Career Writing? LOL

I'd like to start off by saying that I already have a career. I'm happy with that career. I don't expect to ever make significant amounts of money from my writing. This isn't pessimism based on a lack of confidence in my own work. Rather it's based on observations and teachings. If there's one thing that my MA course has hammered into me over the last two years it's that there is very little chance that the time I spend writing will (on a £/hour basis) rise above (or even come close to) minimum wage.

But like I said at the start, I'm comfortable with that. I'm not so sure that can be said for many other people on the course.

The following article pretty much confirms my feelings and emphasises the importance of taking away transferable skills...

Is Creative Writing a Pyramid Scheme

Here's a Guardian article by Ian Jack making the point with a little more fervour...

The Age of the Gifted Amateur Has Returned

Someone else agreeing with him...

Crumbling Traditions

An article responding to Ian Jack and attempting to shift the blame away from creative writing courses and back onto publishers...

Creative Writing Courses are Protecting Our Literary Future

Regardless of how this reponse shifts the blame, the fact remains that a successful and financially dependable career in writing is far from a choice. Other issues with the refutation are described in the following article.

Passion or Product

Depressing? For a lot of people probably. For me not so much. I love the idea of doing things myself, publishing online, offering e-books and printing on demand and just getting my stuff read.

But then you have to remember what a publisher really is: A marketing machine. Don't think of a publisher as someone who turns your words into a book. Think of them as an entity with the power to force people to read your book. Three for two in Waterstones, window displays, train station billboards etc. etc. If no one (other than friends and family) reads your work then is there a point to the writing in the first place?

The internet is a game changer but the issues of publicity alone are a problem and that's before you take into account people's dislike of reading more than 3k words on screen, the allure of the book and the horrifying lack of quality control in self-published work. If you think the average blockbuster novel is poorly written, imagine what the world will be like when everyone has equal ability to have their work read...

Anyway... Lots to think about... Some believe the solution is to diversify their work as it relates to literature. But that brings us back to the first article.

I maintain that writing is a fun hobby and not a career choice.