Day In The Life Of A Professional Writer?

Question

I am considering pursuing a career in writing (mainly children's fiction) and want to ask writers what your daily schedule is like. Do you normally work from home? Do you have a part time job (and if so, what do you recommend)? Do you do research each day? What is the ideal daily schedule when pursuing a writing career? Basically, what is the schedule a serious writer develops for him/herself on a daily basis?

Answer 1

I have been writing professionally for 25 years. My daily schedule varies depending on the projects i do. I write for newspapers , magazines, amazon. etc. Understand there are times I have wished I had a job, because money is tight

I suggest working for home, after a part time job (i use to do other writing jobs like writing ad copy for a credit union, PR fliers, designing ads for small companies, movie reviews for a local paper for additional income)

I always work 3-5 hours every day (holidays, birthday, etc INCLUDED) whether it is researching, outlining,an idea, writing a presentation, coming up with a letter ,the writing of a project itself or all of the above. REMEMBER A DEADLINE is firm ideal, missing them is like showing up late for work

If you are just beginning, i suggest working a ful time job and writing an hour a day...say during a lunch break or waiting for the kids at soccer practice

from an article I wrote (link http://www.coffeehouseforwriters.com/fictionfix/0502%20Pomerantz.html
How do you find time to write in a busy life?

Lets start with a simple premise . . . Most of you work a nine to five-job, five days a week with an hour for lunch. Does that sound about right?

If you work full time, your writing career is usually crammed into the weekend time. It's mixed in with errands (like paying bills, bank runs, laundry, shopping, etc.) And if you are married, the dreaded Honey-Do list. Does that sound right? I see the guy in the back row nodding, so I must be on the right track!

You have a lunch break at work. Say one hour, say fifty weeks a year (allowing for two weeks vacation) five days a week, Sound right so far?

Can you write a page a day during that lunch hour? Anyone can write a page in about an hour. (I didn't say it had to be perfect.) One page a day at the end of the a year is a body of 250 pages of work. This amount of work can be considered a good novella or a few short stories or a short novel at best - but it's a start!

Second suggestion, Lets stay with the idea you work a forty hour a week job. Forgo the bar or TV watching time (tape the show and watch it after your book is completed) and set an hour daily. Same output and you found your writing time. An hour isn't much but amazing what you can do in an hour's time

I hope it helps, drop me a line and let me know what you are doing, I would be interested

Answer 2

Yes, I work from home. About 95% of professional writers have other jobs and work in their spare time. I am lucky, I don't have to. Yes, I do research each and every day. A serious author has set "office hours" just like any other working person. They write between those times. However if deadlines loom, you may find yourself working 24 or more hours straight (it does happen) Deadlines are written in stone. Breaking them will destroy your chances of continuing as an author. So you never never miss on. YOur daily time schedule is up to you. When is your most creative time of the day? That is the time you work. Do you have kids in school? Turn the telephone off and work during that time. It is a very individual thing. I will say that I get up, take a shower, wash my hair and put on nice clothes. I do not believe in those writers who slop around in sweats and slippers. I think it is bad for their work. If you treat it as a job, it will be a job. I have a work station which I keep specially for my writing. I keep it in order. That means no junk near the computer - especially coffee. You do NOT want a spilled coffee incident near your computer. It can be disastrous. I do my very best to answer all correspondence promptly. I return all calls promptly as well. I keep a file with ever project I am working on printed out and filed in order. I prefer one of of those baskets with handles that I can move around with me. I have a very expensive ergonomic desk chair and a day-light. I prefer an over-sized monitor and a specific keyboard. The best way you can keep yourself organized is going to help you in the long run.

Set yourself up. Then the hard part is getting some freelance jobs. Pax - C

Answer 3

These are excellent responses here. I just wanted to add this:
There are many authors-- struggling and established-- who write blogs, so if you have some authors in mind, look them up. LiveJournal has a large community of blogging authors (and many have MySpace pages or links on there to their blogs). Look at some of those, and you'll see the writer life from all angles-- those who have found some success, those who are constantly frustrated, those who are just starting out.
But (and especially as a fiction writer) you'll probably have to fit in writing time around other jobs. I wrote the whole first draft of my last manuscript on breaks while working the night shift. Don't sacrifice sleep, though! You need your mind working.
I hope you check out some of the blogs. I've found a lot of them through agent searches. That's something else you might check out: many agents have blogs, too, and they'll give you a different perspective on publishing.