Winter Wednesday

Yesterday at this time, we were getting hit by the Dreaded Lake Effect snows (tm). Drove to massage appointment on roads made of suck, using backroads when possible because what they lacked in the way of plowage was compensated for by what they lacked in the way of other cars. Was soo happy to get home. Leftover pizza never tasted so good.

Today was the sort of winter day that makes up for DLE. Sky cloudless and faded blue. Temps in the 20s (F), which is cold but not OMGCOLD!! The sidestreets were still slippery in places, but the main roads were wet only. The surface of the fresh snow glittered, so white and crisp.

I did have to shovel this morning. Didn't like it, but had to. Awoke to 3-4" of fluffenstuff in the driveway, which I wanted to get out of the way because it was a sunny day with the possibility of melting and you know the drill.

But it was still a pretty day.

So many posts lately about the financial lives of writers. Jay's tale is closest to mine own, in that we both see the advantage of having the day job, and for reasons each our own, can't quit at this time. I've been at my company a while now, though--21 years in September--and I'll be 50 in July, which means that early retirement is a possibility if and when the stars align. So, quitting the day job may become feasible at some point in the not too distant future. One advantage to having started at this writing game comparatively late in life is that it may become a reasonable second stage of life career, assuming I have sufficient backup saved as a result of the first career--Christ, I know I sound like something out of MORE magazine, but I've lived poor and saw my folks enter their later years with nothing but Social Security and we're just too old to take stupid risks. There's no legacy out there waiting. No safety net. There's just me. So.

FWIW, I will likely make more from writing this year than I have in any previous year, somewhere between $19K-26K. Sounds really nice. But that's the gross--knock off about half for taxes/agent's commission. If that was my sole income, of course taxes would be lower, but we're still talking part-time income at best for someone with a house and two aging dogs to support.

(I should also add that some of that money is carryover from deals made last year. The middle of last year. I could conceivably receive payment for the latest contract, which was worked out in December and which I signed and sent back last week, before the payment for a deal done over 7 months ago. Which is one reason why writing is such a jim-dandy way to make a living, and why they tell you to have as many months' worth of living expenses banked as you can possibly afford.)

(Or have a day job)

There's also the matter of What I Want To Do. I don't want to pro-blog, write non-fiction (despite the fact that it can by all accounts pay very well), teach, or anything else that writers sometimes do. I want to write Fiction, the Fiction that I want to write. This isn't to say that I'm not thinking about breaking out or trying to expand my audience. The next books will be supernatural thrillers, and I am in the process of learning some interesting lessons as to what it may take to make them appeal to more mainstream readers. From what I've gleaned so far, it seems to be a matter of building up non-genre aspects of the plot that a pure genre reader might think interfere with the story. Non-genre drivers. It's difficult to explain, and explaining writing has never been a strong suit of mine anyway. In the case of the wip, what drives my protag forward, at least in the first section of the book, isn't anything supernatural, but more mundane concerns about her health and her family. Things a wider band of readers can relate to. That seems to be, if not THE key point, a pretty important one. Because part of the business is thinking about the product and how to make it appeal to a wider audience. At least, it is for me. If that makes me venal, so be it. I like being read.

Next couple of years are going to be interesting. And busy. I hope it works out, because I do like making things up.

Winter Wednesday

Yesterday at this time, we were getting hit by the Dreaded Lake Effect snows (tm). Drove to massage appointment on roads made of suck, using backroads when possible because what they lacked in the way of plowage was compensated for by what they lacked in the way of other cars. Was soo happy to get home. Leftover pizza never tasted so good.

Today was the sort of winter day that makes up for DLE. Sky cloudless and faded blue. Temps in the 20s (F), which is cold but not OMGCOLD!! The sidestreets were still slippery in places, but the main roads were wet only. The surface of the fresh snow glittered, so white and crisp.

I did have to shovel this morning. Didn't like it, but had to. Awoke to 3-4" of fluffenstuff in the driveway, which I wanted to get out of the way because it was a sunny day with the possibility of melting and you know the drill.

But it was still a pretty day.

So many posts lately about the financial lives of writers. Jay's tale is closest to mine own, in that we both see the advantage of having the day job, and for reasons each our own, can't quit at this time. I've been at my company a while now, though--21 years in September--and I'll be 50 in July, which means that early retirement is a possibility if and when the stars align. So, quitting the day job may become feasible at some point in the not too distant future. One advantage to having started at this writing game comparatively late in life is that it may become a reasonable second stage of life career, assuming I have sufficient backup saved as a result of the first career--Christ, I know I sound like something out of MORE magazine, but I've lived poor and saw my folks enter their later years with nothing but Social Security and we're just too old to take stupid risks. There's no legacy out there waiting. No safety net. There's just me. So.

FWIW, I will likely make more from writing this year than I have in any previous year, somewhere between $19K-26K. Sounds really nice. But that's the gross--knock off about half for taxes/agent's commission. If that was my sole income, of course taxes would be lower, but we're still talking part-time income at best for someone with a house and two aging dogs to support.

(I should also add that some of that money is carryover from deals made last year. The middle of last year. I could conceivably receive payment for the latest contract, which was worked out in December and which I signed and sent back last week, before the payment for a deal done over 7 months ago. Which is one reason why writing is such a jim-dandy way to make a living, and why they tell you to have as many months' worth of living expenses banked as you can possibly afford.)

(Or have a day job)

There's also the matter of What I Want To Do. I don't want to pro-blog, write non-fiction (despite the fact that it can by all accounts pay very well), teach, or anything else that writers sometimes do. I want to write Fiction, the Fiction that I want to write. This isn't to say that I'm not thinking about breaking out or trying to expand my audience. The next books will be supernatural thrillers, and I am in the process of learning some interesting lessons as to what it may take to make them appeal to more mainstream readers. From what I've gleaned so far, it seems to be a matter of building up non-genre aspects of the plot that a pure genre reader might think interfere with the story. Non-genre drivers. It's difficult to explain, and explaining writing has never been a strong suit of mine anyway. In the case of the wip, what drives my protag forward, at least in the first section of the book, isn't anything supernatural, but more mundane concerns about her health and her family. Things a wider band of readers can relate to. That seems to be, if not THE key point, a pretty important one. Because part of the business is thinking about the product and how to make it appeal to a wider audience. At least, it is for me. If that makes me venal, so be it. I like being read.

Next couple of years are going to be interesting. And busy. I hope it works out, because I do like making things up.