The Day Job

Even if a writer makes it big, they have to start from somewhere. Many had boring everyday jobs while working on their first works. For instance:

John Steinbeck? First novel, Cup of Gold, written while he worked as tour guide and caretaker at a fish hatchery. 

Douglas Adams? Hotel security guard while brainstorming for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Vonnegut? Car dealer even after publishing Player Piano. 

                These authors eventually went on the make their living strictly through their writing. Until the likes of Alexander Pope and his contemporaries in the 18th, it was virtually unthinkable to make a living solely as an author. Sir Philip Sidney even scorned the practice of writing fiction as a day job. The poet claimed that it was not a valid career path, even though he himself wrote The Defence of Poesy to stake poetry's claim to legitimacy. However, under the influence of authors such as Pope, popular opinion has shifted from Sidney's 16th century ideals. A successful author, by today's general standards, is one who only works as a writer. It would seem absurd if JK Rowling suddenly decided to start working as a clerk. Nicholas Sparks seems out of place in an office. An author is only an author, and from a professional stance, nothing else.

                Many authors since Pope have disagreed with both him and Sidney. They decided, for whatever reason, to maintain a day job.  Here are some of the more famous cases:

Lewis Carroll 
Alice in Wonderland
Through the Looking Glass
Teacher

Bram Stoker
Dracula
The Lady of the Shroud 
Theatre producer's assistant

Dee Brown
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Creek Mary's Blood
Librarian

George R.R Martin
Ice and Fire series

Editor

When iconic authors like Carroll and Stoker as working and writing, how can it be argued that they are not legitimate authors? This is just a short list (more examples here at Huffington Post) but it exemplifies the fact that writing and having a separate job is a compelling and respectable choice. If an author can pump out the likes of Alice and Dracula while maintaining a job, their art seems only all the more incredible. An author, even if they work outside of writing, is still an author. They put words on paper and create art. Whether you're an established author who happens to work on the side or a writer working to make ends meet and pay those bills, keep writing.

Check it out! Authors give advice on  how to survive your day job!