Writer’s Rent
Small thoughts on writing being your life but not your job
I’ve worked in three bookstores in my lifetime, a career that will have spanned 10 years this week. Like with writing, I have felt at home working in a bookstore and had even considered opening up my own once upon a time. I never did, not sure if I ever will. But it’s safe to say that after all these years, I am a bookseller at heart.
When I chose to pursue a writing career after high school, I didn’t think I’d be doing anything else. Of course, it was my naive youthful idealism that thought my writing — in particular, my poetry — would be enough to sustain myself. I saw myself winning awards right away, winning all the fellowships, and receiving all the advances before even understanding how advances worked. In other words, I had no clue how to earn a living as a writer.
In most cases, you don’t. You earn a living elsewhere to sustain your writing. In a way, you pay — at least, what I like to call — a writer’s rent. You write to earn your keep, your food, your home, and your writing life. It’s all part of the price of living. For most writers, it’s the reality we cannot escape. Not everyone will be on that NYT bestsellers list — not that everybody should either.
I’m happy to have been blessed with bookselling as my regular day job, though. I have had numerous discussions with friends…
