# Have you quit your day job?



## Lars Blurnstad (Sep 29, 2015)

I would like to hear from indie writers who were able to "quit their day job" and shift their primary household income to their writing career. Share your story, please, in however much detail which pleases you! 

For example: How did it happen? When did you realize it was about to happen? Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa? How long have you been relying solely on your writing? Regrets? Stress? Are you living your dream?


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

*"How did it happen?"*

I started writing fanfiction during the recession when I was consulting (coding / design / copywriting marketing mostly for financials and tech ) only part-time, but had an (almost) full-time sitter because when the work came in, it came in a deluge. Husband nagged me to write original fiction so I would at least make some money. I ignored him for three years, then wrote a short story, mostly to show how ridiculous he was being. I made about $30 its first month, and I started alternating fanfic with original fiction to justify my writing habit.

*"When did you realize it was about to happen?"*

I was thinking in about 20 years I could make maybe $500/month from writing and it would be a nice supplement to retirement income. About two years in, I went permafree on my first novel and started making a reliable $1000 month. Realizing I was ahead of schedule, I cut back on my consulting hours. After book #4 something magical happened and I was making reliably $4000 / month. I cut back further on my consulting

*"Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?"*
I went straight indie because I already had a job/kids and getting an agent etc. seemed like a full time job. I just wanted to write. Now I feel like I dodged a bullet.

*"How long have you been relying solely on your writing?" *
2 years maybe? I make a median level income, my husband works, too ... so we're not solely relying on my income. Although, if it continues to grow steadily, it might be possible in the future.

*"Regrets?"*
Nope.

*"Stress?"*
Stress can never be created or destroyed, only transformed. At a full time gig you have to deal with coworkers and politics. In consulting you have to constantly find work--but you're relatively assured you'll get paid when you find it. With writing you never know if a book / series will be a complete flop.

*"Are you living your dream?"*
Never dreamed this at all. Can't imagine being happier though.


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## Amanda M. Lee (Jun 3, 2014)

I've been full time for two and a half years. I was making more in a month indie publishing than I did in a year at my day job but I stayed to make sure it wasn't a fluke. There is no getting back on the journalism ride these days. The entire industry has been destroyed. I stayed at my day job much longer than most people would have, but I waited until I had six figures put away and I'm not sorry I did. That alleviated a lot of my stress. I'm single and live on my income. Last year I bought my dream house with cash. Now I'm funding my retirement and hope to have it completely taken care of in five years. I want an eight-figure retirement. As for stress? That never goes away. If you're considering going full time, make sure you realize that you'll need more money to replace your income than you think you will. You have to figure in taxes, paying more for Social Security than you did at your day job (your employer handled half of that for you), insurance, etc. Just because you make 5K a month at your day job, that doesn't mean you'll only need 5K a month writing. As for living the dream? Nothing is ever perfect but things are pretty good.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Here's a thread with the info you want. 
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,245159.0.html

I gave notice at my consulting job a week or two after I started writing my first fiction. Finished the book and the job six weeks later. I published my first three books eight months after that. Ten days in, I'd sold 700 books at $3.99 and was flabbergasted. I made more the first month publishing than I had at the day job. That will be five years in September. In the fifth month I made almost as much as a year at the day job and realized it probably wasn't a fluke. It took about three more years to really believe it though, since I certainly did not know what I was doing with most of it. Especially the writing part. It was hard to believe my stuff was any good. What helped with that was getting some trad pub approaches for a new series, audio, and translation. I figured if they wanted to translate it, it couldn't stink that bad. But that is why I have never submitted my stuff for any awards. My first book got an Audie nom that Audible submitted it for, but I've never wanted to submit stuff myself as I figure I write too offbeat. But to my surprise there is an audience. I've really realized that the romance genre is big and diverse. You do not have to write to "market." Or maybe I mean to trend. You do have to write to an audience that wants what you do.

I have improved as a writer but many readers still like those first three books best.

I started indie then did some trad pub. Yes I have stress as I worry the new book won't be as good or won't come. I don't have any extra book ideas so I have to rely on the new book showing up. I also don't write fast. This next book will have taken five months; before that it was two to three months. So I can worry about that. We have changed our housing situation recently though so we have a better life with less stress. (Moved back to my home town.) We now have zero debt of any kind, which helps, and we have a lot of investments.

I had health insurance originally through my husband. Now he's retired and I pay for it. My kids were done with college when I started writing.

Like C. Gockel, I never dreamed this. I never thought of writing fiction or realized I could do it until I did. But I really like doing it and get great satisfaction from it, and materially I have a life I never dreamed possible. Plus my husband can do what he likes and we were able to move my terminally ill sister into four rooms and have more room for family, and those things are pretty amazing. That is a less material benefit caused by the material part. We have a lot of household (and outdoor) help because I don't want to do it and my husband isn't good at it, and I like that part a lot. I spend a few months a year in NZ and Australia. So yes, in that sense I am living the dream for sure. That was really my only dream, the NZ part. I started writing while living there and wanted to go back. The rest of the dream is buying a Bach (holiday house) near Nelson and spending half the year there. We will see.

Yes I work all the time, but in really nice places.

Oh and I do not market much. I have an assistant for the marketing I do. Select works for me (not for everybody and I don't know why) to keep my income pretty steady without advertising.

From another thread: I do believe that content is king. I sold because of a hooky high concept idea that I titled and presented well, that met the needs of my audience. Books that keep selling over years--that is content. Doesn't mean they don't have flaws. But they really WORK for their audience.


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## Elizabeth Barone (May 6, 2013)

You ladies' stories are what I aspire to. I write full-time but only left the workforce because of my autoimmune disease. Still making a part-time income that fluctuates, though I'm hoping my new series will change that.


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## Crystal_ (Aug 13, 2014)

I was chronically under-employed and I'd just lost a bunch of my clients. (I was mostly a tutor at the time). It was December. No one wants tutors Dec through mid January, because school is out. So I knew I had to make a choice come January. Did I want to pursue building my tutoring business aggressively or did I want to drop that and give myself a set amount of time to try to make writing work?

I'd published my first book and it had flopped. I was about done with my second and third--for some reason I made that first flop into a series. I was also tired of feeling like I would never have a real income. I gave myself one year to hit 3k/month. If I wasn't there by next Dec, I would get on an actual career path rather than working gig after gig.

That was Dec 2014. I published book two and three early 2015. They also flopped, as I should have expected. Lesson learned--be more vicious about dropping stuff that isn't working. I still hate the idea of being a sell out and writing something that wasn't in my heart, so I thought hard--what would be marketable and something I enjoy? I decided to write a rock star romance. It had a lot of issues--I was still struggling with what it actually mean to write a romance/romance hero. Did guys really have to be alphaholes or bad boy jerks? I wasn't sure. I gave my hero a motocycle and manwh*re tendencies, just in case (my actual thinking: people like bad boys. I better give him a motorcycle). I wanted to launch big (what was big to me at the time), so I booked a blog tour. Only it was booked out five months in advance. I decided to sit on the book and write something else in the meantime.

It was still KU 1.0. I didn't like serials, but I was tired of being broke, so I decided to write the more commercial thing I could imagine-- a billionaire serial about a fake engagement. And I actually enjoyed it, much to my surprise (though not as much as my rock star book). KU 2.0 was announced weeks before I was ready to publish, but I published it as a serial anyway. Between promotion and a multi-author box set, I hit four-figures the month episode four came out. Then I published the bundle. It did well! Then it was finally time for my rock star book (I rewrote it in the meantime, mostly to make the opening more exciting). That did well too! It made 7k in its first month with a tiny ad budget (just the blog tour, my mailing list, and one BargainBooksy at 2.99).

I alternated rock stars and billionaires for one more billionaire book, but that one flopped (I missed up the launch, missed my deadline, released too late in Dec, did nothing to promote), so I decided to dedicate myself to the series that I loved more. My sales got pretty low by February, so I decided to try FB ads. Ah, 2016 Facebook ads. *wistful sigh* Once I got book three out, those started seeing a really nice ROI.

I've been pretty heavy ad, all in on rock star romance since (I'm planning a more broad series for the near future). I've made five-figures a month since the release of Book Three of my first rocker series. It's gotten harder maintaining the backlist, both because FB ads have gotten less effective and because Amazon has tweaked ABs and searches to make backlist titles less visible.

I'm stressed all the time, even the months where I hit mid-high five-figures, but I love doing this job. I am a lot more stressed now that my husband has quit his job, but the trade off of him helping out with the business and doing most of the house maintenance is nice.

Maintaining good work/life boundaries is always a challenge. It's hard turning it off. And this is the hardest I've worked at any job, ever. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Well, maybe for a tradpub contract with a six-figure advance. Or hiring a full time marketing person. I am beyond sick of marketing, but it's necessary in a crowded genre with tons of churn like romance.


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## Megan Crewe (Oct 8, 2015)

My story is probably pretty different from most you'll hear here.  I quit my day job thanks to traditional publishing. 

When I started out in publishing, self-publishing wasn't really a thing. Ebooks were hardly even a thing. (My debut novel, which came out in 2009, didn't get an ebook version until a year later.) So traditional publishing was the obvious way to go.

My second book deal (for a trilogy) was large enough that I felt comfortable scaling way back on my day job, to the point that the writing was my primary income--I was just nervous about dropping the day job completely. Then I sold another trilogy, and got pregnant with my first kid. I left the day job completely at 5 months so that I could focus on getting as much writing done as possible before the kiddo came along, with the hopes that I could continue to make a living off the writing from there on.

That said, I was primary caregiver for the kiddo for the first year and a half of his life, which is a job in itself  , so I've only been officially completely without day job for about two years now. But I've had little outside work for the past six and a half years.

Being a full-time writer hasn't worked out in the way I was hoping. I've had a couple new projects on submission over the last couple years but haven't been able to sell any more trad-pub books so far. The YA books I've self-pubbed were more in the name of getting those books out there and keeping my career going than making money (I invested about as much in covers and editing as I'm making back). Not only are they YA, they're also standalones, so that's tricky. But depending on how things go I may be able to move more into series and then that part of my career will hopefully be more profitable again.  I also have an adult pen name I've been experimenting with; not making much money there yet, but it's heading in a good direction.

At the moment I make most of my writing income ghostwriting fiction. Which I still vastly prefer to doing any job other than writing, so that's fine with me! I consider myself incredibly lucky to be writing full-time and working as my own boss.

No regrets. I was a lot more stressed before I started picking up ghostwriting gigs, but now that I have that steady source of income, it's easier to relax about my for-me books. My hope is to be able to transition to making a living off my real name and pen name books at some point, but this way I can build those careers without huge financial pressure.


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## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)

*"How did it happen?"
*
I started of by writing a fairytale book , which I shopped around for five years with nary a bite. I opened up a spammy looking email one day that said if I had a manuscript, I could upload it and make it into a thing called an "e-book" and be a published author within 48-hours. In defeat, I did it. The book didn't sell that much. I realized maybe I should write another book, so I signed up for NaNoWriMo and started my urban fantasy series, which started to sell really well. I discovered KBoards and there was information here on marketing and covers. I began following the advice of people who were selling more than me. I ran a promotion on one of the big promo sites of the day. Somehow, that first book got on the radar of 47North and they asked if they could publish it, to which I said, "OHMYGAWD YES!!!"

*"When did you realize it was about to happen?"
*
I had a job as an office manager that paid very well, but was sucking out my soul, so I was hard core looking for an excuse to leave. A couple months went by where I was making more from my books than I was making at my office job, so I started talking to a buddy about quitting my job. She recommend a book called Quitter, which talks about making sure you're prepared to quit your job in such a way that you don't screw it up. Over the years, I had tried quitting my job, but always found myself crawling back. This was back in the day before the ACA. I had pre-existing conditions and couldn't get health insurance. And each time, it was health issues that sent me back to the cubicle farm (slammed my hand in a car door and broke three of my fingers the first time, was hit by a drunk driver the second time.) But there was this new thing on the horizon called the ACA which said I could get health insurance. So, with about six months of planning (making sure the money was steady, making sure I had some savings, I had paid down my debt, and had healthcare in place) I was able to quit. The actual day I quit, I had my first KDD and my book rose to #8 on the Top 100. As I was packing up my desk, I was sitting there hitting refresh on my browser. There was a huge donor party at work that night with a dance party and lasers, and the band played me out as I rolled my cart with all my stuff to my car.

*"Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?"
*
I started indie, then was approached by a traditional publisher.

*"How long have you been relying solely on your writing?" 
*
Since January 2013.

*"Regrets?"
*
I said, "Yes" to opportunities that my heart wasn't into, but thought would advance my career. None of them did and they sucked up a lot of time. If I could go back, I would have just cranked out as many books in my bestselling series as quickly as possible and said "No" to projects that were about making someone else's dream come true.

*"Stress?"
*
Every day. Writing is a really, really hard job. If it was easy, everyone would be working from home and doing it full-time. Gotta just surrender to the fact that writing sucks, but having written is awesome. Save up your money for the lean times, because they will happen. And write, write, write.

*"Are you living your dream?"
*
Yes and no. One of my dreams was not to work in an office. That dream has come true and I thank my lucky stars every day I get to wake up and go to work in my pajamas. But my bigger dream was to become an actress. I've been doing it since middle school, majored in it, lived in NYC and LA to pursue it... I've had wonderful, amazing opportunities but the money hasn't followed that path. That said, what writing novels _has_ allowed me to do is begin writing plays. With my books, I have connected with people who have gone on to produce my plays or have been willing to mount my plays due to my writerly street cred. Sans day job, I was able to spend five months in NYC last year learning how to produce on Broadway and right now, I'm saving up my ducats to begin producing on my own. So, it's not living my original dream, but it is a different dream, and this one is nice.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

I worked as an IT contractor and got to the point where I hated going to work. I loved the work itself but hated dealing with the crushed daily commute and all the office politics etc.  I had substantial savings and had just released my first romance novel (I'd released other stuff before but they were things I'd written in the past for myself, not to market) and it was doing well. 

Even though I wasn't making a full time living, I decided to take six months off to write and live on my savings. I figured the stress of hunting for another contract would cut into my writing time significantly so I'd just not look for that time. By the time the six months was up, I was making enough from writing that I didn't need to use my savings so I just never looked for another role.

I have no idea how long. My old laptop died recently and one of the things I lost was my spreadsheet with all my writing data on it  I will pull out the HD and recover it eventually but I have no concept of time without it! Around 3-4 years.

Regrets - sometimes I really miss doing the IT work. I really loved the analytical side of things. I guess if I really wanted to, I could get some more work in that area but it'd be hard after having so much time off.

Stress - in the last 6 months, my income has declined. Partly, I think due to Amazon changes and partly because I've not released a lot. I've had personal issues to deal with that have cut into my work time.

Living my dream - yes and no. I have a life style a lot of people envy. I'm a digital nomad so live pretty much where ever I like and constantly travel. Often when people hear that, they think I like on constant holidays. So not true. Work comes first and often I'll spend three months in a location but only see and do as much as someone on a week's vacation.  And sometimes, writing is hard. It's really hard. There is always something new, marketing-wise to be across. But then every job has it's less desirable parts.


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## A J Sika (Apr 22, 2016)

*How did it happen?*
I was a PR Consultant. Used to write books because it was just my thing and post for free on Wattpad. I gained a decent enough following despite writing in a really niche sub-genre (I guess it's one of those sub-genres that trad pub had ignored). A few of my readers told me that they'd buy my book if it was on sale and the rest is history.

I put Book 1 up (in 2014) with a homemade cover, copy-editing done by myself and proofing by a fellow Wattpad writer. It actually sold and I started to think... hmm, interesting.

*When did it happen?*
It was when I launched Book 4 that I realized that I could actually live on my writing (earned about 5k from that book alone) but like Amanda I waited until I had saved up enough to live on for a year in case things didn't work out. I quit my job after Book 7.

*"Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?"*
Nope. Trad-pubbing wasn't even on my radar because I assumed that I don't write the type of books they tend to like. Just went straight indie. I was approached some time ago but the deal wasn't worth it. However, if someone ever comes along with a good enough deal (or if I want to tap into their platform), submitting is still on the table.

*"How long have you been relying solely on your writing?" *
Since August 2015

*"Regrets?"*
That I didn't do things more professionally the first time round. I'm now stuck rewriting/editing my first series and redoing covers so that those books stop embarrassing me. Though they've got great reviews part of me knows that they're sub-par compared to the books I'm producing now.

*"Stress?"
*
Pressure from everyone. My readers want me to produce books quicker. Amazon keeps sending me notifications about the pre-order deadline for a book I'm still 5 chapters away from completing. Writing is now a business so I can't write when the muse strikes me like I used to. Everyone in my offline life thinks my life is easy, glamorous and I do nothing so they just pop by house randomly or expect me to meet them any time of the day. Then there are the get-rich-quickers who think that all they have to do is put up something on Amazon and they'll start making money so they expect my advice but don't really want to take it. Pressure, man. Pressure. But I suppose every job has its pressures so I'm not going to complain.... much 

*"Are you living your dream?"*
It wasn't my dream mostly because where I come from writing isn't really a career so it never even crossed my mind that I'd be living off of it. But as far as accidental careers goes, it's a good fit for me. I'm an introvert so a job where I don't have to interact too much with people is awesome for me. However, I still have that Emergency Fund though because part of me still thinks this gig is too good to be true. I'm always waiting for the bottom to fall. I know, I know... ever the optimist


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## JaclynDolamore (Nov 5, 2015)

*How did it happen? *

I've been a full-time writer most of the time since the beginning of 2009. Mind you, I was only 26 at the time and I was working in retail. So it wasn't a hard job to quit.

*Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?*

I started in traditional publishing. I didn't realize indie was a thing. I thought you pretty much had to write erotica or be Amanda Hocking. Over the years, I had several writer friends become successful in indie publishing and I had hit a point with traditional publishing where I hated what I was doing; the books I loved were always shot down and the books I didn't love, that sold to editors, didn't sell to readers. I wish I'd looked into indie sooner, it suits me way way better. I've been full-time indie for almost a year now.

*How long have you been relying solely on your writing? *

Since 2009, but in the beginning of 2012 I spent almost all my writing income for the past year on buying a house. This was a huge gamble and it sort of paid off, because I was WAY happier after I moved, but sort of didn't, because the check I was waiting on to actually live on after I bought the house? That book and the check got delayed by a year. This sent my finances in a tailspin and for 2.5 years I had to supplement my writing income by becoming an antique seller on Ebay. I'm good at running a business, though, one way or another!

*Regrets? Stress? *

No regrets! Constant stress. I've generally not been very financially secure. But, you know, a LOT of people aren't very financially secure and their jobs suck more than mine. So I'm okay with it overall. I'm finally maybe getting to a good place...I own a home, I have no other debt, and I have half a year of income saved up. Hoping to make it a full year by the end of the year! Mostly this is because I am very, very good at budgeting and not buying stuff I don't need.

*Are you living your dream?*

Yes!


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

I went full-time about eight months after I started writing. That was when I had my first 5 figure month, thanks to a BookBub ad. I had a good tail for several months after that first ad, and my second BB ad put me into the six figures range in my first full year, which was 2014. 2015 was much the same, and in 2016, things started to slide, but I was still making an above-average income.

In 2017, I was afraid that I was going to have to find a full-time job. I pretty much thought that I was washed-up. I figured that I was probably going to get out of the game because I was spinning my wheels. A new genre + a new pen name has brought me back to where I was before. I'm not on track to make six figures this year just yet, but it's getting there. 

I have no regrets. None whatsoever. In my mind, I was always a writer. Even when I was a lawyer, and the most writing I did was writing motions and appellate briefs, I was still, at heart, a writer. I make my own hours and I don't have a boss or clients getting upset with me. And I love the work. I truly do. 

As for stress, I have to say that I'm lucky that I'm not a very high-strung person by nature. Even when I was in a stressful position, which was when I was a law solo practitioner, feeling stressed and anxious wasn't that much of a problem for me. But this job is inherently less stressful than practicing law, because when I practiced law, I had to answer to judges, clients and other attorneys. Now, I only have to answer to me and my readers.

I do have to admit that, earlier in the year, it was stressful in that I wasn't sure if I could continue, and being broke brings it own stressors into the mix. So, I would say that, if there is anything that brings stress in this job, it's when sales crater and you spin your wheels and you start to feel as if there's nothing you can do to bring them back. When you go from making five figures a month to barely scraping $2,000, that's stress. I hope not to get into that predicament again, but you never know, so I'm going to try to hold onto my money more this time around. That will take the stress off of lean months in the future, if I have them again. 

Oh, and I'm DEFINITELY living my dream!!!!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

My story is a little different than most. I was making $12 in a shitty collections job that I loathed, desperately searching for a way out. I happened into app development right before it blew up, and lucked my way into a six figure job at a San Francisco startup. All of a sudden I had my dream, yay!

The dream was hollow. I still had to work 12 hours a day for someone else, even if I did it in a cool office with catered lunches. I had to build what I was told, even if what I was building was a terrible idea. The money was great, but the stress was immense. By the end of the second year I knew I needed a way out, but had no idea how to do that. I couldn't go back to collections.

As stress relief (haha) I started writing in the mornings on the bus ride into work, and before I knew it I'd finished a novel. Since I was making great money I pulled out all the stops for a cover, and for advertising. It never occurred to me that I might make any money back. I assumed I was effectively vanity publishing directly to Amazon. I just wanted to smoke a pipe at parties, telling friends I was a writer.

The book started to sell. Sales grew the second month. The audiobook came out during month three, and all of a sudden I was having $5,000 months. My startup-trained brain kicked into overdrive. If I could do that with one book, what could I do with three? Then I met Amanda Lee, and I revised the question. Would could I do with thirty?

I started cranking out books as quickly as I could, despite working a demanding software job. Each night I collapsed into bed, bone tired. Every morning I diligently ground out my routine. Weeks became months became a year. I had seven books out, and realized I could do this full time. I hadn't yet made enough to replace my software salary, but I also didn't need the entire software salary. 

I figured if I quit, I could cut expenses by moving out of the bay area since I was only there for work. But I was also terrified. What if it was more expensive than I thought? What if my books stopped selling? So I stayed an extra year, effectively working two jobs. I saved a year's worth of expenses, then saved another $10k as startup capital.

Then I quit. It was terrifying, but I had to do it for my sanity. Trying to be a software engineer and an author was killing me. The transition was terrifying, but two months after I quit I had my first big five figure month. Those months just kept coming, but every time I took my foot off the gas the revenue dropped sharply.

Because I didn't keep my production up, I still haven't hit the six figure months I'd like to. I've rectified that, though, so the next year should be very interesting. I've got a bunch of books coming out.

I will echo what Amanda said about stress. It doesn't get easier when you start doing this full time. It gets a whole lot harder. You need to learn a lot of strange, scary new disciplines. Taxes, cash flow, marketing, time management...it's a lot to deal with. But you know what? I'll never go back.

I can do what I want, when I want. If I want to fly to Australia to see Ayer's Rock because it's going to be in a book? I just hop on a plane. No PTO. No corporate stress. No building things the way other people think I should. I do what I want, how I want. I succeed, or I fail, on my own merits.


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## Gus Flory (Oct 13, 2009)

I live in a van down by the river.


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## GinnySterling (Jun 1, 2017)

I can't tell you how much I needed to read your post – there is no way I can't even imagine quitting my job at this time. But I can honestly say I would love to. Unfortunately I'm in a job that requires I work about 50 to 60 hours a week, so writing is tough to get in but it's definitely how I escape ...

I love writing a story that makes my mind get away from the drudge of the automotive field – something where I can get away from some stress and tackle a different challenge.

Y'all give me hope that someday possibly I can quit my day job and spend more time writing!


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## AndrewSeiple (Jan 3, 2016)

I'll second what Ginny said.

Reading these stories gives me hope. It's going the direction I want it to, but it's no sure thing, and it'll take time if it happens. But someday, someday I hope I can join your ranks, folks.

Just have to keep typing, keep publishing, and see where it takes me...


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## TStraker (Apr 20, 2017)

I love these stories. they're so inspiring!

T


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## RightHoJeeves (Jun 30, 2016)

C. Gockel said:


> *"Stress?"*
> *Stress can never be created or destroyed, only transformed. *At a full time gig you have to deal with coworkers and politics. In consulting you have to constantly find work--but you're relatively assured you'll get paid when you find it. With writing you never know if a book / series will be a complete flop.


Oh, that's good.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

RightHoJeeves said:


> Oh, that's good.


I know. I need to share that with my husband. He can never understand why I get so scared. It's not really the money. It's the fear of disappointing everybody and falling on my face. I'm not sure which of those two would be worse. And it is very hard to remember in the midst of a story that you are comparing it to the FINISHED version of your last story.

I am on Book 23, having written about 2.25 million words of those stories now. And still . . . the same.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Some kids want to be ballerinas, singers, actresses. I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. So I scribbled stories in notebooks for a dozen years. Nothing came of it. Then at twenty-two, newly married, with a toddler and a newborn, I finally looked around and realized I was getting super old and still hadn't done that getting-published thing I'd always wanted. At the time, it didn't occur to me that writing could earn money. It was purely about fulfilling my dream. I sat down and spent the next few years writing more seriously. I sold some short stories to small webzines for token payments. I was thrilled to make $10 per story. I kept writing, collecting a huge folder of form rejections from agents and publishers. It's possible I had more eagerness than talent. But I sold a couple novels to digital publishers. None of my trad projects ever brought me more than $300. I was excited anyway. I was finally becoming a real writer!

But I was hungry to reach a larger audience. With very low expectations, I self-published three novellas in 2011. I was surprised when people actually bought them. Who knew that many people were reading self-published ebooks? In 2012, I polished up some older novels and started self-publishing them under a new pen name. It was as sudden as flipping a switch. In my first year indie publishing under the new name, I made $60k. I was stunned. Agents had rejected these same books, so I had assumed readers would reject them too. I was just self-publishing on the slender hope I was wrong. But for some reason, readers were buying my books and reviewing them positively. I thought it was a fluke. But the next year, my earnings doubled into six figures. I thought that was an accident too, that sales would dry up soon. Fast-forward a few years and I'm still surprised to be earning steady income at a thing I did for so many years for free. Strangely, no one has stepped in to stop this outrage.

In short, yes, I'm absolutely living my dream - plus some.

*How long have you been relying solely on your writing? *

Although we could rely solely on my book earnings, my husband's work has always supported us. I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I never had that scary job-quitting moment.

*Regrets?*

I wish I'd done some stuff sooner. I've also done a few things for fun that weren't particularly profitable. But since they were learning experiences and made me happy, I can't really call them regrets.

*Stress?*

Only the pressure to top myself, and nobody but me is really pushing me to do that. Probably my biggest struggle is remembering to enjoy the moment. I've made full-time earnings as an indie for around five years now but I'm still waiting for all this good luck to be snatched away.


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## pwtucker (Feb 12, 2011)

I've been full time as of January 1 of this year. Things really took off last May with the launch of my new epic fantasy series, but I stayed at my old job primarily for their health insurance coverage. However, by the time they let me go I was making almost seven times a month from my books as what they were paying me, so I wasn't too worried. I'd saved six months worth of emergency cash, paid off all my debt, bought a new house and the books were (and still are) selling strong.

I've always been indie, despite trying back in 2008 to get agents, and am glad of it now. I've no regrets, though I wasted a lot of time before discovering KBoards. My marketing strategy before that was to simply launch books into the void, cross my fingers, and start working on the next one. Surprisingly, that didn't work out well. Once I discovered KBoards however I created my email list, started hiring professional cover artists, work shopping my blurbs, etc. I'd not be where I am today without this place. 

Is it stressful? Yes, for the reasons outlined by the others above. My main series is about to end, and there's no guarantee that my readers will like the next one I write. It's also easy to get caught up in the desire to always do better and make more than the month before. However I love working from home, and with the birth of our second child I truly love being able to help my wife and give her all the support she needs - as well as spending so much time with my kids. I can't imagine being gone eight to nine hours every day, and thus all the stress that comes from writing pales in comparison to the joys it's bringing me.

It's all a bit surreal. My old boss called me last month to see if I'd like to apply for a marketing director position that would pay twice what I was earning under him before. I was very thankful (you never want to burn bridges), but apologized and declined. Taking a nearly six figure job at this point would be a serious pay cut. Since my wife and I haven't really changed our spending habits or lifestyle from before, this exchange was a huge reminder as to how much things have changed for us, and how fortunate we are. 

It's great to read everyone else's success stories, especially from familiar folks like Carol (was Dara), Rosalind, Chris Fox, C. Gockel, Amanda and Annie. Those folks have been a huge inspiration to me over the past few years, and I love being able to put my story up alongside theirs.


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

I've been full time since August, 2011. I have done well, although there have been numerous times where I haven't been able to see any income three or four months down the road, so I've had a few close scrapes. I've saved like crazy those times where the money has been good.

My main advice is to work very hard. You never want to be looking for a job down the road because you were too lazy to put in an effort at what you loved doing.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

*How did it happen?*

It happened. Then it unhappened. And soon, it will happen again.

In 2007, I walked out of my last corporate job. They hadn't paid us for over two months, kept giving excuses, and the CEO---the epitome of the 'pointy-haired boss' (even looked like him!)---kept making remarks such as, "My employees need to take a course in money management; they're always complaining that they need money!" That comment was pretty much the death knell for my career with that company. I walked out.

I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day! I treated myself to an expensive lunch, hoisted a strong drink in celebration, and then enjoyed walking through the city of Boston to the train station. The downside was, my departure coincided with the first big collapse of the US economy. I knew the possibility of my getting another job in the high technology field was pretty much nil.

A friend did the same thing and we teamed up to run a T-shirt business. Despite the economy, we were doing quick business. We even started expanding. Unfortunately, the second big collapse in the economy in 2008 pulled the rug out from underneath us. We managed to keep the lights on for a couple more years, but it was obvious we were done. All our customers were civic groups and organizations, and with that economic collapse all the donations to those groups dried up---and so went our little business.

Things were going alright, but life has a way of coming at you like a speeding train. As a result, to help pay the bills I took up a part time job which consumes about 60% of my productive time.

*When did you realize it was about to happen?*

Sitting in the T-shirt shop, the phone hadn't rung with an order for a second month. In fact, we didn't see any customers through the entire summer. It was October and we didn't have enough money to put oil in the tank to run the heat. The entire year was a bust. It was time to close shop.

My skills in the technical fields had eroded to the point of obsolescence. So finding professional employment was pretty much out of the question. I really had no prospects.

It was then, after years of dreaming about writing a book, that it struck me: if not now, when? I had all the time in the world. I had a sizable nest egg put away in savings, investments, and retirement accounts. I decided I would invest in myself for once.

I sat down and I started writing. Two years later, out popped my first book.

*Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?*

I started indie and will probably remain that way, unless a trad. publisher makes an enticing enough offer. (And by enticing, I mean 6+ figures. I need to make a living, not a hobby.)

My decision came in a roundabout way. Scott Adams had been publishing his comic strip, Dilbert, on the internet for a few years before he approached a publisher with the idea of publishing it nationwide in newspapers. He showed them he was getting roughly 20,000 downloads a day and that sold it. Amanda Hocking had self-published her book on Amazon and it took off. Eventually, she got a $2M offer from St. Martin's Press. In a separate incident, a friend got rejected by his publisher. Now, this publisher had published many of his books. Multi-Hugo, Multi-Nebula Awards, and they rejected his story. I figured if they rejected him, then I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of being considered.

So, I decided to self-publish, build up an audience, and then approach the publishers. I figured if I came with a good following, then I could negotiate harder for a better deal.

A funny thing happened during the self-publishing process: my book turned out to be popular. I sold enough books that I was able to float for almost another two years beyond when my savings began to peter out. By that point, it began to occur to me that maybe I didn't need a publisher. Even if a publisher sold more books, I would still make roughly 10% of what I had been making by self-publishing.

At this point, it'll take a pretty hard sell---and a decently large check---for a publisher to convince me to move from self-publishing to traditional publishing.

*How long have you been relying solely on your writing?*

Since 2013 when I published my first book. My clock started there.

*Regrets?*

None. I am really sick and tired of working for other people. Sure, I have worked with and for some excellent people. But I have also been scammed, cheated, and shorted by some pretty unscrupulous others. I am sick and tired of just when things were looking pretty good, being called down to the cafeteria to be told I am being laid off.

*Stress?*

One of the things that sucks about having a very limited income (e.g. "Poor") is when something breaks, you cannot afford to fix it. Even the most stringently kept budget can be rent asunder by one unexpected event. Unfortunately, I've had a few of those unexpected events the past three years and it has left me quite financially hobbled. The worst was my computer being destroyed---I still cannot afford to replace it and the equipment that went with it. I've been working by borrowing time on someone else's computer. The latest was the brakes failed on my car. It took three months without a car before I was able to scrimp enough money together to buy the needed parts to fix it. In order to help make ends meet, I picked up a part time job. It helps pay the bills. I've started falling behind the eight ball and it's getting harder to keep up. With all this going on, it's no wonder I decided recently to open a Patreon account.

Overall, I find that I'm about three years behind my schedule right now. I'm striving to get back up to pace so I can get things going---especially before my car gives up entirely. I love riding my motorcycle, but it becomes technically challenging when it starts snowing.

While all that doom & gloom sounds pretty awful, I'm still pretty hopeful for the near future. I'm certainly not finished yet. Lord knows, I have absolutely no intention of stopping writing.

*Are you living your dream?*

Despite the above issues, yes! I am so much happier doing this than I was sitting in a cubicle stressing out. In fact, stress in my life now is nowhere near what it used to be. Not only that: _I wrote a book!_ I fulfilled my lifelong dream of taking one of my daydreams into concrete form. And what is even better is that I'm about to do it again! The second book is coming very soon. And I have five other books in the wings that are far enough along the development stage that I could bring them to edit in not too much time.

I see a future for myself in writing and I don't see that dream as unattainable anymore. I just have to keep working towards that goal.

(I just have to get that new computer so I can redouble my effort.)


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

WDR said:


> My decision came in a roundabout way. Scott Adams had been publishing his comic strip, Dilbert, on the internet for a few years before he approached a publisher with the idea of publishing it nationwide in newspapers. He showed them he was getting roughly 20,000 downloads a day and that sold it.


That's not how Dilbert started. From Wikipedia:



> He worked at Pacific Bell between 1986 and June 1995; the personalities he encountered there became the inspiration for many of his Dilbert characters. Adams first published Dilbert with United Media in 1989, while still employed at Pacific Bell. He had to draw his cartoons at 4 a.m. in order to work a full day at the company. His first paycheck for Dilbert was a monthly royalty cheque of $368.62.[7] Gradually, Dilbert became more popular, and was published by 100 newspapers in 1991 and 400 by 1994. Adams attributes his success to his idea of including his e-mail address in the panels, thus facilitating feedback from readers.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I didn't quit my day job. I gave up one job for another. I write full time, it is still a day (and night) job.

How did it happen? 
I told my husband I wanted to quit being an emergency dispatcher and write for a living. I promised him I'd make us rich within 10 years. He said okay. 

When did you realize it was about to happen?
I handed in my two weeks notice in early 2009.

Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa? 
Indie was barely a thing and still not the way most people advised going. I submitted trad at first. 

Stress?
Ahahahahahaha *cries*

Regrets? 
A few. I started indie publishing in 2010 (almost at my 7 year anniversary, heh) and made so many mistakes. I also took terrible advice from the wrong people and that nearly killed my career before it even really started. I also didn't take very good care of myself physically, which contributed to developing some chronic illness stuffs which hasn't helped the production any.

Are you living your dream?

Not yet. My dream is to be on the Forbes list of most earning authors. I ain't even close yet, though I do okay.


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## Lars Blurnstad (Sep 29, 2015)

Thanks to everyone who replied and all those who are still reviewing this thread and may yet reply. These are very inspirational, valuable, and insightful stories. It makes me all the more hungrier to succeed while preparing me for many more obstacles to come. Thank you for sharing these (sometimes deeply personal) stories.


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## GeneDoucette (Oct 14, 2014)

Here's my deal: I still have my day job, because I don't trust the money I've made so far is going to stick. I only have six novels and six novellas to make money off of, which leaves me with very little margin for error. On top of that, I'm currently the only one in the household with a full-time job, so our health benefits come from me.

That said, I hit six figures for 2017 at the end of May. The last seven months are highly unlikely to match that output, so I need to know where my baseline is before pulling the trigger on my day job. And get some more books out there.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

I've told my story a few times, here. I quit my trucking job three years and two weeks ago. I'd already chosen a quit date, the plan was to  leave the work force on June 30th, 2014. In trucking, it's not customary to give notice. When you do, you're fired and replaced the next day. I even planned an epic quit. 

I was going to hire a limo to take me to the truck yard and just park in front of the office. A limo in a greasy, grimy truck yard draws attention. I was going to just sit in the limo until the boss-man came out. Then I would buzz the window down, toss him the keys, and say, "I'm needed elsewhere." Then buzz the window up and drive away. I even contemplated hiring a black helicopter to hover over us and follow us out of the yard.

Alas, the boss-man pushed the wrong buttons, six weeks before my planned departure. What normally would have infuriated me, only made me smile. My writing income the month before was better than my best month as a trucker and my fourth book was two weeks from publishing. He was shouting and I was smiling, which made him shout all the more. Did I mention we had a mutual hatred for each other? I tossed him the keys and told him everything in the truck, all my tools, TV, DVDs, work clothes...everything, he could just give to the next sap that applied for a job. And I said it with a smile on my face. I then forked my motorcycle and rode away. Not as epic as the limo and chopper, but I smiled all the way home. It was quite liberating.

As of this moment, my writing has earned $779,373.53 since that day. And I'm still smiling.


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## Not any more (Mar 19, 2012)

I plan to retire the end of this year. Pension and SS plus my SO's salary is about $100K. Book earnings are all on top of that, and I've been saving the money from my books since I started. Trying at this point to get my wife out of her job. She's going to start an editing business and is writing her first book for authors, with several more planned. I'll also sell at least two houses and bank that as a cushion. I don't need to make Wayne or Amanda money, just enough to travel and eat well.

When I wrote my first novel back in 2011, I hoped I might sell a few copies and prayed for some 3-star reviews. I hit those goals, so I kept doing it.


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## leonhard (May 11, 2017)

kathrynoh said:


> I worked as an IT contractor and got to the point where I hated going to work. I loved the work itself but hated dealing with the crushed daily commute and all the office politics etc. I had substantial savings and had just released my first romance novel (I'd released other stuff before but they were things I'd written in the past for myself, not to market) and it was doing well.
> 
> Even though I wasn't making a full time living, I decided to take six months off to write and live on my savings. I figured the stress of hunting for another contract would cut into my writing time significantly so I'd just not look for that time. By the time the six months was up, I was making enough from writing that I didn't need to use my savings so I just never looked for another role.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear about loss of PC and declining income..

Just wanted to recommend using Google Docs / Google Drive for spreadsheets and the like. It is incredibly easy to use and you will never lose any data again.

My story is slightly similar only I just quit my job a month ago and haven't published yet... oh and I have no money to speak of


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## LFGabel (Nov 28, 2015)

Yes. Coming up on a year now.

*How did it happen?*

For the last 20 years, 17 of them I had been working for myself. 2013 rolled around and the industry I was working in (Hollywood visual effects) was on a decline for people like me who were working out of their homes and telecommuting. I took a job in a related field that offered me a chance at a steady income, but also allowed me to learn more as I went. All during this time I continued to write, screenplays at first because my eyes were still fixated on Hollywood.

*When did you realize it was about to happen?*

I knew things had to change when I realized that I loved writing but hated the Hollywood process. It's a terrible environment for writers who want to get their stories out in front of people. The job was stagnating, plus bad management was making the working environment difficult.

*Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?*

I've always been a lone wolf, so the indie industry appealed to me. I could control my own destiny and if I crashed and burned I'd only have myself to blame. I was determined to not crash and burn.

*How long have you been relying solely on your writing?*

I've been relying on writing _*for my sanity*_ for over ten years, and this was critical in the last year of the day job. I wrote on off hours and it kept me even. Financial reliance has not materialized yet. But it will.

*Regrets? Stress? Are you living your dream?*

Regrets about leaving the job? None, except for a regular paycheck. The cost of that paycheck was too much. Mentally and physically, quitting was the best thing for me. I am thankful to be of an age where I have reduced financial obligations and I have a very understanding wife who wants to see me succeed. There is stress. I place a fair amount of weight on contributing my share financially. When I can't, it eats away at me, but it's also an incentive to not lose sight of what I'm writing for. There's also stress seeing people cranking out 12 books per year. I just can't do that. I'm lucky if I hit my 1,000 words/day quota. I've accepted that, for the most part. Am I living the dream? Being my own boss again has been great. The freedom is great, so on those fronts, I am living the dream. I can say I'm a full-time writer and self-publisher. When I can earn a living wage, then I'll be living the dream. I know writing is a long path. I knew that going in and I know I'll be successful if I continue to work at it. That has been the case for everything I have tried over the years.

Thanks for asking.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

MonkishScribe said:


> That's not how Dilbert started. From Wikipedia:


The Wikipedia article is incomplete on that information.

While United Media began syndicating the cartoon in 1989 to the general public in print, he had been digitally publishing his cartoons online for a couple of years before that. He had been putting Dilbert cartoons on USENET for a few years. That's where he built up his original following and how he---a completely unheard of cartoonist---got the contract with United Media and into widespread syndication so quickly. (This came from an interview with him done around 1987 or 1988.)

I should clarify a little: he wasn't publishing his work so much as he was posting it for free. People that knew about his cartoons would spread the word to others and more people would download his toons each time he uploaded something. This was in the days before there was a world wide web, so you had to know about the USENET group from others before you could find it.


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> I've told my story a few times, here. I quit my trucking job three years and two weeks ago. I'd already chosen a quit date, the plan was to leave the work force on June 30th, 2014. In trucking, it's not customary to give notice. When you do, you're fired and replaced the next day. I even planned an epic quit.
> 
> I was going to hire a limo to take me to the truck yard and just park in front of the office. A limo in a greasy, grimy truck yard draws attention. I was going to just sit in the limo until the boss-man came out. Then I would buzz the window down, toss him the keys, and say, "I'm needed elsewhere." Then buzz the window up and drive away. I even contemplated hiring a black helicopter to hover over us and follow us out of the yard.
> 
> ...


You've told your story before, but not quite as colorfully as you did today. You just put a smile on my face - I was picturing your boss yelling and screaming and getting all red while you stood there and smiled, mentally giving him the finger.

Thanks for giving me my laugh for the day!


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## BellaJames (Sep 8, 2016)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> I've told my story a few times, here. I quit my trucking job three years and two weeks ago. I'd already chosen a quit date, the plan was to leave the work force on June 30th, 2014. In trucking, it's not customary to give notice. When you do, you're fired and replaced the next day. I even planned an epic quit.
> 
> I was going to hire a limo to take me to the truck yard and just park in front of the office. A limo in a greasy, grimy truck yard draws attention. I was going to just sit in the limo until the boss-man came out. Then I would buzz the window down, toss him the keys, and say, "I'm needed elsewhere." Then buzz the window up and drive away. I even contemplated hiring a black helicopter to hover over us and follow us out of the yard.
> 
> ...


This is a brilliant story to pass on. I have a boss that I do not get along with. I want to leave my job in a memorable way one day soon.

Thanks Wayne. I really like your 'Freedom' video on youtube and I encouraged my friend to watch it.


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## Trina Lee (May 4, 2011)

*How did it happen?*

I started writing as a kid. My first publication was a short story in the town paper when I was 9. I wrote all through the years for my own enjoyment but I was mid 20s when I decided to pursue writing as a career. I worked in fire and flood restoration and when I first left it to write I ended up taking on a lot of non-fiction freelance work to pay some bills while working on my fiction. In 2008 I got my first contract with a small press.

*When did you realize it was about to happen?*

When I got that first contract. It was a very small publisher in a big industry but I knew with enough hard work and dedication I could only grow from there.

*Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?*

I started traditional with 3 different small presses, one of which was pretty successful. After two years I knew working with a publisher was not for me. Once my contracts expired I took my books and went indie. I've never looked back. Best career move I could have made at the time.

*How long have you been relying solely on your writing?*

My professional career started in 2008. My income was a nice supplement to my husband's income. But it was 2012 when a free book one launched the rest of my series onto best seller lists that I was able to make a good steady income that has helped us buy a house and keep us afloat when my husband is between jobs (he's an electrician who has the occasional slow season).

*Regrets?*

None. Always learning and moving forward. No time for regrets.

*Stress?*

All the time. It fluctuates but yeah there's always a level of stress involved.

*Are you living your dream?*

Teenage me wanted to be a rockstar, lol! But yes it is a dream come true to be able to connect with readers and share the worlds that bring me joy. Best job ever.


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## MattGodbey (Jul 8, 2016)

WDR said:


> *How did it happen?*
> 
> It happened. Then it unhappened. And soon, it will happen again.


I just had a look through your book on Amazon and your writing is great. Good stuff. You shouldn't have a problem getting an audience hooked.


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## MattGodbey (Jul 8, 2016)

It's true... I have been known as The Thread Killer.

I don't know how, but... God, I hate the power.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

MattGodbey said:


> It's true... I have been known as The Thread Killer.
> 
> I don't know how, but... God, I hate the power.


Everything was going great. And then Matt posted.


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## Taking my troll a$$ outta here (Apr 8, 2013)

coreyjpopp said:


> I would like to hear from indie writers who were able to "quit their day job" and shift their primary household income to their writing career. Share your story, please, in however much detail which pleases you!
> 
> For example: How did it happen? When did you realize it was about to happen? Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa? How long have you been relying solely on your writing? Regrets? Stress? Are you living your dream?


*How did it happen?* I started thinking about going full time around book 2 or book 3 (series) when my writing income starting matching/exceeding what I was making working as an RN. I stuck with the day job for longer than I needed to because I considered it extra income for my family and I was looking forward to finally having some extra money to do things we had never done, like take vacations and enjoy ourselves. (Hasn't been on an actual vacation since the honeymoon 15 years before!) I'd worked my a$$ off for years to support my family, put my husband through college & police academy, & then kept at it to get our "dream house", perfect life, cul-de-sac American dream. It seemed like my writing career was a fabulous boost to our family that I was happy to provide.
*When did you realize it was about to happen?* When I got divorced, I realized I didn't have to keep working two full time jobs. I realized I could support myself and my daughter on my writing income, and I made the change.
*Did you start indie and transition to traditional; vice versa?* I started indie and stayed indie. I am thankful to have found KBoards, which gave me the knowledge to understand what I wanted long term. I've turned down offers with advances that sounded fabulous, and I never would have had the confidence to do that with the advice I've found here. At this point, I am happy where I am. 
*How long have you been relying solely on your writing?* 3.5 years. Been at it since 2012.
*Regrets? Stress?* A few regrets, but mostly based off of things that I simply did not know at the time. I would have approached my first book differently as far as marketing, cover branding, and price points. However, that's always an ongoing process and it changes every few months even at this point in my career. Stress? I've learned a lot about promotion and have been very busy with my side gig running my promo biz, and if I could change anything it would be that I wished I'd brought on a partner early on with that, because it takes up such a huge amount of my writing time. I did it solo for so long that it is very difficult for me to teach others how to take it all over, so it's causing me a bit of stress as I try to teach my 2 new assistants how I do everything. It's just the little things that go on in my head, like, "Oh, I need to check that sign-up form to make sure it has the correct PayPal IPN number so I don't have to keep manually approving things so they auto generate to my calendar after someone signs up," and it doesn't sound that complicated, but it's actually about fifteen different steps through several different accounts (PayPal, Jotform, Zapier, Google Calendar, Google Sheets). I know it all in my head, but teaching someone else that workflow is extremely stressful to me. My downfall is that I end up stubbornly doing things myself because I feel like it will just get done faster and then I can get back to writing.
I stress constantly, but I suppose I am the sort that thrives on it. I'm actually _more_ productive when I have less time, and I feel like my best work has come during times when I had the most on my plate.
*Are you living your dream?* Oh, yes. Absolutely. I wouldn't change a day of my life that led me to this place. I look back and see that I missed so much time with my daughter because I worked so much so we could someday have _things_. Now, I arrange my work schedule around spending time with my daughter, and I'm so thankful to be able to do that. I feel like everyday is a gift and I wake up each morning eager to spill my guts onto that keyboard.


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## rickyrock (Jul 9, 2021)

Do writers even get paid enough to pay their bills? Of course, JK Rowling does, but what about not so well known ones?


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## Rick Partlow (Sep 6, 2016)

rickyrock said:


> Do writers even get paid enough to pay their bills? Of course, JK Rowling does, but what about not so well known ones?



Yes, some do. Most writers make next to nothing, percentage-wise, but that's only because there are so many people who call themselves writers. Only a small percentage make a living wage, but that small percentage includes tens of thousands of people. And an even smaller percentage makes into the six figures--down into the thousands, which then narrows again as you get into the millions of dollars.
But there are writers who do make a living at it. 
I am not published by one of the trad houses, but I have been self-published since 2011 and now have books out with two different small, indie publishers and I've been making a living wage since 2017.


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## jb1111 (Apr 6, 2018)

Most indie authors probably don't make a living at it. There are a few old threads here on KB where someone posted some stats showing that. For most of us, it's a form of content creation that provides varying returns on the investment of time and money. It's all over the map. It's no reason to not give indie publishing a try. You don't have to make a living at writing to find some reward in it.


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## alexabooks (Dec 3, 2016)

MattGodbey said:


> It's true... I have been known as The Thread Killer.
> 
> I don't know how, but... God, I hate the power.


😄 No, you're not. This is all very interesting. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories!


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## David VanDyke (Jan 3, 2014)

I quit my day job at around my 13th book, when the book income roughly equalled the job money. 

I could have kept working and made double pay. But, because I am retired military, I didn't need the job to keep medical benefits, which might be an important consideration for going full time. It was more important for me to live modestly and be my own boss than to have lots of extra money by working two jobs for 75 hours a week.

The 20Booksto50K community's stated, eponymous goal is to write 20+ books and hopefully be clearing 50K dollars or so a year. Obviously YMMV but IMO your best odds to making a career out of it is to write as many books as possible in your chosen genre fiction niche, and series seem to provide more marketing opportunities and generate more sales than stand-alones.

Also, you may not have to make as much as you are in your day job--or you may be able to take a different day job in a different area--if you are able to relocate to a lower-cost area. Or perhaps a part-time day job that gives you more time to transition toward a writing career.

The decision to go full time is very individual, but a rule of thumb I (we, my spouse and I) used was, if we could live on half the current book earnings, we would go full time. 

In other words, if you can take a big hit to your book earnings and still be fine, then going full time will be a lot less of a risk.


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