It took me a long time to come around to realizing that, first, my personal goal really was to write the books I most wanted to write; and second, that given this, the work that supports my writing shouldn't be work-for-hire fiction, but something else--not only because I wasn't ultimately comfortable writing other people's stuff, but also because in general, work-for-hire pays worse than other things I could do, and therefore leaves me less time than those other things do for writing my own fiction. (Because the more other work pays, the less time I have to spend on it, and the more fiction time I have.)
I think this is very good advice, and I hope you offer it up at new writing panels. I never could crack the tie-in market--an editor told me once I was perceived as "too literate" to write a tie-in. (I think that's a compliment....) I thought that I could beat the record on quitting that day job, at first...but after watching how the publishing industry unfolded (my first publishing house failed under me, the second changed its imprint and I wasn't perceived as a big enough hitter to keep, and the third merged and all my editors were fired. Go figure...) I lost that ideal fast. Ironically, my Ex encouraged me to quit and write full-time. I was able to write a book a year, but selling it for anything reasonable was ridiculous.
I started training for RMT, to use my body and spirit differently during half the day, and write the other half--as opposed to returning to tech writing? But then I became ill--and the rampant arthritis happened (long story, years in making--it's Lyme) so I trained for web design, and the computer market crashed...
To sum up--now I am once again looking for a writing job, discovering they want tools I don't know, and I'd be very grateful if I could get the state to hire me--even though the benefits, etc. aren't what they used to be. I really don't want tie-in work anymore--I want a 40 hour a week job that I leave at the office.
I will write what I want to write. If I'm lucky, I will write the books I know they can be. If I'm very lucky, a real publisher will pay me for them.
I'll settle for the first luck, because although communicating with greater numbers of people and getting paid for it is wonderful--writing a great book and sharing with friends can do as a great hobby.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-08-30 07:51 am (UTC)I think this is very good advice, and I hope you offer it up at new writing panels. I never could crack the tie-in market--an editor told me once I was perceived as "too literate" to write a tie-in. (I think that's a compliment....) I thought that I could beat the record on quitting that day job, at first...but after watching how the publishing industry unfolded (my first publishing house failed under me, the second changed its imprint and I wasn't perceived as a big enough hitter to keep, and the third merged and all my editors were fired. Go figure...) I lost that ideal fast. Ironically, my Ex encouraged me to quit and write full-time. I was able to write a book a year, but selling it for anything reasonable was ridiculous.
I started training for RMT, to use my body and spirit differently during half the day, and write the other half--as opposed to returning to tech writing? But then I became ill--and the rampant arthritis happened (long story, years in making--it's Lyme) so I trained for web design, and the computer market crashed...
To sum up--now I am once again looking for a writing job, discovering they want tools I don't know, and I'd be very grateful if I could get the state to hire me--even though the benefits, etc. aren't what they used to be. I really don't want tie-in work anymore--I want a 40 hour a week job that I leave at the office.
I will write what I want to write. If I'm lucky, I will write the books I know they can be. If I'm very lucky, a real publisher will pay me for them.
I'll settle for the first luck, because although communicating with greater numbers of people and getting paid for it is wonderful--writing a great book and sharing with friends can do as a great hobby.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us--