Should I kick all this technical writing rubbish in the head and work on the Great British Novel?

-- Melanie Miller Fletcher (xanadu1@ibm.net), July 02, 2000

Answers

Well, I WAS referring to The Host, actually, as it would be somewhat pointless for me to write the Great British Novel (although kicking the tech writing rubbish in the head is looking more and more appealing), being a Merkin and all.

MMF

-- Melanie Miller Fletcher (xanadu1@ibm.net), July 02, 2000.

The Host? The Heavenly Host? Oh, you mean me. Right now I'm working on the Great British Kitchen Clean-up, a far more noble and useful task.

And did you see that survey showing how much even successful novelists make on an hourly basis? According to this in the Guardian:

The survey found that just over 10% of those who write books were able to live on their income from publishing, while almost half earned less than the national minimum wage. You live better with toilet cleaner on your fingers than with ink.

Guess I'll just have to go on churning out unreadable Installation and Configuration Guides from now on if I want to keep my luxurious lifestyle....

-- Nicholas E. Grinder (me@impolex.demon.co.uk), July 03, 2000.

The survey found that just over 10% of those who write books were able to live on their income from publishing, while almost half earned less than the national minimum wage. You live better with toilet cleaner on your fingers than with ink.

Ha. That percentage is high if you write speculative fiction -- I believe 7-8% of full-time SF writers can make it on their writing alone. Of course, if you're willing to write media tie-ins and accept a work-for-hire contract, that bumps up your salary. But at what cost to your soul?

-- Melanie Miller Fletcher (xanadu1@ibm.net), July 03, 2000.

Maybe he should try writing a series about an orphan who finds out he's a wizard and gets sent to a special magical boarding school where he and his friends experience mystical adventures. I bet a lot of people would be interested in reading something like that.

-- Jennifer Wade (jenwade@earthlink.net), July 09, 2000.