Dear Modern Austen: Should I quit my job to become a full-time writer?
Modern Austen advises Unpracticed Writer to find balance between practical responsibilities & labors of leisure.
Dear Modern Austen,
Whenever I’m meeting someone for the first time, the dreaded question always comes up: “What do you do for work?” I want to call myself a writer, but it doesn’t feel completely true. The question that inevitably follows this answer is, “what do you write?” And, here, is where I feel I have to explain myself, because what people are really asking is this: “Where can I read your work?” They want to know if I’m a published writer. A REAL writer.
My answer is that I mainly write marketing and advertising copy because it pays, then I stumble through the rest of it, saying something like, “I just write whatever I feel like and pitch it to any publications I think would be a good fit.”
The truth is that I’m an unpracticed writer, and I’m sure I’m to blame as much as my full-time job. I struggle to find balance between work that pays and work that might pay if I actually get good at writing. Here lies the problem: I don’t have time to get good at it. And whenever I find pockets of time to write, I feel rushed to get something down, which doesn’t yield the best results. But that’s because writing isn’t a result—it shouldn’t be formulaic like the marketing copy I write. It’s magic that happens when a writer is given space and time and paper and pencil.
Writer. Space. Time. Paper. Pencil. Sure, there’s part of me that’s afraid this writer is the problem with the equation, but I have to believe it’s the full-time job, the thing that’s eating up both time and space. But, of course, it also gives me consistent income. I just think that if I were a full-time writer, I would practice and have direction. I would have a niche and know what type of writer I am. I would feel fulfilled in my soul, which I don’t feel at the moment. I’ve wasted so much of life not writing what I want, and I feel that quitting my job to really pursue writing will help me find my way.
I’ve met artists who rely on partners or patrons to support their creative work, and they sometimes find odd jobs when needed. I don’t have a partner or patron, but I do have a savings account, and maybe I can find odd jobs to supplement my income if it comes to it.
So, Modern Austen, should I quit my full-time job and become a full-time writer?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Unpracticed Writer
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Dear Unpracticed Writer,
Can you say more about this vision you have of becoming a full-time writer? I can’t quite picture it, for I don’t know anyone who can afford to write solely & only. I know writers who do many things to pay their bills & support their writing. They take teaching jobs, serve coffee, shelve books they’d rather be writing, write for companies & publications they hate simply because they pay well. They do whatever they can to survive, but also to protect their writing, which occupies a different space from the practicalities of their lives.
It’s true that time & space are necessary for writing, but you need to understand that the responsibility for protecting that time & space is yours. So if there is any issue with the writer in the equation you’ve laid out, it’s that their perspective on what it means & what it takes to be a writer needs to change.
In your letter, you’re quick to point out that if you were to quit your steady job to become a full-time writer, you would eventually need to find another way to support yourself—either through marriage or what you call an “odd job.” So I know you’re aware of how important financial security is to writing. The true anxiety of your letter is related to your dedication as a writer. You feel insecure when people ask what you write, feel like you have to justify why you dare call yourself a writer. This sounds like someone who’s afraid they don’t spend enough time hunched over a small writing table or desk.
“They do whatever they can to survive, but also to protect their writing, which occupies a different space from the practicalities of their lives.”
Yes, I know, you don’t make time for writing because you don’t have time, or only have “pockets of time.” But most writers only have the pockets of time they manage to find in their day. It will always be a struggle to find time to write, whether you’re a full-time writer or a full-time accountant. That’s the nature of writing. It takes patience because, depending on what you’re writing, you may not be publishing often. Publishing isn’t what makes you a writer. Writing does. Revising does. Jane Austen’s novels were published only after rounds of revision, which couldn’t have been easy given that she was writing before the word processor, Post It Notes, & even White-Out. Perhaps this lends to Austen’s feeling that her books were her children. It wasn’t just that she spent time putting pen to paper. Jane spent a lot of time thinking about what she would write.
We need to talk about the two worlds writing exists in: the world of commerce & the world of leisure. In the world of commerce, writing is often a means to an end. It’s a source of income, a way to earn money for rent & food. The world of commerce is where money must be made & accounts attended to. The world of leisure is less concerned with practical responsibilities. This is where Austenworld—what Peter Graham refers to as “the highly selective milieu depicted within the confines of [Austen’s] novels”—is set. From Sense & Sensibility to Persuasion, we follow Austen’s characters through “interludes of leisure,” their practical responsibilities being fulfilled “offstage.”
Her characters fall in & out of love at balls, practice music, read novels, & even write them. Austen, herself, delighted in entertaining her siblings with her writing from a young age, & the time she spent focusing on her writing, no doubt, happened at her leisure. Leisure offers us a “still moment” in which we can cultivate our thoughts & imaginations. But, as much as we might like to, we can’t spend more time in one world than another.
Jane has definite opinions about her characters that ignore their practical responsibilities. As readers, we’re not meant to like these characters, at least not as much as the characters who seek to strike a balance between leisure & duty. Marianne seems silly & frivolous compared to elder sister Elinor. And there’s no denying that our esteem for Mr. Darcy grows along with Elizabeth’s as we learn from his housekeeper how well he attends to his manorial duties. The reality of Austen’s financial situation would certainly have always been top of mind for her: Her father’s death in 1805 left Jane, her mother, & Cassandra dependent on the aid of her brothers. As a writer, you know that writing is always work. It’s an odd beast that imperceptibly passes from leisure to commerce, especially if you intend to support yourself through writing. So it’s strange that you put your steady job at odds with the writing you want to be doing. You can’t escape your practical responsibilities, Unpracticed Writer. If you want to write more, you must find a balance between leisure & duty.
“Leisure offers us a ‘still moment’ in which we can cultivate our thoughts & imaginations. But, as much as we might like to, we can’t spend more time in one world than another.”
I don’t want to overlook that your job writing marketing copy depletes your energy. I don’t believe in suffering for your art; I believe in finding the best way to support it. Maybe the job you currently rely on for money is terrible & you can afford to go without it for a while. Quitting might be just the thing you need to start writing & rewriting &, eventually, publishing. What I want to caution you against is pursuing this romantic ideal of being a full-time writer. Even writers who publish books & articles regularly don’t write full time—they teach, speak at bookstores, attend literary festivals. What you get paid for is the finished product, but you first spend a lot of time doing the work, & that is a labor of leisure.
You need to practice & fall in love with the process of writing, Unpracticed Writer. And you need to find a way to support this work mentally, emotionally, & financially, whether or not you publish your writing. Above all, you need the confidence to write in spite of your practical responsibilities, not the confidence to ignore those responsibilities completely.
I’m confident you’ll find your time & space to write.
Yours,
Modern Austen