drive a 20yr old car that's paid off and live in a state that doesn't charge an annual property tax on vehicles. Some months are ramen months, and others are chicken thighs. I take the savings where I can when I can. 

Finally, there's the actual business costs. As an indie author, my costs of publishing are incurred upfront (editing, art, marketing, etc.). So if I want to release a book, I have to budget for that. Then I have to estimate when I'll recoup my costs and start generating a profit. Sometimes release dates get pushed because I don't have that couple of grand on hand. There's a reason many authors turn to Kickstarter or the like to fund their indie books. Writing is a constant hustle. You've got to keep producing to keep a market presence. If you lose market presence, you've got to start over to rebuild it, which means recouping your investment is going to take longer. The upshot of being a novelist, however, is that our backlists continue to generate income (assuming we own the rights). The theory is the bigger your backlist, the bigger the financial cushion, the bigger the breath you can take because you can actually pay your bills...and maybe pay to replace that busted water heater.  Warm showers are a wonderful thing, after all. 

None of this is to say you can't have fun and hang with friends while being a full-time writer, but the lifestyle of financial instability does require tradeoffs and often saying "no" to invitations you simply can't afford anymore. For someone who had success in the corporate world, it can be a bitter pill to feel like you're starting over on the bottom rung of life again, even though you're changing careers to something you love. If you're not honest with yourself about everything the change entails, you're going to be in for a world of hurt and embarrassment. Don't pull the "I quit" switch until you've got a plan, a budget, and a slew of reasonable expectations for the next 10 years.