the craft. balancing writing and surviving.

Being a full-time writer is something many beginning writers fantasize about. This dream life involves slow mornings, great travel, and stimulating conversation. Is it possible? Absolutely. We have seen top selling writers' lives completely change. Is it feasible for every writer? Not necessarily. Even less likely when starting out. I know, sometimes I’m coming in way too grounded. Lol. But stay with me.

Even Nicole Chung recently wrote about the very real life challenges that face writers for Esquire. While you may come to a place of being able to sustain yourself financially as a writer, you may also come to a crossroads where you have to ask yourself, “at what cost?” For many writers, it takes years and a lot of unpaid work to get to a place where writing is sustainable for them.

Yet, many writers who have to juggle multiple things to make ends meet feel shame around this idea that they need another means of income to support their writing career. I will be the first to tell you that I have a full-time job. As a Senior Director, I make a salary that helps support living in one of the most expensive cities of Los Angeles. That provides substantial healthcare. Thank God, because it helps to have access to therapy while pursuing creative careers. And quite frankly, I’ve learned a lot about being a professional, working with a membership organization and project management overall. It’s why I’m not afraid to go talk to booksellers about my book because I talk to random managers and publicists all day long!

One of the most important things to remember about being a writer is that other experiences only help you. I mean, what else will we write about if all we do is write? There is a lot of living that needs to happen simultaneously if we’re going to have any content for our storytelling. My first novel was about the music industry because that’s what I know. There are all kinds of people I come across on a daily basis that make for great characters. There are challenges and questions that come from watching the struggles of what it takes to make it in the industry that are exciting to explore through my writing. It’s great to have the opportunity to mine our experiences to feed the work. Listen, last weekend at the Bombay Beach Lit Festival, I could see the brains of all the writers I was there with, working overtime. It was rich with things to add to stories. We started calling dibs on random happenings.

On that same trip, it dawned on me that a lot of my counterparts teach to offset living costs and their writing careers. Which is one of the advantages to having an advanced degree. To MFA or not to MFA is always a big consideration for writers. But thinking about it along the lines of something to balance your income was a bit new to me and certainly a pro.

Whether it’s teaching. Working a full-time job in another industry completely. Or having a partner who can support you financially, it’s not odd to need something else. The publishing industry has long been reserved for those who have the means to manage meager salaries and advances in order to explore their love of words. And while steps forward are being made, it’s slow motion for real transformation.

So, I wanted to share a few thoughts around money and writing. It’s important to know that most advances are paid in installments of three to four payments. There are always outliers, but it is common place to be paid at these intervals:

Upon signing your contract
Upon submitting your final manuscript.
Upon publication (For some this is the end of the road.)
12-18 months after publication or when your paperback is published. (If you had a hardcover.)

This goes to show you that even if you did receive a sizable advance, you don’t necessarily get all that money at once. Now again, I’m not talking about being a celebrity or a high profile writer. I don’t know how that works because I am neither of those. Lol. But for the rank and file writer that is working to build their career, that’s the breakdown.

The best bet as an author is going to be to have a book that goes to auction which will drive up the price of your advance. This means multiple publishing houses are interested in the book and you receive multiple offers. Now, the best house for your book doesn’t always mean the highest bidder, but oftentimes, it’s hard to ignore that big payday. Especially when making money to write is such a difficult thing to do. Auctions are where I have seen the six figure and above advances for lesser known or debut authors.

Now, there’s no formula to garnering the biggest advance outside of writing the very best story you possibly can. But it’s important to remember as well that much like the music industry, an advance is really a loan that must be recouped. And most writers, like artists, do not actually earn out. Meaning they sell enough of their product to pay back all the money spent and start receiving royalties. So, while you can covet other authors earning more than you, they are also expected to sell a lot of books.

I was okay with not receiving a huge advance because I felt like if I could earn it out, it would make me attractive enough as a writer to be able to keep writing books. I had an understanding that my goal was not to sell one book. If it was, then trying to get all I could would have been the move. But I realize that it could take two or three books to really build an audience for myself. Like in any career, you need a plan. You have to know what you’re after in order to be able to make the best decisions for yourself. No one knows what’s best for you and your situation better than you.

I will say this though. In going back to the bargaining table when that happens, I will not take less than what I’ve set in my head. After living out the payment system with my first book, I’m like it has to be more money for me to actually be able to do some things to get ahead in my life. So, I’d almost rather keep working on writing something else than to take a beginner’s advance again. I’m also hopefully showing the publisher that I will work really hard for my book after the pub date. I have been continually creating opportunities for the book almost 10 months post publication and will continue to do so.

Remember, like we talked about with royalty statements, there are other authors that help keep the lights on, but this post is to help you to understand that it’s okay for you to do something else while you’re developing as a writer. Don’t let social media fool you into thinking that everyone is out here looking at blue oceans and channeling inspiration as it comes. It is a hustle for many of us. We are balancing the dream of sharing our words and stories with the world, and surviving in a capitalist society that does not always value art the way it should.

Writing/Job Opportunities

Anthology on Travel, Migration, and Blackness is accepting submissions through Monday, July 10th. Edited by Joy Notoma and Sheena Daree Romero. bit.ly/40TEj84.

Matt Taylor is filling in as the features editor at New Republic and is looking for print magazine (5000+ word) pitches. Politics, power, policy, social issues, weird regional controversies, unlikely villains, ideological trends, etc. Pitch me! MTaylor@TNR.com.

CALL FOR PITCHES! They aim to lift up stories about organizers, cultural producers, activists, and other changemakers whose work is shifting harmful, dominant narratives in powerful, creative, and unexpected ways. $1/word. More details here: https://forms.fillout.com/t/o88CEc2GMMus.

Style Caster, Jonathan Borge is now accepting pitches for SEO-driven evergreen lifestyle stories (dating, sexual health & relationships, travel, beauty, fashion, LGBTQ+ culture, entertainment). Interested in unique angles that'll cut through the noise. jborge@stylecaster.com (Starts at $150)

LatinaMedia.Co uplifts Latina and femme Latinx perspectives in media through publishing original pieces of criticism and amplifying the on-going work of Latina and gender non-conforming Latinx critics. We’re always looking for more voices to add to our community so check out our pitch guide below if you want to sound off on your favorite piece of media or cultural moment, we want to hear from you. And they pay: $150 for each 600+ word piece!

The BBC is hiring an SEO Specialist.

American Theater Magazine is hiring a Chicago Editor. ($55-60k)

MIT Technology Review is accepting applications for their Emerging Journalists Fellowship.