Dear O'Abby - Will I ever make a living as a writer?

Dear O'Abby,

I'm a published author with several novels available in both print and digital.  Yet each time I get a royalty statement I want to cry.  I put so many hours into my writing and do my absolute best with marketing and publicity, even with my oldest titles.  And all of this is on top of a demanding day job.

I always thought that by the time I had four or five books in print, I'd earn enough to either quit my day job, or at least reduce my hours to give me more time to devote to writing and publishing.  This is not the case, and I'm wondering if it is actually possible to make a living as a writer.

Do you know?

Best,

Despondent

Dear Despondent,

Yes, it is possible to make a living as a writer.  But I think you're actually asking if it's possible to make a living as an author.  That is also possible, but very few people actually manage it.  I think even authors who look successful on the surface probably have other side-hustles or a partner who is earning a good living and can afford to support the family.

If you really want to make a living as a writer, you need to think about other avenues than just writing and publishing novels.  Writing is a skill and one that is very much in demand. If you're good at it, there are numerous ways you can use your talent to make a living from writing advertising copy to social media to internal office communications and external documents like annual reports.  You can also freelance, writing articles on whatever you're interested in and selling them to publications.

There is also the option of ghostwriting or working with a book packager, academic writing or journalism.  All of these things will allow you to flex your writing talent while making a living.  Sure, some of this writing may not be as creatively exciting as writing a novel, but writing for a different audience is good practice and will strengthen your writing in the long run.  Even something like writing funding applications for a charity can be a good way to earn a living from your writing.

The one downside I've encountered as someone who has done this kind of writing to earn a living is that sometimes you write so much during the day, it's hard to find the energy or inspiration to write fiction after work.  It's like there are no more words left in me at the end of the day.  So to mitigate this, I tend to get up early to do my own writing before the work day steals all my words.

So the short answer to your question is yes, it is possible to make a living as a writer.  You may just have to alter your perception about what that actually looks like.

Hope that helps!

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: How can I give up my day job?

 Dear O'Abby,

I've been writing for over ten years now, and the sum total of my writing income has been...  well... let's just say it's not much.  When I started this, I was certain that by this point in my career I'd be a full time writer.  But I'm still working over 40 hours a week at my day job on top of all the time I spend writing and marketing my books.

What do I need to do to get to the point I can sustain myself and my family as a writer?

Yours,

Baffled

Dear Baffled, 

I think you'd be surprised to know how few writers are able to live comfortably off their writing income.  Just look at the bios of authors in the back of the majority of books you read and you'll find that most of them do something else as well as write.  

And there really isn't a lot you can do about it.  The best thing you can do is to keep writing, keep publishing and keep your fingers crossed that something you write resonates with enough people that it sells a lot of copies. And that people who read that book might be interested enough and passionate enough to go back and seek out that back catalogue you've been building up all these years.

Having a body of work certainly helps.  Even if you don't make a fortune off any one book, having a catalogue of titles means you're not relying on one thing to earn your living.  But even that isn't a guarantee of success.  There are a lot of writers out there and a lot of books for readers to discover.  The best thing you can do is to learn everything you can and become the best writer you can be.  

I wish there was a magic formula or recipe we could follow to become successful, but if there is, I haven't found it yet.  Let me know if you do.

X O'Abby