Weekly Writers: Financial Support

This is a concern, and I will be honest in my answer

Here’s the Weekly Writers Monday post. This post is for paid subscribers only.

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Financial Support

There is a question I get asked a lot by authors I have mentored.

“Karl, you’ve read my stuff. Is it good enough that I can give up my job and follow my dream to be a full-time writer?”

I don’t care how good the writing is (well, I do, obviously, in a different context): the truth is we all have bills. In recent years we’ve seen those bills increase massively, even as the companies make billions in profit. Many of us have dependents: children, cats, dogs, witches’ familiars. We need food, water, shelter, electricity, and warmth. In an overpopulated world where space is at a premium and has a price tag attached, where we’re all taxed and regulated and tracked and seen as aliens if we don’t want a mobile phone, it is difficult to even live without money. So the idea of throwing away an income you may need in order to gamble on success at making a living with writing … just, no. I don’t want anyone to suffer for following their dream.

That’s not the answer you want to hear, any more than it is for the people who ask me the question. But there’s massive inequality in the world, and the super rich don’t give a shit about you. They won’t hesitate to repossess your house, or put you into lifelong debt, or ostracise you from a societal system you didn’t create or vote for. And if even some of my incredibly talented author friends struggle – well, it shows that most of us won’t have people showering our path with gold. Making a living from writing is tough. Any financial security we can gain is important, especially when book sales fluctuate wildly, which is even more the case when you are first starting out. Writing full time means money from your books is your primary income source.