Why Do So Many New Writers Have A “Real” Job?

As some of you may have noticed I have been a bit absent from this blog. I apologize, but unfortunately writing is not my first job, and for a while there my occupation took over.

Though now that I am back, at least for the moment I thought
I would examine this arch-nemesis of the would-be writer, time. Many priorities
in our lives take chunks out of our limited time. First of these is making
a living. Sadly, it has become increasingly more difficult for writers to make
a living, writing. If you wander the bookshelves at your local bookstore a
large group of the people responsible for the books you enjoy earn their livelihood
with another job, besides writing. In the old days, the legends like Heinlein,
Bradbury, Asimov, Clarke were able to slip into writing by crafting short stories.
In the good ol’ days, short stories paid enough that a writer could survive
long enough to craft their first novel. Then back to short stories while writing
the second book, then repeat as necessary.

Today, the short story market is hanging on by a precarious thread.
If you thumb through the fantasy/science fiction/speculative fiction sections
of the current Writer’s Market you will see many markets for short stories
pay their writers in copies of the magazine. These are lovely as bragging rags,
and you might be able to trade this fleeting fame for a round of drinks at
a local pub, but just try to trade these for groceries and rent.

Michael Moorcock tells the story of how Elric one of his most
famous creations was born (I paraphrase here): He could write an Elric novella
each month and make the money he needed for rent and groceries to last him
until the last month. Nowadays, selling a short piece of fiction might buy
the groceries (if the magazine can pay you at all), but forget paying a month’s
rent or mortgage with it.

So how does a present day writer survive and even flourish, well
for me, I design and code websites. And when I can squeeze together some time,
I write. Then I submit what I write wherever I can until it sells or at least
yields a published copy of my work, then I repeat.

Thus, the battle against the enemy goes on. Truthfully, I believe
the loser in this battle is the reader. I have often overheard scifi/fantasy
fans griping about how the writing of today’s writers doesn’t measure up to
the classics. They may be right. I believe the work suffers when it is a person’s
second or third job. However, writers must write. If we don’t we will surely
go mad.

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