Alexis wrote to ask the following question:
I’m a writer too trying to break into it full-time. Any advice?
Thanks for writing Alexis. Your email mentioned that you’re a member of ACFW, so, you’re off to a good start by being a member of that organization. As far as writing full-time, that’s hard to do. Most writers (including myself) have full-time jobs, or, they have another income to depend on (like the income of a spouse, or, perhaps they’re getting retirement income.) I work full-time as a financial analyst, so, if I were forced to live off my writing income, I’d be in the poor house!
I recall literary agent Chip Macgregor has blogged about quitting your full-time job for your writing career. I believe he said you should have a number of future contracts in place, also, you should have at least six months worth of income in the bank that’ll be enough to pay all of your bills.
You might want to consider going to the ACFW conference in the fall. I know it’s kind of pricey, but, I feel it’s well worth the money if you want to break into the Christian fiction market!
Thanks for the advice! 🙂
You’re welcome, Alexis.
Alexis, I just left a steady paycheck behind to write full-time at the end of last year. Let me tell you, there’s a reason why folks say “Don’t quit your day job!” when they know you’re a writer :-).
Definitely have that money saved up as Cecelia noted- when you freelance, your money will get funny at times, and when it starts laughing, you’ll need to have that backup to draw from. It’s a bit of an adjustment from getting paid on the 1st and the 15th (or what have you) to getting paid when you complete the assignment- or when the person has the rest of the money they owe you.
You’ll need multiple streams of income to make it work. I tried this about 12 years ago, but failed because I tried to live off my book sales alone. Cecelia mentioned how successful that would be, and I can tell you from experience that it don’t work :-). Writing is my passion, but editing is where I make the largest portion of my income. Speaking is a natural progression- we authors need to get used to doing signings and such, and a speaking platform gives you more opportunities to sell your books. If you have any other skills that can translate into income, use them! There will always be a need for marketers and graphic artists and formatters and such- anyone with those skills will always have income if people know what they can do.
When you write full time, you will work just as hard as, if not harder than, you do at a 9-5 job. The main difference is that if you love writing, it’s a lot easier to put that time in because you’re working your passion.
I’m self-published, which means putting my work in e-format is on me as opposed to a publisher. I’m actually in the process of doing that now- can’t ignore those readers who prefer e-books after all.
Maurice, thanks for stopping by and offering your timely advice to Alexis. I didn’t realize you’d recently quit your day job to write full time!
Thanks for the great advice, Maurice!
I didn’t quit my full-time job, I was laid off so it’s very much sink or swim right now…
The good news is that I’m free to pursue writing full-time and I’m currently working as a freelancer.
Praying it will work out– sooner than later! 🙂