It’s Finally Time To Admit I’m A Writer
I’m throwing myself into my passion, and the freelance life
There is a lot of discussion in writing communities about when you can confidently call yourself “A Writer”.
Many people argue you can do it as soon as you begin writing. There is no prerequisite to being A Writer other than writing itself. It doesn’t matter what or how you write. You’re A Writer.
Others believe you need to have reached at least some level of achievement. Say, publishing a book or having an established blog. To them, you need something, anything, to show for your work before you can be A Writer.
Or it could be how long you’ve been writing. As if having continued writing for a certain amount of time makes it more real.
And then there are those who don’t feel comfortable calling themselves A Writer until it’s their primary source of income.
I fall into that last category. In my head, I’ve considered myself to be A Writer for years. But I’ve never really felt comfortable saying it out loud. And I think it’s always been because I wasn’t making any money from us. It was a hobby. Once I could use it as a reason to quit my day job, then I would feel like I had earned the title.
Well, in the end, my day job gave me up first.
Back in the final days of the Before Times, I was put on furlough. My company couldn't wait to get us all off the payroll. And as the weeks passed and turned into months, I realised I didn't actually want to go back. Which made it a little less painful when they made me redundant in August.
But just because I hadn't wanted to go back, I had no wish to be unemployed while I looked for something new. I had already been looking for a new role halfheartedly, but now I began in earnest.
Which went nowhere.
Then, after six months of this, my girlfriend suggested I back away from this a little. Why not look at this as an opportunity to focus on my writing instead. I wasn't going to give up job hunting, but freeing up some time to be creative would be good for my mental health.
And from there, it started to grow.
I got into the Faber Academy, where I've reviving working on my novel. I set myself up on Medium, with the idea I might make a little money on the side.
In January, I made $4.98.
Six months later, in June, I made over $900.
As the amount of money I made on Medium grew each month, I began to see this had the potential to become a serious income. I did some research, and there are people who make a full time living writing on Medium. So why not me? And, slowly, the jobs I applied for moved away from project management to focus on writing positions.
And so, last month, I officially registered as self-employed.
And, suddenly, I feel comfortable calling myself “A Writer”.
I’m not quite at the point where I’m exactly earning enough to live off. I’m still looking for part-time roles to supplement my income for the time being. But each month since I started focusing on my writing, I’ve earned more than the month before. And while I'm preparing myself for the fact not all months will be as good, it's also proof some might be even better.
And it’s a little terrifying. If this works, I’ll be a self-employed freelancer. My income will be unsecured, and it will be unpredictable. I’ll be at the mercy of algorithms and editors. I'll have to start being a lot more careful with money, as it will be a long time before I’m back at the same level of income as I was in project management.
But I’m happy. And I’m excited.
I always thought if I ever got to be a full-time writer, it would be because I had finished a novel. Even then, I knew it might have been multiple novels before I reached the point where I could walk away from my day job.
In a way, Covid did me a favour. Losing my job gave me the time to focus on my writing. Moving in with my parents freed me from financial restraints and allowed me to work on something that wasn’t bringing in money yet.
Don’t think I’m not fully aware of my privilege in all this. I am very lucky. Many of the reasons I’ve been able to do this is because of the resources I’ve had at my back in a time of emergency. And I know not everyone has this.
This post is really just a way for me to cement in my own mind my new status. I’m A Writer, and by putting it out here on the internet I can’t deny this is what I do, and who I am.
Wish me luck.
