5 Things I Learnt After I Quit My Job to Write Full-Time
There are downsides to living your dream…but at least you’re living your dream!
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Have you ever fantasised about what you would do if you won the lotto? I used to say that I’d quit my job and write for a living. Sure, I imagined buying a nice house and going on a big overseas trip but the main part of that daydream was always being free to write.
In 2018, a very persistent thought kept circling…should I quit my job? When the noise of that question became so overwhelming I coudn’t take it anymore, I handed in my resignation letter to live my lotto life. Granted, I’m penny-pinching a fair bit more than I’d have to if I actually took home $50 million but the premise is the same. There is nothing else in the world I’d rather be doing for a living right now and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.
Here’s what I’ve learnt from ‘living the dream’ the past year
1. It’s terrifying.
While you may have felt like an ace at your previous job, you’re most likely going to feel like a complete newbie in the writing world. It’s easy to forget how nerve-wracking inexperience can be until you’re 5 minutes away from recording your first telephone interview with an internationally bestselling author and your dictaphone batteries are flashing.
There’s also no boss or trainer to congratulate you when you finally master a skillset you’ve been struggling with. In fact, in the cold world of journalism, there is often dead silence in lieu of constructive feedback.
It’s time to use that thick skin you grew in your dating years…cause you’re about to get ghosted by professionals that you deeply admire. Don’t worry, they don’t mean it. And when you get better at your job, they’ll start being nice to you.
2. There are no excuses.
Remember all those times you said you’d write ‘if only’? Yeah, that doesn’t fly any more. Suddenly, you have all the time in the world and no one to stop you from filling…
