I love every single thing about this and also The Offspring was my very first concert when I was 15. I have not quit my dayjob despite being on book 14 and some days I'm so grateful I haven't and some days I feel like screaming "THESE ARE BOTH FULL TIME JOBS. I CANNOT DO THIS." But I definitely have books on my "I could only write this if I were writing full time" list and so while it's not something I particularly dream of doing, I also really want it so I can make sure that one manuscript is at least drafted before I die. As long as we're getting morbid.
your musical taste, as I've always known, is ELITE! The fact that quitting your day job vs. not feels like a different decision even day-to-day is one of those things that makes it so tough! What I want for you, assuming this is in line with what you would want, is some sort of situation where you could take a sabbatical and write your dream book and still have your job waiting for you on the other side. And PLEASE Dahlia, know that you can always get morbid with me because that's exactly the way I always think lol.
LOVED this. So many truths in one newsletter post!! Particularly the line about writing making you want things in big, uncomfortable ways. That resonated so much. I'm definitely in the "hold onto your butts" phase of publishing, trying to manage writing with a demanding day job and still being present for my family, and the scope creep is so real! I wish there were an easy answer out there, but it still helps knowing others are dealing (and have dealt) with the same feelings. <3
"hold onto your butts" lololol I do love that phrase! if nothing else, I really do appreciate these conversations just because we really are all going through these same things just in slightly different ways tailored to our own circumstances!
Your bit where you transfer “salary” over to yourself and complain if it’s late made me laugh but it’s also actually brilliant - one of the things that freaks me out about the prospect of quitting a fulltime job is the like, visceral reality of not having a certain amount of money land in my bank account every other Friday. Which I guess underlines the fact that everyone has their triggers! Whether to go full time is such an individual decision, and you’ve given a really well considered look at all the aspects that go into it.
And hoo boy do I resonate with the sentiment that writing (and publishing lolsob) doesn’t have to be my entire identity. Though your thoughts on wanting things are also poignant and I think there’s a fine line between keeping a healthy separation so I don’t get tripped up by rejection, and curtailing my goals so I can tell myself I didn’t want that [external marker of success] that much anyway.
the fine line between "I'm not going to let it devastate me if I don't get it" and "I'm not going to allow myself to want it so that it can't preemptively devastate me" is such a thin one
Thanks for this, Alicia. This has to be the most thoughtful discourse I've seen about whether to quit your job for writing and all the factors that contribute. I get so much out of my day job (not to mention health care for my family and a f*cking pension in this year of our lord). But I'm pretty convinced that most days, I only have about 1-2 good hours of writing in me. It's like my brain saves it up, pours out of me, and then I'm spent. And I continue to be jealous of your typing skills.
1-2 good hours of writing ain't nothing! And FWIW I do think (at least for me) that even now that writing is my job I still don't have a TON more than that. Like there are diminishing returns, you know? Your brain can only do so much. BUT I do type hella fast and so that's what I can always come back to no matter what ;)
I had no idea how much time and effort went into writing blurbs for other authors' books! That alone could be someone's full-time job.
Also: Lost! Love that show, even the controversial ending. My husband and I started a rewatch several years ago but probably got distracted by something shiny and new. I just bought Lost: Back to the Island by Emily St. James and Noel Murray; can't wait to dive in.
to be fair, I am particularly extra about it lol. I also love even the controversial ending, and am planning to read that book when we're done with our rewatch!
This is so good and helpful! My first husband gave me a specific amount of time (like six months) to write and sell a book before I turned 30, and I did, but then it became apparent that if I wanted to know adults other than him, I would have to get a day job. (Enough said :) But the jobs I had for years were so exhausting I couldn't write fiction -- first magazine editorial and then actual standing on your feet jobs in an attempt to go the opposite direction.
I love being an administrative assistant -- I am charge of office supplies, I have good insurance, and I have a plan to retire when I am 65 and have three book clubby books published by then. Also I only get two weeks and am frosted about that, too!
ahhh I've def been there with the jobs too exhausting to even write! being in charge of office supplies is SUCH a rush, so I don't blame you for loving your job there lol. two weeks vacation is just a woefully short amount of time but ESPECIALLY if you also need to start using your vacation time for book stuff, too!
It's wild, at basically the same time you were writing this I was contemplating adding an author interview feature, where I'd ask everyone the same set of questions (a la Inside the Actor's Studio) with the first one being about day jobs. Another author was saying recently why she'd never want to quit her day job and it's so interesting how different people's answers can be and yet they all make perfect sense.
I have played music for like 50 years, as a weekend warrior while doing computer coding in the days after I learned how. In the 70's I even had business cards printed that had a front and a back for my day / night jobs lol. It was bluegrass mandolin, then fiddle, back in the day, then country swing and pedal steel.
About 25 years ago I got into a political squeeze play at the office (as one does) and my opportunities to learn internet tech totally stagnated. I quit to get a BS degree, but I could hardly make classes because of so many gigs! I thought, "Huh. I guess you've quit your day job." I have worked steadily, to my surprise. I have to wonder: did I suddenly get better / good enough after paying all these dues? Or was I always this way but didn't take the chance? We'll never know.
Anyway, I felt you were writing this directly to me! Bonus: your next book will feature band member romance. I fell madly in love and married my singer / bandleader in 1989 so ... I'm there!
Thank you for writing these, especially this one <3
ps - I'm pretty fascinated with pub bizz gossip. Is there a Threads alt I should (or shouldn't) know about? I only see @AliciaBooks but didn't catch the convo you were referring to.
I love every single thing about this and also The Offspring was my very first concert when I was 15. I have not quit my dayjob despite being on book 14 and some days I'm so grateful I haven't and some days I feel like screaming "THESE ARE BOTH FULL TIME JOBS. I CANNOT DO THIS." But I definitely have books on my "I could only write this if I were writing full time" list and so while it's not something I particularly dream of doing, I also really want it so I can make sure that one manuscript is at least drafted before I die. As long as we're getting morbid.
your musical taste, as I've always known, is ELITE! The fact that quitting your day job vs. not feels like a different decision even day-to-day is one of those things that makes it so tough! What I want for you, assuming this is in line with what you would want, is some sort of situation where you could take a sabbatical and write your dream book and still have your job waiting for you on the other side. And PLEASE Dahlia, know that you can always get morbid with me because that's exactly the way I always think lol.
LOVED this. So many truths in one newsletter post!! Particularly the line about writing making you want things in big, uncomfortable ways. That resonated so much. I'm definitely in the "hold onto your butts" phase of publishing, trying to manage writing with a demanding day job and still being present for my family, and the scope creep is so real! I wish there were an easy answer out there, but it still helps knowing others are dealing (and have dealt) with the same feelings. <3
"hold onto your butts" lololol I do love that phrase! if nothing else, I really do appreciate these conversations just because we really are all going through these same things just in slightly different ways tailored to our own circumstances!
Your bit where you transfer “salary” over to yourself and complain if it’s late made me laugh but it’s also actually brilliant - one of the things that freaks me out about the prospect of quitting a fulltime job is the like, visceral reality of not having a certain amount of money land in my bank account every other Friday. Which I guess underlines the fact that everyone has their triggers! Whether to go full time is such an individual decision, and you’ve given a really well considered look at all the aspects that go into it.
And hoo boy do I resonate with the sentiment that writing (and publishing lolsob) doesn’t have to be my entire identity. Though your thoughts on wanting things are also poignant and I think there’s a fine line between keeping a healthy separation so I don’t get tripped up by rejection, and curtailing my goals so I can tell myself I didn’t want that [external marker of success] that much anyway.
the fine line between "I'm not going to let it devastate me if I don't get it" and "I'm not going to allow myself to want it so that it can't preemptively devastate me" is such a thin one
Thanks for this, Alicia. This has to be the most thoughtful discourse I've seen about whether to quit your job for writing and all the factors that contribute. I get so much out of my day job (not to mention health care for my family and a f*cking pension in this year of our lord). But I'm pretty convinced that most days, I only have about 1-2 good hours of writing in me. It's like my brain saves it up, pours out of me, and then I'm spent. And I continue to be jealous of your typing skills.
1-2 good hours of writing ain't nothing! And FWIW I do think (at least for me) that even now that writing is my job I still don't have a TON more than that. Like there are diminishing returns, you know? Your brain can only do so much. BUT I do type hella fast and so that's what I can always come back to no matter what ;)
I had no idea how much time and effort went into writing blurbs for other authors' books! That alone could be someone's full-time job.
Also: Lost! Love that show, even the controversial ending. My husband and I started a rewatch several years ago but probably got distracted by something shiny and new. I just bought Lost: Back to the Island by Emily St. James and Noel Murray; can't wait to dive in.
to be fair, I am particularly extra about it lol. I also love even the controversial ending, and am planning to read that book when we're done with our rewatch!
30 blurbs?!? Omggggg you are too nice
Everything in this newsletter is so relatable except I can't type 100 wpm. I wish!
lololol that was just me blatantly bragging; I'm vain about my typing speed
This is so good and helpful! My first husband gave me a specific amount of time (like six months) to write and sell a book before I turned 30, and I did, but then it became apparent that if I wanted to know adults other than him, I would have to get a day job. (Enough said :) But the jobs I had for years were so exhausting I couldn't write fiction -- first magazine editorial and then actual standing on your feet jobs in an attempt to go the opposite direction.
I love being an administrative assistant -- I am charge of office supplies, I have good insurance, and I have a plan to retire when I am 65 and have three book clubby books published by then. Also I only get two weeks and am frosted about that, too!
ahhh I've def been there with the jobs too exhausting to even write! being in charge of office supplies is SUCH a rush, so I don't blame you for loving your job there lol. two weeks vacation is just a woefully short amount of time but ESPECIALLY if you also need to start using your vacation time for book stuff, too!
It's wild, at basically the same time you were writing this I was contemplating adding an author interview feature, where I'd ask everyone the same set of questions (a la Inside the Actor's Studio) with the first one being about day jobs. Another author was saying recently why she'd never want to quit her day job and it's so interesting how different people's answers can be and yet they all make perfect sense.
for sure; everyone's experiences and feelings on the subject are so different and so specific!
Fellow devotee of Ask a Manager here!
it's so good!!! I've learned so much!!!
Another fabulous newsletter!
I have played music for like 50 years, as a weekend warrior while doing computer coding in the days after I learned how. In the 70's I even had business cards printed that had a front and a back for my day / night jobs lol. It was bluegrass mandolin, then fiddle, back in the day, then country swing and pedal steel.
About 25 years ago I got into a political squeeze play at the office (as one does) and my opportunities to learn internet tech totally stagnated. I quit to get a BS degree, but I could hardly make classes because of so many gigs! I thought, "Huh. I guess you've quit your day job." I have worked steadily, to my surprise. I have to wonder: did I suddenly get better / good enough after paying all these dues? Or was I always this way but didn't take the chance? We'll never know.
Anyway, I felt you were writing this directly to me! Bonus: your next book will feature band member romance. I fell madly in love and married my singer / bandleader in 1989 so ... I'm there!
Thank you for writing these, especially this one <3
I'm glad you were able to find your way to doing what you love full-time!
ps - I'm pretty fascinated with pub bizz gossip. Is there a Threads alt I should (or shouldn't) know about? I only see @AliciaBooks but didn't catch the convo you were referring to.
no alt, just discourse I let wash around me until my app limit hit and saved me from myself