I think having a day job - a relatively steady 40 hours/week day job, *knocks on wood* - gives an emerging writer certain advantages. A lot of friends have asked me why I don't freelance full time and besides the fact that I need the insurance for more serious medical reasons, I like having the freedom to decide what i want to write and when to write it. Having a day job is a privilege for certain types of writers, if you can handle it. I know a lot of people who studied journalism or want to be fiction writers, but have lost interest in it the longer they've worked their day jobs whether it was because of exhaustion or the growing separation between what they say they want and what they actually need.
When I arrived at my current company, I felt a major disconnect. I began writing for Gapers Block for free. Writing for free is a luxury that most emerging writers without a day job cannot afford. However, because I could afford that luxury, I felt free to experiment on subject matter and writing style. In the beginning, that is how i managed the 9-5 with the hopeful writing career: by doing for myself because I could. The amount of writing I do now has increased significantly. For the most part, I try to do a couple of things:
- Send pitch letters in the morning. I usually don't have time as the day rolls on. I prepare my pitches at night
- Utilize the weekends. I try to get in at least an hour of writing and researching on Saturday and Sunday. This includes everything from reading magazine articles to transcribing interviews to outlining new essays.
- Utilize your lunch breaks. How long do you have for lunch? I have an hour and I use it to its fullest. If I prepare an outline for myself (and I do at least 95% of the time), I can write an essay in a short amount of time. I also use this time to do phone interviews or transcribe.
- Make everyone else's schedule work for you. I've found that most people are just really excited for their project/show/book/whatever to be featured and are willing to accommodate. If they are not, I work around my own schedule. I try to make sure I am on good terms with my boss, so if I have to come into work late or leave early, this does not reflect poorly on me or my work. I do not do this a lot. In fact, I was basically forced to take a day off because I was working too much.
- I am very lucky to work in a department that has both work from home Wednesdays and a more open work schedule. I woke up at 7:30 and started working immediately allowing me to work on other things by mid-afternoon.
- Try to stay tuned into what is happening. Whenever I feel out of the loop, I make a point of reading more: newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, twitter. It seems excessive, but it's important to stay a part of the conversation and to write about relevant topics (if that's your beat). my Google Reader (R.I.P.) has been VERY important to me, for years.
- Focus on a couple of areas, at least in the beginning. When I started ramping up my work, I began first with visual arts (essays and reviews). When I felt more comfortable, I added dance coverage (features and criticism). Throughout this time, I always produced personal essays, but didn't feel like I could write more of those until I felt comfortable in my writing style.
- Take breaks. Know that you'll never write as mush as someone that gets to do it full-time. Realize a lot of the time that the grass is always greener on the other side. Stay positive and focused on yourself and your goals. Don't feel like you need to do it all and right now. I'm saying this to you but I'm also saying it to myself, right now, as a reminder. We all need to remind ourselves of this sometime.
Writer Britt Julious was born and bred in Chicago's Austin neighborhood and in the suburb of Oak Park, Ill. In addition to blogging and reporting about popular culture for WBEZ, Julious serves as a Senior Editor of the high/low literary website This Recording, and contributes to local, national, and international publications including Gapers Block, Pitchfork, Buzzfeed and Rhizome. She has also written for Time Out Chicago, The Chicago Tribune, and Design Bureau. In 2012 the Chicago Reader named Julious the city's "Best Local Writer Who Excels at Social Media" on account of her personal Tumblr Blog, Britticisms, which has over 100,000 followers, and her eclectic Twitter account.
