Alexis Grant has a day job as a journalist and devotes her evenings and weekends to writing her book. In a guest blog post on Guide to Literary Agents, she listed five reasons why writers should keep their day jobs.
Grant (pictured, via) explained that having “a job helps you generate ideas.” Other benefits of a day job included: forced productivity, a steady paycheck and health insurance.
Here’s more from her blog post: “Having a day job gives you the opportunity to get out and about, talk with smart people and learn new things. You can do all of that without a day job, of course – but we often don’t make it a priority. The daily interactions I have through my job often lead to ideas for ebooks and blog posts and freelance pieces. Without that stimulation, I wouldn’t be the same writer.”
What do you think? Grant’s points seem valid for writers just starting off, but what about the authors who have several projects in the works? For instance, Vampire Academy author Richelle Mead has stated in a past interview that working on three book series simultaneously means she has deadlines every three months.