Today's Theme: Slowness

See, the thing is that even most established authors need day jobs to support the quality of living that writing usually can’t. I suppose there are two types of people when it comes to this: 1) the person who needs to be around writing to keep themselves connected to that world, and 2) the person who needs to be away from writing to keep from burning out by the time they get to the coveted night job.

So let me tell you a little bit about what I’m doing as far as putting together a day to day career.

I’m the first kind of person, and I’m trying to find a way to shape my future around it even if I never do succeed as an author (terrifying). And the first thing that I’m doing is just plain getting work. The best way for me to do this is to do temporary work. It brings in a steady income. It’s local. It builds necessary office skills. And I can stop doing it when I land the job or internship I want. These are all important things for me. I’m making money and resume building, but I’m not under obligation for any long-term employment in an industry that I don’t enjoy - which is the main danger in “taking the first job that says yes.”

While I’m temping I’m looking for permanent work or an internship in publishing. This is slow. I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we all know that New York is publishing central. There is only so much that is available at the entry level that you can find online or in classifieds. So aside from job listings, the very best thing that you can do is network. This is also slow, and I’m just getting comfortable with the idea. To do it, schedule informational interviews and get referrals. For me, this is the hardest part, and I’m not doing a very good job of it, but I am improving. An opportunity will present itself. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but it might be developing as we speak.

There’s more you can do, and there is more that I am trying to do, as well. For a writer, one of the most accessible ways to keep writing and to get paid for it is to do freelance work. I only became aware of the importance of this recently. It keeps you sharp and builds experience while leaving you with a real portfolio of samples. Thing is, good freelancers also need to be good networkers or they won’t get jobs. See the catch?

If you are the kind of person who is like me, who has to be around writing to be satisfied, this is a good way to structure your path. Don’t let yourself get trapped in something unrelated. It’s not the fastest way to work, but it may be the most rewarding. Just do what you have to do, and the rest will follow.