I can’t teach you a surefire way to earn money as a writer, but I can offer you hope, assuming you’re willing to work hard and put yourself out there. This is my story.
The income that accompanies my journey starts at zero, goes up to $150,000 at its peak, and then back to zero when I retired. During the past year I made $180. My retirement is secure.
I wrote as a hobby for years, collecting a stack of published pieces that ranged from editorials to poetry. But my bachelor’s degree was in Medical Technology and my first two jobs were as a lab technician, a career I grew to dislike. So with a meager portfolio in hand I arranged an informational interview with the manager of a newly formed writing company. That’s where serendipity helped me along. Her career path was similar to mine. We connected on a personal level despite my lack of “fit.”
At length she told me, “Here’s what I want you to do. Go out in the lobby and write me a story.”
She handed me a legal pad and a pen.
“About what?” I asked.
She shrugged and looked up at a poster on her office wall. It was the typical image of a whale breaching. We’ve all seen one.
“Whales!” she said.
“How about dolphins?” I asked
“Sure, fine. Dolphins it is.”
Unbeknownst to her I spent a month in Hawaii as a volunteer on a long running research project called “Teaching Dolphins Language.” The study was fascinating on a scientific level, featured on the Nova PBS television series, and resulted in a couple of life changing experiences during my time at the marine mammal lab in Waikiki. It was about to change my life again.
I penned a story that had been rattling around in my mind since Hawaii. It just flowed out of me. Then I handed it in, like a student to a teacher.
I held my breath while she read my longhand reminiscence. She sighed as she put the pad down on her table. My stomach sank. Then she looked up at me and said, “You’re hired. You clearly have the skills I need. We can teach you the rest.” I was a writer!
When fellow lab workers asked me how to make a similar career change, I told them that I was only aware of one chance at that company, and I had pretty much snagged it. That night I recall telling my wife, “I think I just ruined a perfectly good hobby.” You see, eight to ten hours a day writing technical training materials, operator manuals and newsletters was not the glamorous dream job I’d imagined. But in time that would change.
In the years that followed, I was promoted to senior writer and then manager of the team in which I had been a member. My role later expanded to include multiple departments, all interesting creative disciplines in what eventually became an exciting in-house ad agency. As a manager of writers I often told candidates during interviews that I could no longer qualify for my old job as a writer. I had no traditional credentials. I lacked a degree in journalism, English or communications.
The lesson here is not that writing careers are impossible to acquire. I would certainly recommend starting with an appropriate college degree. A track record is great, but everyone starts somewhere. Getting your foot in the door may mean starting far short of your lofty goals. But even the wrong job can eventually lead to the right place.
As it is often said, “writers write.” Always be writing! If you’re being rejected, it means that you’re trying. I now write daily and enjoy a ninety-eight percent rejection rate. Much like fishing, success is called “catching.” And that occasional acceptance is what keeps me engaged. I am in this for the love of the game.
Rewarding careers don’t come easy. I got lucky. But I also got out there, took a chance, and am still working very hard at getting my written words into people’s heads. There’s nothing quite like it.
BIO: Vic Larson has written professionally or as a hobby since his days as a staff writer for the University of Illinois Daily Illini. He retired after a twenty-seven-year career as a senior writer and manager within a Fortune 100 creative services in-house agency in the Chicago area. Vic is a poet, essayist and blogger with a large online portfolio of movie reviews. His work has appeared in Beatdom, SpillIt, The Mensa Bulletin and The Twin Bill. He is the 2021 winner of the Gulf Coast Writers Association fiction contest.
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