When I say “work” I only mean writing. Everything else is just odd jobs.
-Margaret Laurence
Found at: Reading Quotes to Help You Write
Before I became self supporting writing some of the odd jobs I had were:
- Tech Recruiter
- Magazine Editor
- Newspaper Editor
- Waitress jobs – a whole bunch
- Telephone soliciting – more than I care to admit
Write well and often,
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I actually came into the writing life relatively late; that is, I “already had a life” before I called myself a writer (like that’s possible, hah!). Several lives, in fact; record store manager, corporate sales trainer, publishing company hack, chef, audio engineer. Yet, everything I’ve done informs the work I do now as a Writer, and every bit of knowledge I picked up along the way allows me to be a sudden expert when a new assignment rolls in. “Write what you know” means exactly that – your experience as a human allows you to write human-ly, which is all we really ever know. Apropos to your quote above, our tagline at The Burry Man is “Do The Work”, it’s the answer novelist Nicola Griffith gave me during an interview, and I’ve always held it in my heart.
well said, Joseph… what did you do as a publishing co. hack? Would love to hear more about that — either as a comment or an unpaid guest article.
A
That quote made me smile & I’ve just forwarded it to my writing group.
I’m a writer. But I’m also a teacher.
Isaac’s last blog post..Interview with David Morrell, author of First Blood and other works
I worked as a busboy at a local family restaurant — paid under the table — when I first began publishing stories in small community newspapers. I actually made $1.90 an hour plus tips. Problem was, the tips from the waitresses usually came to about $5 a night!
Dan
Dan’s last blog post..Have a beef? Want $5? Give RantBlogger a try
Heck, I still work as a waitress a couple days per week. It gets me out of the house and is a great way to market my business to people around town. Plus I can just pick up more shifts when the writing work or paychecks are slow to arrive.
Autumn’s last blog post..More Gamer Help
Bookstore assistant. Ermm… odd writing jobs?
Oh, fun post!
Let’s see –
I was a waitress (twice) in two fast-food places.
I worked as a Raleigh salesperson (like Amway without all the press).
I was a stringer for the local newspapers (2).
I did marketing for an insurance agency in town.
I was a data coordinator in the Job From Hell.
I was senior editor at a national trade magazine.
I’m SO glad I’m working for myself now. Correction – I’m glad I have no bosses and all clients. Much nicer heirarchy there!
Lori’s last blog post..Worthy Activities
lol, this is fun isn’t it…
thanks