Should you quit your job to write full-time?

Hi Reader,

Should you quit your job to write full-time?

I quit two different jobs to write full-time.

In my mid-twenties, when I'd a better hairline, I worked as a badly paid local news journalist.

I hated my power-hungry editor.

I dreamed about making it as a literary fiction writer.

I'd also landed a freelance writing gig at the weekend, working as a sub-editor for a Sunday newspaper.

So, one Tuesday morning, I marched into my boss's office.

I told the local newspaper editor, "I quit!"

"For what? What are you going to do now?" he said.

I didn't give him an answer.

If I'm honest, I didn't have an answer to give.

I'd a lofty dream of writing fiction in the local coffee shop every morning and moonlighting as a freelance sub-editor.

The problem?

I didn't consider if I could write fiction that people would buy.

I never thought about what I'd do if my side gig as a sub-editor dried up.

And I didn't plan for the unexpected.

It was 2008.

The year of the Great Recession.

Eight months later, Ireland's job market collapsed.

My sub-editing gig dried up.

My dream of writing for a living turned into a stressful nightmare.

I ended up on social welfare to pay my mortgage.

Eventually, I found a job as a care worker (nothing to do with writing).

So, I stopped writing fiction.

And I went back to college.

The lesson here?

Don't quit your job without at least a year of savings and a steady income from writing work.

Even then, plan for the unexpected.

I spent my 30s working as a copywriter for a B2B company. The job paid me six figures a year to write about financial software and services.

Fun times.

Learning how to write words that sell is a great skill for any writer.

I spent a decade writing about financial software.

The 50 and 60-hour work weeks were a grind.

My 40th birthday loomed like a guillotine.

Before and after the day job, I wrote articles for Become a Writer Today, my website about the craft of writing.

I built the website up to several million page views per year earning a sizeable amount from display advertising and affiliate promotions.

I also earned a few grand a month, writing and self-publishing books.

Books like The Power of Creativity.

I wanted to quit and work on my writing and self-publishing business full-time.

I put enough money aside to cover my expenses for not one but THREE years.

Saying "I quit!" to write full-time?

A dream fulfilled.

That was 2020.

Revenue from my writing business has yo-yoed since then, thanks to a series of brutal Google algo updates.

Kind of like the Great Recession... but for web publishers.

But I don't rely on one income stream.

Some four years after quitting to write full-time...

I'm in the middle of re-inventing my writing business again.

I don't spend much time these days writing SEO articles or self-publishing books.

Instead, I'm working with clients and companies who need help with their content strategy.

I'm also writing a daily newsletter.

25,000 writers read this newsletter.

Look...

The merits of quitting a day job to write depend on, you know, life circumstances.

What does writing full-time look like for you?

Watch my video to find out more.

Quitting was a terrible choice when I was in my 20s, with a baby, a mortgage, and no plans.

Quitting was a better choice in my 30s with a growing writing business and savings.

If you want to write full-time, here's what I tell new writers.

Don't say "I quit" yet.

Instead, develop multiple income streams.

Create an eco-system of products and services that sell.

They could be books, courses or consulting.

Use them to build a financial cushion in case the arse falls out of your business goals.

Put in place the same protections you might have at work, like health insurance or income protection.

I wouldn't trade writing full-time for another corporate gig, but it's not always easy.

If you are thinking of quitting your job to write full-time, reply QUIT to this email.

Write on,

Bryan Collins