Friday Musings 10/27/2017
It's the Friday before Halloween. Cold weather struggles to push past warmer, humid temperature. Colds and sick folks are on the rise. Beautiful leaves are falling from branches in a rain of brown and yellow. An ozone smell mixed with musty leaves permeates the air.
Fall is here.
Some TV channels are playing non-stop horror flicks, if not some of their own concoction of the holiday that correlate with the spooky spectacular.
I am happy to be in a Halloween anthology titled Trickster's Treats, where each story has to be exactly 666 words. Coolness is having a story out during the horror writer's holiday. And it's a pretty good bunch of stories, as well.
See, I took a chance and it worked out. That's what life is about. Taking chances. Some are big and some are small. Some are calculated and some one jumps into blind abyss.
I've been pondering a thought for quite a while now. When do you know you can quit the day job? When is the point where you feel you have enough saved to carry things until your writing can take over as your main occupation?
Two years pay saved? Three? Maybe just one year? And how can you be so sure that you are further enough as a writer that you are about to break into it?
Well, I'd say, if you are lucky enough to have at least two years paid where you can devote full attention to writing, then go for it, see how it takes you. But work hard Make sure you have some foundation before jumping in. It's at these times when most realize they aren't cut out for the gig.
Maybe you've sold a few stories and sure you can do it, that you have a style or prose sought after--maybe a decent following of fans.
I would wait, if you're real nervous, to at least be in the process of securing a book deal with an agent. And yes, just because you have one doesn't mean you are good just yet, but it's a great step. Especially if it's a renowned agent. There are a lot of other hurdles after that point, but at least you know you are doing something right.
And that's all that matters.
Dean Koontz asked his wife for time. He stood home and wrote, his wife affording him that luxury. I forgot exactly how many years, but he decided if he hadn't made it by then, he'd give up. Well, he made it. If you're being realistic, you'll know if you really have a chance. Some don't, and put a lot on the line on a whim. But at least they took a chance. Thats what life is about.
WCM
Fall is here.
Some TV channels are playing non-stop horror flicks, if not some of their own concoction of the holiday that correlate with the spooky spectacular.
I am happy to be in a Halloween anthology titled Trickster's Treats, where each story has to be exactly 666 words. Coolness is having a story out during the horror writer's holiday. And it's a pretty good bunch of stories, as well.
See, I took a chance and it worked out. That's what life is about. Taking chances. Some are big and some are small. Some are calculated and some one jumps into blind abyss.
I've been pondering a thought for quite a while now. When do you know you can quit the day job? When is the point where you feel you have enough saved to carry things until your writing can take over as your main occupation?
Two years pay saved? Three? Maybe just one year? And how can you be so sure that you are further enough as a writer that you are about to break into it?
Well, I'd say, if you are lucky enough to have at least two years paid where you can devote full attention to writing, then go for it, see how it takes you. But work hard Make sure you have some foundation before jumping in. It's at these times when most realize they aren't cut out for the gig.
Maybe you've sold a few stories and sure you can do it, that you have a style or prose sought after--maybe a decent following of fans.
I would wait, if you're real nervous, to at least be in the process of securing a book deal with an agent. And yes, just because you have one doesn't mean you are good just yet, but it's a great step. Especially if it's a renowned agent. There are a lot of other hurdles after that point, but at least you know you are doing something right.
And that's all that matters.
Dean Koontz asked his wife for time. He stood home and wrote, his wife affording him that luxury. I forgot exactly how many years, but he decided if he hadn't made it by then, he'd give up. Well, he made it. If you're being realistic, you'll know if you really have a chance. Some don't, and put a lot on the line on a whim. But at least they took a chance. Thats what life is about.
WCM
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