I'm a little puzzled here. Unless you're independently wealthy, I fear that the need for shelter and food is going to mean that a job is unavoidable.
It's all about how hard you are prepared to work. A great deal of writers never perfect their craft, because they are too precious about their words, unable to distance themselves from their story and see its realistic quality. They edit and edit, while not actually fixing what's wrong, in the end they get frustrated with all the rejections, and we get the "99%that never make it". But writing is a skill and a job like everything else, and one doesn't have to be a superlucky genius to become successful. But they have to be extremely patient and hardworking. Then again, maybe you have a story you don't want to work on any more, but you'd like to publish it anyway - that'd be a good candidate for self-publishing. But there's no need for giving up on trad publishing as well, just know what each of those involve. Effort and accessibility-wise, self-publishing is like playing doctor, whilst becoming a published writer is like finishing medical school. Either way, your financial returns are depending on the degree of commitment and investment, in time and dedication to achieving the goal. If you are looking to earn a quick buck, your best bet is writing mindless drivel for newspapers or internet, perhaps copywriting, not writing novels.
how are you paying the rent and buying food now?... or do you live off your parents? it's hard for me to believe you're old enough to have gone to college, since from your rather childish pity-poor-me posts, i had thought you were a young teenager... you need to grow up and deal with real life...
If all of us are as passionate about this occupation as I imagine we are, it could be argued that we've already lucked out. If someone told you they would give you a billion pounds, or dollars, in return for your own, individual, 'inner world of the imagination' along with the impulse to communicate it, ie your talent, would you? Could you bare becoming the sort of individual who only finds value in material things? Story telling/art (which I would tentatively define as: Heightened communication for conveying information about the nature of our species' consciousness) is arguably the oldest profession in the world. Viewed in these terms, to reduce it to a money spinner is sad, to say the least. The internet is allowing artists of all kinds to find new ways to survive off of what they love doing. We have an inherent right to live our lives as we see fit, to enjoy our work, because this life is less than a blink of an eye as far as the universe is concerned.
Yes, it is possible to have a 9-5 job that you can enjoy, can be paid well enough to pay the bills, can have the ability to be creative on the job, and ... be able to write on the side to *hopefully* make a name for yourself. I am very happy with my job [although I work 6-3:30 ], while still having plenty of time for my photography, as well as my re-involvement with writing. While I have not yet sold anything that I have written, I have made some money with my photography. However, I like to eat and live indoors, so I continue to work my day job. Will I ever be able to make a living off of either my writing or photography? One can always dream. In the meantime, I am satisfied with where I am at today ... Bottom line: If your goal is to be able to live off of your writing, then go for it! But do so realistically, even if it means working 9-5 until the sales from your written work out-pace the income from your day job. Good luck to you!
I struggle to imagine you would ever finish a novel, let alone publish one, judging from the fact that you only want to do what you enjoy. Even writing a novel is not always enjoyable - when you put your hand to it, you will realise, writing a novel is damn hard work. I've probably deleted over 250,000 words by now to get to my polished 80k-word manuscript - you think that was fun? I've cried over my novel, as I'm sure everyone else on this forum probably has too over their own. It's not fun, it's not enjoyable - not always. There have been more times than I care to count when I've wanted to give it all up and never write again - yes, writing a novel is that hard that you come to rough patches where your passion for writing feels like it's about to die. To achieve anything, even in the things you love, you need to be able to knuckle down and, well, get through the horrible bits, suffer and endure it because you see the bigger picture. Unless you want to become homeless and live on the streets, you need a job. That, or marry a very understanding husband. Now, on another note, it's perfectly possible to work and still enjoy it. You need to look quite hard, but it's out there. I hate full-time jobs too - I've realised now I never want one, and the 2 full-time jobs I've had in my life sucked. I freelance now - I'm a private English tutor. I travel to people's homes and schools and I play games with the kids and have conversations with foreign adults, and I've come to be friends with several of them - there're times when I feel like I'm just there to see friends and then get paid for it lol. And I bring in enough that we use my earnings for the day-to-day stuff: food shopping, phone bills, eating out, cinema. So, I would struggle to live on my own on my earnings, but with my husband holding the full-time job and paying the big bills (rent, travel passes and utility bills), what I earn is just fine. However, I do need to work - not working is still not an option. Do I love to teach? Not really. But I do enjoy it, so it's a compromise. Or look on Etsy.com - there're artists on there who sell all kinds of amazing things, and while I don't know how many of those are doing it full-time, it could be one extra source of income for you. You won't be able to go and manage anything at all if you're not willing to work from the bottom up. My husband has just been promoted to become an IT Manager, but that's after 1.5 years of a mind-numbing helpdesk job, and then another 6 months of another junior post where he pretty much had to think on his feet and cope. Previously he was a healthcare assistant who worked 12-hour shifts frequently cleaning and washing terminal patients, as well as occasionally the bodies. He didn't become a manager overnight. He was blessed to be promoted so fast, but it was also down to the fact that he was willing to suffer, to work hard, to be humble enough to submit himself to authorities and do repetitive tasks at times. What you need to do is find out what interests you, and find out what you're good at, and link them to possible jobs on the market. You need to find your compromise. Having said all this, here's something that may help you find inspiration. It's a book designed to help you find out what you want to do in life and figure out how to do it, without a 9-5 job. My brother-in-law's read it and he says it's very good. http://www.amazon.com/Be-Free-Range-Human-Escape/dp/0749466103/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370113404&sr=8-1&keywords=free+range+human&tag=780065172-20
I've worked in a 'real job' and as a freelance. Freelancing mostly for free, and I've edited and proofread people's manuscripts, mostly for free, but I have done it for money too. The idea of quitting the 'real job' is something I've never dreamed of, and not because I don't like the job (I actually like being active and the feel of working) but because being a freelance writer doesn't pay. I have been paid for writing, but not anywhere where near the amount to sustain myself writing full time. It's also a hard life, long hours, and no way of knowing if you'll even get printed, never mind if you get a check along with that. Why, then, do I do it? Because I honestly can't help it, it's just what I do. If you write because you want to enjoy your life then you just don't 'get' it - I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.
After you publish a book on amazon as an e-book, is it still possible to sell the rights to a professional publisher for the paper based publishing? I mean after the book is already on the e-book market. Thanks a lot for the answers. @I tried to find an answer to my question, but have not succeed , sorry if somebody already asked this before.
I expect that it's legally possible. (I haven't seen Amazon's contract, but I'd be surprised if they keep any permanent grip on your rights.) However, it's pretty unlikely that a publisher will want an already-published work, unless it's already been very successful. So if you're asking because you're wondering if self-publishing via Amazon will "use up" your chances - yes, it's quite likely that it will.
You seem to like this word "trad" but I must ask, are you using this as an abbreviation of "traditional," or are you misspeling "trade?"
How have you managed to make money from photography? I used to make a decent living for part of the year from photographing motorcycle races, and the occasional drag show in a local bar. but my current work is more photographing abandoned buildings, and scenics. I carry a 14 mp Samsung with 10X zoom, compact format camera on my belt everywhere I go, but it is not very good for available light work, which I also like. Unfortunately I lost virtually all of my old work in 1981. I still have some of my Nikon 35mm stuff and a Super Chromega C enlarger, and all the stainless steel 3-1/2 gallon dip and dunk tanks my from darkroom....
I've not yet reached the point of publishing (hopefully within the year) but a friend has and recently dropped her publisher, dissatisfied. I'll just share what she said. It wasn't one of the big six. She was pleased at first, they got her an editor and cover artist she was very happy with. But she didn't feel they did enough promoting and she couldn't get copies of the books in quantities less than 50 and the copies needed to be shipped to the publisher from the printer and then to her and she didn't see why that was necessary. It meant she had a hard time getting copies to give away and take to events. The story was a trilogy and the publisher had first rights to the second two. They published the first two and she got them to give up the rights to the third after becoming dissatisfied. They own the first two for a couple more years. She has since published the third on Amazon and self published the first book in another series. I don't know who the printer is on the one I have a paperback of but the price it sells for is reasonable. The others are available on Kindle. I think promotion is something we all need to pay attention to, and if someone else publishes your work, it probably should be a section in the contract you read carefully. It also sounds like an escape clause is useful and a limited time on the book rights especially important. As for earning a living as a writer, the most sure way is to teach. But beyond that, I'll be ecstatic if people just read my books and like them.
Using the word "stories" and the word "publisher" in the same sentence means to me that you are planning to submit a thick book of stories you have written. If you want one story to be found in print, you don't need a publisher. Submit the story to whom you have chosen that they might consider it. Most magazines receive a large number of stories every month directly from the author and that's how the stories get to be in print. Find your target recipient and send your favorite or best piece. If you are good at your craft and have chosen well, the target, you might receive an acknowledgement and then a check from them. If you manage that, try to write to their audience and you might get into their publication regularly but don't quit your day job!
As others have already said, the odds are stacked against you. It's very unlikely you'll ever be able to earn a living off your writing. With tenacity, usually committed over a course of many decades, it's usually possible to earn a little extra money. But even after being regularly published in magazines and having just finished my 4th book -- I still can't live totally off my writing. Admittedly, I do not write for the mainstream. But even so, my experience represents that of most writers. My suggestion for you would be to chase a career in journalism. That would increase your chances of finding a paid job at a newspaper or other publication. Again, it's tough. You'll need to learn the craft specific to that kind of writing -- and to land a proper paid job you'll stand more chance by gaining the requisite qualifications and experience that editors look for. Whichever route you take in writing you'll discover that we spend many years working for nothing at all before we start earning a single penny.
Crystal, do what you like. If you want to Self Publish, then do that. If you want to go a more traditional route, then do that too. I wouldn't listen to the negative comments, there is always a line of people waiting to tell you the odds or bring you down in this world. and there always will be. If you want something, then make it happen. Those that tell you that you probably can't, well, I bet they never get published because they have the wrong mindset. It's true not everyone is going to make it, but it is up to you weather you are one of them or not. It won't be easy though, you got to put in the work if you want the money. My suggestion for you is to spend a few days with your search engine reading articles you find with these two searches: "Should I self publish", and "How to be an indie publisher" I can tell you your odds of getting published the traditional route or very low. If you self publish be sure and have your work checked by several people so you don't put out shoddy work, because people expect a decent book. Otherwise do the work. Myself, I am going to self publish, I will make more money that way. So what if it never makes it to a book store window, who cares. I have seen self published authors turn down two book deals for 600k and they turned out to be right. The one I am thinking about already made that 600k the first 2 years off his next two books. Good luck.
an 'indie publisher' is a 'small press' that's not part of one of the major publishing conglomerates...
