Who writes full-time?

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Who on Crimespace writes full-time? I'm very part-time, and consider myself lucky to have a complete product to send to agents/editors.

It seems most work a full-time job outside their novel ambitions. I'm one of them, although I work in magazine/book publishing (not related to crime fiction).

So who on Crimespace is blessed enough to write full-time?

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Clay, o brother in soy ink, you are a brave soul. I stay in touch with people in the newspaper biz. Most are thinking along those same lines, although some hold out for brighter times.

It still boggles my mind that newspapers are in such dire straights. For thousands of years, the largest expense of producing a paper was printing the thing. When a huge opportunity to reduce that expense comes along (i.e. the Internet), it's a bad thing? Just thinking aloud here. I still hold a ton of respect and admiration for newspapermen.

[EDWARD C MORGAN]

Thanks Benjamin.

One of my pet peeves is that the industry is in dire straights. It's not as bad off as a lot of people think. You have a few high profile, public companies, such as NYT, Gatehouse, Gannett and others who got into trouble, like other industries, buy making monumental purchases and running up billions in debt. Let's be honest - when Gannett's worst performing paper makes an 18% profit, and you have to layoff thousands of newsroom employees and do furloughs, management needs to take more blame than the economy.

While we've suffered revenue losses at the two papers I publish, I'm proud to say that profits have maintained and I have not slashed a single newsroom job. You'll find that at the many thousands of small town papers. Yes, we've taken a hit, but not as bad as our corporate-owned, metro bretheren.

And while the closing of the dailies in Seattle and Denver were tough blows, really it's business as usual. Most cities of any size had two or three or four competing papers 50 years ago. Honestly, not a year goes by that a newspaper doesn't shutter its doors. I think those two instances got more attention than they normally would have due to the industry challenges currently being faced.

I believe that most publishers do not view using the internet as a bad thing anymore (they were certainly threatened by it 10 years ago). I think the bigger problem is that there is not quite yet a workable business model that would support a decently staffed online-only newspaper - although there are some interesting models coming together out there (just yesterday I read about one called the Batavian, in Batavia New York). At our own web sites, our inventory is full...absolutely full. I could not support 1/5 the staff on the money it draws in.

I do not think print newspapers are dead. I do not think they will return to their glory days of old. I do think in the end, most cities will be served by a news organization that can successfully mold print and online into a constantly updating news service.

This is something that sticks in my mind. The Knoxville News Sentinel has a position titled "Continuous News Editor" - I think that is the mind set we must adapt.

That said, my reasons for considering moving back has more to do with lifestyle issues, a marriage in the spring (and my long/odd hours - you understand those - do not really go well with that), and a few other personal things than they do anything with the industry.

I love newspapers. I just hate the hours.

And speaking of which, I guess I need to get back to work.

[Kris Neri]

At one time I used to write 3/4, along with some part-time writing instruction. But after we opened our own business I said goodbye to that. Now I'm a very part-time writer. Currently, as I head toward the publication of two books, all my writing time is being used up with promotional work. Today it was designing a new bookmark, other days it's writing blogs, or creating workshops. Necessary, but not writing, and not as satisfying as writing, either. I'm trying to achieve better balance, and not letting this promo stuff consume quite so much time. But so far I haven't managed it.

[Tom Cooke]

I write full time, but it's because I'm too lazy to get a real job. Unlike I.J. my productivity has increased since I went full time. I can spend time on the promotion end of the business and still get half a days writing in. In today's market if you don't promote you're dead meat.
Actually if you don't develop a game plan to sell your product you're dead meat. The day of letting the publishers do all the heavy lifting is gone forever except for the pop stars. Writing full time gives me the luxury of testing markets, poking around and exploring to see what works and what doesn't. It gives me time to communicate with my readers and encourage them to spread the word. When I was working I was too busy being a suit to do any of that.
T.

[I. J. Parker]

This may be true for your first book, but if you don't have a really terrific book, no amount of personal promotion will get those folks to buy # 2. Unfortunately, personal promotion doesn't make a dent into the problem when you're totally unknown.

[Dawn Marie Morgan-Mercier]

I work full-time midnights and try to write part-time as much as possible, I hope to write full time some day...

[Gary C. King]

I, too, write full-time. That is, when I can force myself to sit down and write. Between my books and my blog I do stay busy, but I still have not figured out how I was able to write as much as I do now as when I held a full-time job.

[p. b. smith]

I write full time, but I'm a non-fiction writer with a two day gigs; one at a local news station writing about all the horrible things that happen every weekend (ugh) and the other writing medical news for another employer. I wish I could sell some of my fiction but no can do. I seem to be pigeon-holed as a non-fiction writer with a specialty in medical reporting.

Life could be worse, so I'm not complaining.

[Ingrid Schmitz]

Hi Benjamin,

No, I have no outside job. I'm a full-time writer since 2000. And I'm lucky to do this. So my writing-day looks like the working-day in the past, no, it's harder. At 6'o clock in the morning I look at my mails, write till midday - short break - then writing till 16:00 h, if my husband comes back. ;-))

Hope I've understand your question correctly.

best wishes
Ingrid

[Stuart MacBride]

I shall hold my hand up to being a full-timer too. It's a strange way to make a living, just writing crime novels and nothing else, but it's better than some of the jobs I used to do...

[Sunny Frazier]

Me.

But I had to quit my job at the sheriff's dept to take care of a dying father, then survive my sister poisoning me (cat flea medicine, don't trust it, folk. I'm one kidney down).

Yes, I love my freedom to write and I'm the envy of my writer's group, but at what cost?

[Benjamin Sobieck]

The cost? Your kidney apparently. Sounds like you've got some character material, especially with your experience at the county.