A special treat - my first ever guest post!

Hello everyone! Can you believe Christmas is just a few days away? Where does the time go?  =P

Anyway, last week I was approached by the lovely Tiffany Jansen who asked if I would like to have her guest post on my blog. I said sure, why not! I'm always up for something new and exciting! Tiffany has written a thought-provoking article on making a living as a writer that I think my fellow writers will enjoy reading. So, without further ado (and what does that saying really mean, anyway?), here's Tiffany...!


Writing’s not a real job by Tiffany Jansen

The hours aren’t steady, you don’t have a set yearly income, and it doesn’t offer the paid sick leave, paid vacation, healthcare and pension that a regular 9-5 offers. There’s no boss, no employer. Just you, the
freelance writer.

Thus, many people toss writing off as not being a ‘real job.’

Though you will have many supporters throughout your writing career, you will also have a number of nay-sayers. Some of whom will counter your writing aspirations with “But writing’s not a real job.”

If you confront them with names like Stephen King or mention that many make a living as bloggers or
journalists, they’ll agree but then point out that those people are not you. Those kinds of instances don’t happen every day and the odds of you being listed among them are not great. You’d be better off getting an office job.

And, in a way, they’re right. The odds of any of us making it big like Stephen King or Darren Rowse are not in our favor. In fact, the odds are very much against us. Many writers have to take on two or more jobs and stay up into the wee hours of the night to fulfill their writing assignments.

There are stories of writers having to live out of their cars because they couldn’t afford a place to stay. Even JK Rowling was once forced to do her writing at a nearby café so she could save on her heating bill. Then, she was a single mother, barely able to make ends meet.

Of course you hear of overnight successes, but in those cases the writer was either simply in the right place at the right time or worked their buns off to achieve the accomplishment.

If the outlook is that bleak and depressing, why would anyone in their right mind want to be a writer?
Well, perhaps it’s not a ‘real job’ but it allows us to leave our mark in the world. It affords us the opportunity to do something we love and to feel fulfilled. And, if it’s done right, one can make a good living as a writer.
We may work longer and harder than most of corporate America, but we can do it in our pajamas. We create work that touches, educates and makes a difference. How many people with ‘real jobs’ can say that.

It may take us years to get off the ground and start making enough to be able to take to the bank, but we’re in charge of what work we take on and what assignments we forego. We decide when we want to take a vacation and when we’re in need of a break. We get to work when we’re at our best and put our work aside if need be.

No, I don’t make enough via my writing to pay the bills. I don’t have tons of clients and I don’t get paid $1 per word. My writing doesn’t cover medical costs or continue to bring in the dough when I’m sick or go on holiday. I don’t have any grand notions that I’ll be the next Phillipa Gregory or Nora Roberts.

But none of those are impossible goals for writers. With hard work and persistence, they can be reached. Just allow us the time to grow and build before you tell us that writing is not a real job.

Tiffany Jansen lives in the Netherlands and, according to some, doesn’t have a ‘real job.’ Instead, she writes, performs, crafts and teaches on a freelance basis and manages to actually make some money. Catch her at Putting Words to Paper or on Twitter to lament over the various woes of freelancing.