Expectations are a tricky thing. It’s amazing to see in the professional world that when you tell a client something will go wrong beforehand they’re usually ok about it, but when you don’t and it does, they flip the fuck out. Missed expectations can pack an emotional wallop greater than anything directly hurtful so it’s all about setting them appropriately. This also applies to your own life. If you jump into something new with incorrect expectations you can easily frustrate, disappoint and depress yourself. The more you know, the more realistic your understanding of the potential outcomes.
Being new to the writing world I’ve been trying to educate myself on the nature of the business. Many folks have a highly romanticized idea of what its like to be a writer either sitting in some Italian villa leisurely producing prose on an antique typewriter or tucked away in the woods, cigarette dangling from your lips and a glass of scotch in your hand. People with those expectations are broken when they fly into the wall of reality, becoming quickly disillusioned or burning themselves out trying to live up to an unattainable ideal.
At the heart of the lifestyle is the uncertainty of freelancing. Even when contracts are secured, there’s no salary being drawn from a faceless corporation or promise of future income. Every cent pulled in has to be chased, tranquilized, bagged and tagged. No one will hunt for you and you have to shoot anything that moves or else you starve. Some work day jobs to get a sense of security and others simply cannot handle the chaos. Even plunging into it wholeheartedly doesn’t erase the nagging doubts. Recently I’ve read some remarkably honest posts by established authors about these experiences.
I came across a link to Jeff Vandermeer’s post on the Story Bones blog. Titled “The Full-Time Writing Life: If It Doesn’t Kill You First, It’ll Kill You Second”, Jeff goes into detail about the fears he still has as a full-time writer (which is amazing considering his level of success). What triggered this heartfelt admission was two popular authors falling on hard financial times and now publically trading their words for donations. What I especially liked in his post was that instead of deteriorating into a pity party he details what can be done to avoid financially crushing situations by structuring your career for maximum adaptability. This advice is from someone on the front lines who still approaches his career with a lean hunger which allows him to react to the ever changing landscape.
Another author who speaks quite often about the realities of the writing life is John Scalzi. A while back he made an incredibly transparent post about his hurdles and successes as a full-time writer. Focusing on the financial aspects, he revealed his earnings over the course of 10 years and discusses the difficulties all writers experience on the monetary front. Scalzi offers no bullshit (“Prepare to be broke” and “Keep your day job” are the very first bits of advice) and is straight to the point without mincing words. Here are some of his other posts in this vein (here, here and here).
Even after you’ve come to terms with the hardships, you still need to deal with the successes. S.L. Viehl grabbed the brass ring all authors long for, a book on the NY Times bestseller list. Info on this holy grail is so hidden that it’s damn near impossible to find, until Viehl decided to reveal her royalty statement. She then peels back the curtain showing you the truth behind being a Times bestseller. Sobering facts to say the least.
These authors were open enough to reveal private portions of their lives and in doing so provide invaluable information for those wishing to enter an sometimes secretive field. Honestly, I’m still the kid dipping his toe into the pool watching everyone else swim. My own hurdles with writing haven’t progressed past the getting published realm. I know I have it in me (or else I wouldn’t keep pursuing it), but in the meantime I’m going to keep filling my head with the realities of the profession so when my opportunity does come I know exactly what to expect.
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