WRITER OR "HOBBYIST?"
I was a little saddened by the recent blog post of an author friend. My friend is an accomplished writer who's been publishing since her teens, and recently authored an award-winning memoir. Despite this, she feels she's a failure (her word) due to the fact that her book sales don't cover her monthly nut. Hence, she must hold down a day job. Coworkers have taunted her about being a "hobbyist," since she can't live off the income generated by her writing. I'm not going to mention my friend's name (I'll leave it to her to provide that detail if she so chooses), but I responded to her post as follows ...
What nonsense!!! YOU ARE NOT A "HOBBYIST." Why do you insist on listening to self-proclaimed know-it-alls who couldn't buy a vowel when it comes to understanding both the art and business of writing? Einstein was a clerk in a patent office while formulating the Theory of Relativity. Do you think he gave a rat's you-know-what if the schlep in the cubicle next to him thought ol' Al was wasting his time on a "hobby?" I don't have any theoretical physicists soliciting my opinion on String Theory. Why would you give any credence to the opinion of some boob at the office (a boob who's not a writer)?
Last I checked, only about 5% of professional authors were able to support themselves through book sales alone. Individuals who publish regularly through for-real publishers, yet still are forced to hold down a day job (teaching, writing ad copy, selling real estate -- whatever). Does that make them amateurs or hobbyists?
Only best-selling authors get to quit their day jobs. So, by your none-too-bright coworker's metric, Walt Whitman (self-published "Leaves of Grass" -- the most seminal work ever produced by an American author), Bram Stoker ("Dracula" was an initial flop before eventually becoming one of the most widely-read books ever published), Arthur Rimbaud, Thoreau, H.P. Lovecraft, Kafka, Henry Miller, Emily Dickinson and both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jack Kerouac -- who earned next to nothing in royalties in their final years (Fitzgerald earned a whopping $14 the last year of his life) -- were all "hobbyists." Really???
Please stop listening to ignorant dumbbells who haven't the slightest clue as to what it takes to be a writer ... OK??? (Sermon over.)
P.S. You're only a failure if you stop writing.
What nonsense!!! YOU ARE NOT A "HOBBYIST." Why do you insist on listening to self-proclaimed know-it-alls who couldn't buy a vowel when it comes to understanding both the art and business of writing? Einstein was a clerk in a patent office while formulating the Theory of Relativity. Do you think he gave a rat's you-know-what if the schlep in the cubicle next to him thought ol' Al was wasting his time on a "hobby?" I don't have any theoretical physicists soliciting my opinion on String Theory. Why would you give any credence to the opinion of some boob at the office (a boob who's not a writer)?
Last I checked, only about 5% of professional authors were able to support themselves through book sales alone. Individuals who publish regularly through for-real publishers, yet still are forced to hold down a day job (teaching, writing ad copy, selling real estate -- whatever). Does that make them amateurs or hobbyists?
Only best-selling authors get to quit their day jobs. So, by your none-too-bright coworker's metric, Walt Whitman (self-published "Leaves of Grass" -- the most seminal work ever produced by an American author), Bram Stoker ("Dracula" was an initial flop before eventually becoming one of the most widely-read books ever published), Arthur Rimbaud, Thoreau, H.P. Lovecraft, Kafka, Henry Miller, Emily Dickinson and both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jack Kerouac -- who earned next to nothing in royalties in their final years (Fitzgerald earned a whopping $14 the last year of his life) -- were all "hobbyists." Really???
Please stop listening to ignorant dumbbells who haven't the slightest clue as to what it takes to be a writer ... OK??? (Sermon over.)
P.S. You're only a failure if you stop writing.
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