Hobby or Career—Where Do You Stand?
Posted by Cathy on 10 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: Chit Chat, Craft, Publishing, Writing Life, Books
I’d planned to write my blog entry about something useful and controversial like serial commas during editing (and if you don’t think that’s controversial, you don’t know many editors! LOL!) But a thread on another writing site I visit changed my mind. You can see from the title here that my new blog topic is also quite controversial, so much so that it’s a sharp knife, stabbing at the psyche of every writer I know—whether published or not. Raise hands, now. How many of you have heard this in your writing life?
“It’s only a hobby. You’re not getting paid (or paid enough,) so writing can’t be your job.”
How many of you have been so incensed by the statement that you want to reach out and strangle/slap/kick the person? After all, nobody would walk up to someone working a minimum wage job and say that. It’s tactless and thoughtless and insulting. Heck, I know career burger flippers and waitresses who struggle with their salary, but LOVE their job and never would want something different. And even some multi-published full-time authors don’t make much more over the course of a year than a fast food/discount store position. Plus, let’s not talk about how much more tax we pay as self-employed people, rather than W-2 employees, or the lack of health insurance.
I think one of the big problems is that people look from the outside and only see that “product + money = career” while “product - money = hobby. But if the writer identifies with BEING a writer, then that’s their career. It’s an internal thing that can’t be judged from the outside . . . and SHOULDN’T be judged from the outside. I see articles and posts and blogs from writers who have never wanted more than to write. It’s their calling. It screams in their soul—struggling every day to get out. How can a life’s calling, one that you’ve trained for and practiced, NOT be considered a career? That is one of the Webster’s/Oxford definitions, after all. “A profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling.”
But what about the hobbists? Are they somehow less of a writer because it’s not—in their own mind—a career? Should they give up publishing because it’ll never be their “career?” This is an important question to me because I’m one of those hobbists. I identify with being a paralegal, even though that’s not where my money is coming from presently. So, to me, writing IS my hobby. It’s just a well-paying one with lots of benefits. But in my heart and brain, I’m still a paralegal who’s taking a break from the day-to-day business of it. I still keep up my certifications, though, and read equally as much new case law as fiction. Part of me desperately misses pursuing my career, even though my present job is paying well and has the potential to pay REALLY well.
In my mind, my attitude toward writing takes nothing away from someone who considers writing their career but doesn’t make money, whether “presently” or “ever.”
Yet, in some writing circles I dare not state my personal feelings on the subject. Even my co-author, when I said writing was my hobby (albeit a well-paying one) said never to speak that out loud again. If she ever began to consider writing a “hobby” she might as well stop and never pen another word for the rest of her life. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach. I know she’s truly sincere, but it seems so strange to me. I hear “How dare you!” as often as “Well, that’s your opinion, I suppose,” from various friends and acquaintances in the business, and aspiring authors frequently take special affront at the view—like, why should I have a spot on the bookshelf if it doesn’t scream in my soul? I have no RIGHT to earn the prize when apparently it’s some sort of lark to me. I get nasty rep points and angry emails from those who feel I’m dissing the entire of the writing community by sharing my belief.
But the thing is, I consider a “hobby” just as important—quality wise, as anything I would do in my career. It has no less status in my head. I still seek perfection in each book/story I produce. Does someone who makes fine furniture as a hobby do any less of a job because it’s not the main source of paying the bills? Actually, most of the time, the quality is MORE exacting in a hobby, because you’re living up to your own standards. So, a person with already high standards seeks to constantly improve. It must be perfect, and nothing less will do—no matter how long it takes to produce.
So, I ask all of you who read this: How do YOU think of your writing? Is it hobby or career? Does it matter to you whether someone feels the opposite? Does it stress you out? Let’s hear your views!
Ah, Cathy - Let me just remove the multiple knives from my back so I can respond to this. I am in the camp that thinks of it as a job. Nothing against those who consider it a hobby. We just have a different mindset. My mindset sometimes leads to pain being inflicted by those I love. The ones that hurt the most are family members and friends. Invariably someone will want me to involve myself in something that happens on a weekend (or worse - consecutive weekends) and I have to either excuse myself completely or make clear that my participation will not be an all day thing…..because I WRITE on weekends. But, of course, the person who wants me to participate in said event always, ALWAYS, says something to the effect. “Well, can’t you write some other time? It’s not like it’s a job or something.” ZING. ZING-ZING-ZING…the sound of multiple knives hitting my back (and my heart). It’s not that these people don’t want me to become the next big thing in publishing, they just don’t see why I consider it a job just as much as the one that currently pays my bills.
Darcy
September 10th, 2007 at 11:00 amAh, Cathy - Let me just remove the multiple knives from my back so I can respond to this. I am in the camp that thinks of it as a job. A job that I LOVE doing. Nothing against those who consider it a hobby. We just have a different mindset. My mindset sometimes leads to pain being inflicted by those I love. The ones that hurt the most are family members and friends. Invariably someone will want me to involve myself in something that happens on a weekend (or worse - consecutive weekends) and I have to either excuse myself completely or make clear that my participation will not be an all day thing…..because I WRITE on weekends. But, of course, the person who wants me to participate in said event always, ALWAYS, says something to the effect. “Well, can’t you write some other time? It’s not like it’s a job or something.” ZING. ZING-ZING-ZING…the sound of multiple knives hitting my back (and my heart). It’s not that these people don’t want me to become the next big thing in publishing, they just don’t see why I consider it a job just as much as the one that currently pays my bills.
Darcy
September 10th, 2007 at 11:01 amMy own perception is that writing is so much a part of my heart that it’s both job and hobby. What I find annoying is that now I’m actually earning money from my writing, others seem to place more value on it … and why do some people think it’s okay to ask how much I earn from writing, whereas they wouldn’t dream of asking what my teaching salary is?
September 10th, 2007 at 12:09 pmBoth good points, Darcy & Tricia. I also noticed that people’s opinion of my writing changed when that first check arrived. I don’t really mind if people ask me what I make, simply because I know that writing is one of those things that people are insanely curious about. But then, I never minded if they asked about my salary when I worked as a paralegal. It’s a boundary thing, I think. I’d never ask anyone ELSE about their salary unless they say they’re willing.
But yeah–even now, I get the “Well, you can write any time, can’t you?” from people. That’s really frustrating to me, because no, I actually can’t write “any time.” I have to write when the words come to me. That happens at weird times. I do this as my primary job, from 8-5, but that’s not always when the muse is cooperating, if you know what I mean.
But that’s a whole ‘nother rant. LOL!
September 10th, 2007 at 12:30 pmI think you’re a writer if you actually write. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hobbyist or a professional, you’re not a writer if you’re not actually writing anything. I don’t think anyone can dispute that.
It’s both hobby and career for me. I had always planned it to be a career which was why I sacrificed some family time or sleep while I had an 8-5 job. I wrote at night and on the weekends. Now I write during the day (or as you said, when the muse decides to cooperate). I do believe I can write anytime, even if this is my job. That’s the luxury of being self-employeed. Before, I had to write whenever there was free time, now I can write anytime, anywhere. And I do….and I love my job because I can.
September 10th, 2007 at 1:00 pmHmm.. well for me personally I would say that my writing is a passion. It is too important and too much of a vital part of me to be called a hobby. On the other hand, I am nowhere near established enough to classify it as a career.
Can something be a passion and be as vital and more important to you than a career? Absolutely.
For me, I measure it this way: what are you sacrificing personally for the sake of your writing. If you are sacrificing valuable time away from your family and friends, then IMHO it is far more than a hobby.
Very thought provoking blog for a Monday. Thanks for sharing and making me think:)
September 10th, 2007 at 4:36 pmPeople in our society always place more value on something that is highly paid. That’s why athletes get more respect than teachers. I had the same problem as a stay-at-home mom. And yes, absolutely, once you start getting paid for the writing, the attitudes about it change, even if it’s a small amount. Suddenly people take it seriously.
September 11th, 2007 at 3:25 amHow can the way you feel about your writing possibly affect someone else? Those people who’ve gotten upset with you for calling it a hobby should get a grip.
I’m not sure it makes much difference, personally. Writing used to be a hobby for me, and now it’s a full time job, and I don’t think there’s any difference in the quality of what I’m producing.
September 11th, 2007 at 6:33 amIt’s my job and luckily it’s my perfect dream job so I have no conflict about wanting to do anything else. I treat it as a business and I expect the people around me to treat it that way too. And yes, I think the validation of a pay check does change people’s perception of you as a writer.I”m lucky, my husband and immediate family and friends have always taken me seriously-probably shocked that someone as easy going as me actually has the drive and focus and desire to succeed at something
September 11th, 2007 at 11:12 am