To just quit work and finally write my books?

This. No publisher is going to sign you on the basis of an incomplete book. They need to know you have the ability and stamina to actually FINISH a book - you would not believe how many people have written half a book that they never actually finish, while having loads of ideas for 'follow ups'.

The only people who can sell an idea on the strength of a sample chapter are already very well established authors with a proven track record. Or, sigh, celebrities who are going to get ghost writers to write the rest of the book anyway.

No, debut fiction authors don't get book deals based on a proposal and sample chapters. That's how non fiction books sell, and /sometimes/ authors who have a good relationship/track record with their editors, or who sell a multi book deal comprising one finished novel plus a proposal for the second.

It's not how anyone sells their first novel. Publishers need to see that the finished novel really works before they invest in it.

OP, I'm a professional writer. Big 5 publishers, bestseller list, prizes etc etc. It's still really hard going and very unpredictable. The lack of financial stability while I have young kids is hair-raising sometimes, thank goodness for my partner's (modest) salary. Whether you go traditional, indie, or self published you will really need to graft, and if you do make money from it, it generally isn't easy money, and it takes a long time.

By all means go on hiatus to write, given that you can afford it. But do it for your own satisfaction, not because you expect it to pay. I can't stress that enough.

I’m not suggesting that she writes the whole book on it of course! But it’s one way to build writing, even short bursts of writing, into her everyday life.

I have friends who are excellent writers, who’ve written novels that have attracted and retained agents. None of them actually got published. I have one ex colleague who did get a publishing deal but you really earn very little as an author generally.

If you need the money then don’t do it. Or write in your spare time. If you don’t, do.

This is true. It sounds a bit melodramatic, but I wrote three novels, rewrote and edited them, and saw them sent out by my agent and not sell, and dealt with the crushing disappointment each time, before I saw one published. I remember my therapist at the time saying, very gently, after the third one didn’t find a publisher, ‘What would you do if you knew nothing you’d written would sell?” And I said I’d keep going regardless, because I couldn’t not write. It was fully eight years between getting an agent, based on the MS of my first novel, and seeing the fourth one into print.

Writers write because they can't not write, it's a compulsion. Whether they publish what they have written, or make money from it, is an entirely separate issue. Very few of them make enough money to fund even a modest lifestyle.

An ex-colleague does this. We're in a career that takes a lot of energy to qualify for and maintain. The advantage being he can temp, build his savings, take 2-4 years off to write, temp again, etc.

It almost never results in a liveable income. I know a lot of novelists, including well-known, established ones whose work everyone on the thread would know, shortlisted for big prizes, winning them etc. Not one of them lives off their writing.

One of them won one of the biggest literary prizes in recent years, but her big five publisher had dropped her the previous year, and her agent (who is a top agent) hadn’t been able to sell her next novel. Winning the prize solved that, for now, anyway, but it’s a pretty precarious existence. And she’s had the same day job, teaching creative writing at a university, throughout.

I know a published writer (not self published) who also works full time. She has to because the books, whilst well received/reviewed) don’t bring in much money. It was an eye opener. Most writers apart from the very well known ones just don’t earn much. That is why I get annoyed at every other person in showbiz suddenly writing books.

With the advent of AI I am not sure that authors will survive in the long term, as sickened as that makes me feel.

It depends on whether you can support yourself if writing ultimately doesn’t pay.

I know quite a few people who have had books published (English grad) and while it’s an amazing achievement, it doesn’t necessarily result in an liveable income, even if you are publishing regularly.

I’d go for it, but in that knowledge and with back up plans in place.

Yes. There are a few reputable indies who will open a submissions portal to unagented submissions periodically, maybe once a year for a month, but it’s usual for editors to only accept finished MS from agents. Agents are the filter. They, or their assistants, read through the slush pile with the single question: ‘Can I sell this?’

It sure is. I only hope there will be a backlash against this kind of thing. Designers are telling me that readers are already boycotting books with AI-created jackets. But what happens when AI gets so good that it's too difficult to spot?

YABU.
There is a huge difference between "planning" a piece of long-form writing, and actually achieving it.

Read Stella Duffy's blog about how to write a novel while working at other things

https://stelladuffy.blog/2012/04/24/the-how-to-write-a-book-thing-again/

https://stelladuffy.blog/2013/05/06/writing-a-book-in-a-year/

@WoesFromAuntFlocould you trial being a full time authors by booking a week of annual leave (or more) dedicated just to writing and see how you find it?

You cannot sell a novel to a traditional publisher based on opening chapters and an outline. You need a finished (polished) manuscript to get an agent. An agent then submits to publishers on your behalf.

OP, whether you give up work or decide to give it a try first while you're still working, this is the best advice on this thread.

Good luck!

This is another excellent point.
Up until recently it was well known that selfpublishing generally meant less prestige but greater returns.
But I met a guy who has "written" seven books using AI plus got AI to design the covers and create a website.
It took him two months.
Depressing as fuck.

Have you ever written a book like that?

I can’t even draft a work report like that, let alone a 6 book mystery series.

I say go for it as have savings and your husband supports your writing.

I think if your savings run out and your DH finds it financial pressurised then I would go back to work.

I would research first though if there is demand for your area of writing.

Absolutely would not give up a job and blow through savings. As others have suggested, develop a plot outline and draft the first few chapters and see what interest you get from publishers.

OP, get one of those dinky little bluetooth keyboards. Then you can start writing little pieces on your phone wherever you are, writing into emails or the notes app.

Ah well, thank you! ☺️
It mostly feels like slogging away by myself and desperately trying to keep my focus from a million distractions, but I hope that one day soon my PhD and self-employed work will come together in glorious harmony. Then I can begin writing a novel as a hobby!

I work in publishing and would not do this if my family depended on my income. As PP have said it is extremely difficult to make a living as a traditionally published or self published author. Most authors I know have at least started out with day jobs - very few are able to write full time. Can you carve out 30 minutes a day to write? If you can manage 500 words a day for about 6 months then you’ll have a full draft. Also I would never plan on writing a crime series - make sure the first novel can also work as a stand alone as publishers are increasingly reluctant to to invest in a series until they know it will sell.

Yes,. Day one or one day?

@MaybeDoctoryour career trajectory is a wonderful example of the sort of thing Mel Robbins talked about on the audible. She said by doing the building blocks bit by bit, you discover gradually what you’re actually passionate about and it may turn out to have a different ending from what you originally anticipated, but the journey is about learning what you enjoy as you go.

I am not on commission btw, it just kind of struck a chord, now I just need to decide what I am passionate about and start investing in that.