Unfurl Your Writing Banner

By
Scott D. Parker

Never shrink away from proudly letting the world know you are a writer. Sometimes it might open a door for you.

I started a new job this week and, yet again, it isn’t Full-Time Fiction Writer. Someday. In the meantime, however, I am a…well, it’s a funny thing. You see, the job description used the title “Technical Writer IV” (I love the way that looks; like the fourth movie in a kick-ass movie franchise) but the internal job description uses “IT Content Advisor.” That latter title reads like a high-powered government job or something out of Silicon Valley. Actually, it’s neither. I now work at the main campus of ExxonMobil in Spring, Texas. The project is part of the unified IT initiative where I’m part of a team that consolidates scores of content sources and brings it all under one umbrella. Daunting and challenging, but very interesting. The commute is pretty long—45 minutes in the mornings and 65 in the afternoons; I’ve already adjusted to mental mindset of there’s no quick route—but I started listening to Dan Brown’s ORIGIN so I’m getting by.

What does this have to do with flying that writing banner proudly? It comes down to my resume. When I updated my day-job resume, I debated whether or not to include my writing credentials. By that, I mean my mystery and western novels and stories. I opted for inclusion. In my interview, after all the day-job-type questions were asked, my interviewers asked me about my fiction. It enabled the three of us to have a few moments of informality and ended the interview on a jovial note. I found out this week that the fiction was one of the things that differentiated me above other candidates. My history degrees were also a factor. The clients were looking for something a little different and my liberal arts degree* and creative fiction writing set me apart. Another writer started the same day and she has a behavioral science degree, so we both are not your typical technical writer types.

When I decided to include my fiction, I did so with little regret. My fiction is a part of who I am, and I’m damned proud of the accomplishments. And it helped me get my foot in the door. The pride is just a little bit more now.

So, fellow writers like me who have a day job, I recommend you always put your fiction on your resumes if you don’t already do so. In fact, that’s my question for the week. Do y’all include y’all’s fiction on your day-job resumes?


*The Art of Manliness podcast—one of my favorites; the main website is awesome, too—had an excellent episode entitled “The Surprising Power of a ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Education.” Host Brett McKay interviews author George Anders, author of You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a “Useless” Liberal Arts Education. In the episode, they discuss how creative people often possess skills that can be used in various fields and businesses. I had to smile because it came true for me.

Do Give Up The Day Job (but only when you're absolutely, completely, totally ready)

By Russel D McLean

So... *deep breath*

Last week I made something of a decision. A rather big decision. A rather terrifying decision. What I did was hand in my notice at the day job.

Why?

Not because of a million pound deal. But because I realised I was on the verge of making a choice. Lately, you might have noticed I've been doing a lot more work with newspaper interviews and chairing authors on a more professional basis. I've been doing work behind the scenes, too, working on readers reports for small presses as well as various other gigs. I've also been writing my own novels.

And working the day job.

Which takes its toll, and sooner or later a decision had to be made. So I took the foolish one. Its terrifying but exciting. And it was definitely not taken lightly. I see the ugly side of freelancing, too. Living with the Literary Critic has opened my eyes to the reality of a writer's life. But still, I have a plan and I need to give it a shot.

Fact is, most writers don't make enough from writing to live on. I've known this for  long time, but I've also worked out that if you have a sellable skill set maybe, just maybe, you can start to make regular income from activities related to writing. Which is why you'll be seeing a lot more of me in the near future in newspapers and other places Which is why I'm pimping my chairing skill out to libraries and festivals. Which is why I'm doing other work for other people, all of which are related to the written word,

In other words I'm not relying on the genius of my muse or on one particular thing happening to sustain me. I'm relying on the fact that I have a skill and a facility with words and that I am willing to do a helluva lot of things with that facility.

So it begins:the adventure. I could fall flat on my face, but I'm doing everything in my power to stop that happened.

And I'm looking forward to the future.