99% of today’s writers don’t make a living from their writing. That’s a tough realization to come to, but we need to accept it as a given and move on.
Instead, you need to hold down a “day job” – or, as i like to put it, bring in a paycheck to support your writing habit. This requires some planning, because you can’t just write on your days off and ignore everything else going on in your life (like household chores, exercise, friends and family, or social events). Instead, you’ll have to schedule writing times when you can. That usually means either getting up a little early or staying up a little later, especially if you have children to raise. Sacrifices must be made if you plan on being a professional writer!
The key is to consider your writing career as another job, not as a hobby. Add that 30 to 60 minutes of writing time to your calendar and treat it as if you were going to work at your day job, which means being in your writing space on time and concentrating on producing for the whole time. You can’t be playing on the internet (unless you are legitimately researching) or surfing Facebook or Instagram. Pretend your muse is your employer and don’t get caught slacking off.
I try to write something every day, even if it’s a blog post instead of something I can sell. If I get a more challenging job, that might change – or I might just get up half an hour early and put the words down then. I believe in that old adage: the writing can’t flow if the faucet isn’t turned on. If you schedule a regular writing time, your brain will get into the habit of working then, and it’ll be easier to write as you go along. Writing and holding down a full-time job can be done. It just takes longer than it would if you were free to write 10 hours a day!
