Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I'll be using #askanauthor on a daily(ish) basis to answer YOUR questions about writing, publishing, and books! Drop a comment in any of these Shorts and I'll add your question to my list! This one comes from @Avionne Parris
"Not sure if you can help me, Michelle since you write full time now (perhaps in your early days of writing): I LOVE my corporate job and only plan to cut down my 8 hour shift should my writing career take off. Thus, I'm passing on any career ladder advancements and doing the bare minimum at work (100% though, I'm no slacker) in favour of pursuing my writing career. I've passed on work promotions, bonuses, & overtime in order to keep my work hours low & manageable. My coworkers & family all know that I want to be a writer. My question is, how do you balance your corporate / 9 to 5 job that pays the bills with your writing passion and not feel like you're compromising on either."
LONGER/BETTER ANSWER: I filmed this three times and I'm still not happy with it! Mostly because this is such a tough question to answer - it all depends on your unique situation. You said you LOVE you job (yay!) so I think the answer to what you should sacrifice for your writing lies outside of that job for the most part. When I wrote my first book, it didn't take away from my 9-5 job - it took away from the time I used to spend watching The Office and scrolling Tumblr, haha. I lived in Seoul at the time, and my writing also meant sacrificing some weekend time I could have spent sight-seeing and generally doing touristy things. In regards to promotions, I'm definitely not qualified to give you advice on taking/passing on them but I will say that at some point, going for a writing career does take some risk - it's up to you to decide when and how big those risks will be!
#publishing #writing #author
I'll be using #askanauthor on a daily(ish) basis to answer YOUR questions about writing, publishing, and books! Drop a comment in any of these Shorts and I'll add your question to my list! This one comes from @Avionne Parris
"Not sure if you can help me, Michelle since you write full time now (perhaps in your early days of writing): I LOVE my corporate job and only plan to cut down my 8 hour shift should my writing career take off. Thus, I'm passing on any career ladder advancements and doing the bare minimum at work (100% though, I'm no slacker) in favour of pursuing my writing career. I've passed on work promotions, bonuses, & overtime in order to keep my work hours low & manageable. My coworkers & family all know that I want to be a writer. My question is, how do you balance your corporate / 9 to 5 job that pays the bills with your writing passion and not feel like you're compromising on either."
LONGER/BETTER ANSWER: I filmed this three times and I'm still not happy with it! Mostly because this is such a tough question to answer - it all depends on your unique situation. You said you LOVE you job (yay!) so I think the answer to what you should sacrifice for your writing lies outside of that job for the most part. When I wrote my first book, it didn't take away from my 9-5 job - it took away from the time I used to spend watching The Office and scrolling Tumblr, haha. I lived in Seoul at the time, and my writing also meant sacrificing some weekend time I could have spent sight-seeing and generally doing touristy things. In regards to promotions, I'm definitely not qualified to give you advice on taking/passing on them but I will say that at some point, going for a writing career does take some risk - it's up to you to decide when and how big those risks will be!
#publishing #writing #author
