Today, I am excited to have author Claire Bartlett on the blog, sharing a post she has written exclusively for Vivacious Bibliophile about The Writer’s Lifestyle.
Claire has been on Vivacious Bibliophile before. Last year, I interviewed her before her debut novel We Rule the Night was released. Now, she is awaiting her next young adult fantasy to release next month (March 3rd!) and her young adult thriller set to be released later this year.
Be sure to check out her books on Goodreads, and purchase through your favorite retailer. More about Claire and her books are below, and visit her website and subscribe to her blog, too!
Now, I’m my own boss, but I’m also not my own boss.
The Writer’s Lifestyle by Claire Bartlett
It is the dream of many writers that we will one day abandon our tiresome Other Jobs and spend our days lounging in the office, before a well-carved mahogany desk, pausing every so often in our dramatic keyboard banging to take a sip of whiskey and look pensively out the window. Okay, I don’t drink whiskey, but the rest of it is a pretty good dream.
Last year I published my debut novel, We Rule the Night. This year sees the publication of two more: another fantasy, The Winter Duke (out in ONE MONTH!) and a contemporary thriller, The Good Girls (coming in December). Now that I have one book out and two on the way, what do I do as a writer and what has changed since getting a publishing contract?
First of all, I’m my own boss when I write. This is often considered a freeing term – be your own boss! You decide what you do! In reality, it means I get mad at myself a lot. I can’t say, Okay Claire, you woke up late just this once, it’s no big deal. I don’t say, aw, you have the sniffles? Take the day off and relax. Nope. Being my own boss means I also have to be my own worst boss. It means forcing myself into unpaid overtime so that I can make a deadline. It means doing phone calls outside of office hours. When I’m on a tight editing deadline I work an average of fourteen hours a day. Once I locked myself in a bathroom at a party to take care of official writer business. How glamorous.
On the other hand, as my own boss, I’m at the whim of my own schedule, and that’s pretty handy. I know when I write best and when I should be doing promo, emails to my agent, and so on. On days when I write, I take half the day to churn out words, then spend my time after lunch on the administrative work or editing. This is something that changed a lot after getting my publishing contract. My afternoons used to be full of more writing. Now I look at updates from my agent and editor, answer interview requests, weigh in on promotion ideas, and so on. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, especially when I have had a long week at my day job and I feel like I’m behind. It’s really wonderful to have books going out in the world, though!
Now, I’m my own boss, but I’m also not my own boss. Huh?
I mean this in two different ways. First of all, writing is not the solitary art I once thought it was. Once you sign a publishing contract, you’re agreeing to work with a whole lot of people. Your editor will be first and foremost among them – and your editor will have a lot of ideas on how to change your manuscript. Agreeing to work with an editor is agreeing to give up some control over your story, with the belief that together you’ll make the story stronger and better. So far I’ve had great experiences with my editors, and they’ve been able to root into the weaknesses of my work and help me produce a stronger novel than I could have written without their input.
Along with editors you’ll be working with copyeditors, publicists and more. Oftentimes, there are deadlines attached to working with these people, which is where more limitations come in on being my own boss. After a certain point, I don’t do things on my schedule. I do things on someone else’s schedule. It’s a reality behind collaboration, but sometimes it leads to stress, because…
I also have another job.
Most writers do. That pesky Other Job demands our time and our resources and they don’t care if we have a four-day deadline for something HUGE. Just for the record, I enjoy my other job. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to quit it, though. So why don’t I, now that I have three books published or on the way?
Frankly, money. I need it, I don’t have it.
Authors get the bulk of their money through advances (an advance against royalties is the technical term). Most of us don’t get advances that mean we can quit our other job on the spot, especially for our first novel. Sure, you’ve heard of people who get six-figure deals, or half a million dollar deals, or simultaneous book and movie deals. But do you know why you hear about them? Because they’re the exception, not the rule.
Again, for the record, I have no problem with the advance I received for either of my contracts. But I knew I wasn’t getting enough money to quit my Other Job, so last year I sat down and worked out how much I do need to make in advances in order to go full writer.
It’s about twice as much as I was making.
Doing this calculation was good for me. One part of being your own boss is that you have to have control over all aspects of the company, including the finances. I also found a goal to work toward, and now I have a plan to reach it. But it’s important to be careful with money as an author, and not just because the money doesn’t go as far as you might think. Advances don’t work like monthly salaries do. They come in big chunks, they come many months apart, tax has not been automatically deducted, they can get delayed, and in extreme cases, they don’t come through at all and you have to figure out why and what you can do about it. That Other Job is the way I keep the rent paid and the lights on while I’m waiting for the next part of my advance. And hey, at least I like it.
The process of getting novels published has become more streamlined since my debut. I’ve been able to brainstorm ideas with my agent and my editor, which is really helpful when you’re hoping these people will buy it/represent it down the road. The craft of writing is also a learning process, and going through three published (and soon to be published) novels means that I’ve improved my craft – leveled up, so to speak. Being my own boss means that I can mix up my processes and try something new without getting permission first, and of course, the true freelancer’s dream is also a reality for me: I don’t have to change out of my pajamas before going to work. Unfortunately, it often means I go straight from bed to desk – sometimes I don’t stop for breakfast before firing up my computer and starting to write.
Because ultimately, being a writer means you work a lot.
I usually work six days a week. A lot of writers I know work seven, especially those who have a less forgiving Other Job than I do. We squeeze in this work around childcare, spousal care, household management and attempts to have a social life. We put in that work hoping that someday, somehow, we’ll be able to sit down at our mahogany desk, pour our beverage of choice into a tumbler, and stare moodily out the window.
If you are a writer with that dream, I salute you. Let’s work toward it together. Be realistic but optimistic. It’s hard work, but I believe I can get there. And I believe in you, too.
-Claire
If you enjoyed The Writer’s Lifestyle, make sure to read more from Claire on her website.
Book Info
[book-info title=”We Rule the Night” author=”Claire Eliza Bartlett”]
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[book-info number=”2″]
[about-author]
Lets Chat
Thank you, Claire, for sharing The Writer’s Lifestyle! It was a very insightful post into a Writer’s Lifestyle. If you have any questions for Claire, please share them below.
- Have you read any of Claire’s books? If so, which ones?
- Did you learn anything about a Writer’s Lifestyle due to this post? Share you thoughts in the comments!
Tonyalee is an avid reader, gym junkie, coffee addicted workaholic, and blogger. Be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for random shenanigans.
4 Comments
Great guest post! a really fab insight into what it’s like to be a writer and also busting a couple of misconceptions that people think becoming an author will bring x
Jenny in Neverland recently posted…How To Improve Sleep ft. Kanturo Blue Light Glasses
What a great post! This is so useful for those wanting to go self-employed – there’s so much opinión out there about how perfect it is but it really is a lot of hard work!
I love this insight into the life of a writer! Makes me appreciate them even more than I did already.
What a great post. I think it’s so important to show the realities of different careers, particularly ones people seem to think are ‘easy’ for whatever reason! I used to dream of being a full-time writer but I absolutely do not have the creativity for it, haha! Also I’m really liking the look of Claire’s book ‘The Good Girls’! Sounds right up my alley 🙂
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