How I Quit My Day Job to Write Full Time

“Don’t quit your day job.” If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard that before. And there’s some truth to it. According to a survey by the Authors Guild, the median annual income for writers in 2017 was $20,300. On the other hand, I know several writers who will make six figures this year. It’s even within the realm of possibility that I might, too, which makes me very skeptical of that data.

It’s true that writers don’t get paid enough, but for a lot of us, it isn’t as hard out here as it seems. Perhaps part of it is a squeaky-wheel fallacy: we hear the voices shouting about not making enough to get by because they’re the loudest. But the people who don’t have anything to complain about keep their finances to themselves.

Knowing what I do now, I wish I hadn’t listened to all of those voices telling me that writing was a vow of poverty. From what I’ve seen, if you really do it right, that isn’t true. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to think for myself.

Why did I want to quit my day job?

Many writers dream of the day when they can quit their day jobs. For years, I was one of them.

After college, I was the sole caregiver for my father as he was dying of cancer. That was my full-time job, one I don’t regret at all. But by the end of his life, we…