Would you prefer to be a full-time writer of your own work if that could happen? Jeff Herman
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Would you prefer to be a full-time writer of your own work if that could happen? Jeff Herman
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I love what I do but going back to being a full-time writer is always on my mind. It's not likely to happen while I also run a band, so song writing fills the bill for the moment. It's either that or clone myself.I will write those further novels before I leave this world.
Ah, Jeff, you're playing a bit of devil's advocate on this question (lol)... It's an interesting question. I've encountered publicists, editors, agents, etc... who had actually wanted to be full-time writers or still have that goal and are ever-looking to transition. It has been my experience that knowing the needs/wants of a writer, being one, that I can be a better editor; more sensitive to the writer's position, knowing from my own experiences the craft itself or how I'd want to be treated and thus acting accordingly with others. I do what I do at our publication because I love it and because even if my book was published tomorrow, I'd still want a meaningful publication that represented a personalized, human touch in the industry. At our literary publication, we always try to take the extra time to give thoughtful, detailed feedback; I know time isn't a luxury everyone can afford to give, but I always want to make that added effort. We've gotten emotive thank-you notes for our rejections. So, to answer the sensitive question, if I could be a full-time novelist which is something I intend in the long run, I would still want to be the kind of editor that runs a publication where writers are given a chance, some direction that could perhaps be useful in their career, some hope about the publishing experience in general- that there can still be a human face to it.
That's simple. Yes.
As a journalist, I have done plenty of my own writing. I also authored a book about the Canadian healthcare system. I've always had editing clients, so basically have worked in both modalities for a long time. Currently I am doing tons of my own writing, but it's in an academic field as I'm pursuing a post-graduate degree (MA/PhD) in cultural studies. I have several articles on the go for peer-reviewed journals, as well as writing my thesis. In addition I have academic editing clients, and a good selection of editing projects involving both fiction and non-fiction. So I have managed to combine the two disciplines--writing and editing--throughout my career.
In answer to the question of whether I would prefer to be a full-time writer of my own work and not do editing, I'm ambivalent on that. There is much about the writing life that I love and frequently I think it would be nice to make all my money through writing alone. But I also have a passion for helping other writers, especially emerging authors. I love to help first-time writers develop their writing strengths and to empower them to trust their own creativity and to have faith in the stories they're writing. I teach a creative writing course in my home city, as well as assisting with teaching courses at the university. Whether it's teaching or editing, I find it highly gratifying. I think that, for me, my ideal life is this balance between pursuing my own writing interests (I plan to turn my thesis into a book and already have one publisher interested in this as my thesis topic is fairly controversial) and being an editor working with clients who come to me for editing services. Overall, I am dedicated to the writing life, which to me involves both writing and editing.
I have been trying to pick up such jobs, but people take so little money for them that it's impossible to make a living doing them. I really don't want to bother with the editing and writing unless it pays a decent amount and the person appreciates the effort I am going to put into it.
If someone had enough confidence in my writing and wanted to pay me for it regularly for the rest of my life, then, yes, I'd love to be a full-time writer of my own work! How awesome to be able to pursue one's passion and not have to think twice about bills, finances, etc.! I mean, I thoroughly enjoy my editing gigs, and being a professional book reviewer has helped me become a better writer because I'm able to criticize in a constructive way others' work and take those lessons back to my own laptop. But I have always been a writer first and foremost, and I would love to do that forever!
How did you become a professional reviewer? I've been an academic all my life, and now I have to change, but still need to work. I am a poet, so that's not going to earn me money, but I am very good at writing reviews and have published a couple recently. One paid. I'd like to do more of those.
I joined the Bookpleasures.com community as a book reviewer after reading a "reviewers wanted" post on LinkedIn. Bookpleasures.com doesn't pay, however. You get free books, of course, and for bibliophiles that's a dream come true.
Unfortunately I'm finding out that most of the book reviewing sites out there don't pay, so I look at it more as something to add to my resume and also as an exercise in helping me with my own writing. It's helped me immensely because in critiquing others' work I can identify the weak spots in my own.
If you're looking for publications that will pay for book reviews, you might want to start with newspapers and magazines and pitch to them. Also, for other writing jobs, you can check out the Writer's Market website, which gets updated daily as well as places like elance.com, odesk.com, and just Google "freelance writing jobs." You'll get thousands of suggestions. Good luck!
I consider myself a full-time writer and editor (a journalist, primarily) and drum up freelance writing and editing where I can. If I could earn enough to be a full-time fiction writer, I'd be thrilled, but I'm not quitting my day job any time soon.
Since I am just getting started with editing, I do it part-time and write part-time. My writing involves mostly short stories or editorials. So I guess I have the best of both worlds at the moment.
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