If you could, would you quit your salaried job to try to turn your creative talent into a career?

[GreenOli]

And if you've done this, how did it go?

I'm thinking about it. I've made a certain amount of headway in my creative field (writing) by doing it as a hobby for years and years. It's very difficult to make money as a writer, I know, and I don't want to quit my current job just to do, e.g., copy-writing. I want to try to make a career out of the kind of writing I love.

My question is, as I can afford to do this financially (will obviously be poorer, but still fine), will I regret not trying? My current job is nice, comfortable and boring. It gives me time and headspace to write outside of work, which is great, but part of me feels like I'm not really putting my all into my writing because I have a comfortable day job. On the other hand, trying to make it a career might take all the joy out of it, and maybe right now I have a good balance.

I wouldn’t.

it’s very, very hard to make money out of any creative field . It’s very worrying not to have enough money to live on ( and that can impact your ability to be ‘creative’).

I am ( sorry) quite talented creatively, ( and had a career which utilised it) but I have turned down invitations and commissions because I want to keep that part of my life ‘pure’.

In your position - no. Often turning a hobby into a job destroys the enjoyment.

In my situation (v high stress but reasonably well paid job) I probably would if I could afford it.

You're probably both right... I would have enough to live on (savings and DH salary), but destroying the enjoyment is definitely possible. I can also see myself wishing I could go back to my comfortable boring day job when it got difficult, or if it doesn't work out. On the other hand, I have this constant feeling that I'm not working hard enough - at my job because it's boring, but also at my writing because I'm tired/don't have time/don't really need to. Like I'm not taking myself seriously enough, iyswim. I feel like a knob just saying that though.

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen did you change career to do something less creative, then? And don't apologise :)

I don't have even a hint of creative talent, so it's difficult to imagine.

But dh did exactly this about 10 years ago. He went from earning a salary of £16K a year to over £100K in about 7 years. He was certainly turning a profit in year 1. One thing I do think is critical though is that you have business expertise. Dh had previous business/marketing experience as well as a degree in it. There are lots of people out there doing what he does but as a 'hobby'. Only a few actually making a living at it. Because what makes the money is not the creative efforts themselves (lots of people make beautiful stuff) but the ability to sell it for a lot more than it costs in infrastructure costs, raw materials and time to make.

Op what kind of writing do you do? If it’s something like writing novels or poetry then even very successful writers rarely do it full time - the most common job to have alongside is teaching, or journalism. That may seem like it’s part of the writing but in reality it’s just like any day job in that it’s a safety net and a distraction

could you cut down your hours at work to give you a bit more time and focus if you feel that is lacking? Or plan some intensive writing retreats? Another thing worth thinking about is that a successful writing ‘career’ (as opposed to successful writing) is reliant on a lot of networking and self marketing. as I’m sure you know the publishing industry relies on authors selling their own work to a large degree, so of you want to have more work published it’s not simply a matter of improving the work. You also need to dedicate time and energy to meeting agents, building networks etc. again, most writers do this alongside a part time or full time job.

I agree with this 💯- it’s not the creative talent that makes money, but the business behind it.

as a writer, the most lucrative thing you could do is self publish genre fiction and build up a loyal fan base. I don’t know anyone who makes a lot of money from Literary fiction, poetry etc, but I know a lot of people who get creative fulfilment and recognition from pursuing them, as long as they can find a way of sustaining themselves financially too

Nope

God no, the best way to ruin a hobby is to turn it into a job IMO. But I'm lucky in that I like my career.

Loads of good points here, this is very helpful - thank you. I don't have time to read in detail right now but will be back later. One thing that particularly struck me though, from @Roastingcoffee :
"the most common job to have alongside is teaching, or journalism. That may seem like it’s part of the writing but in reality it’s just like any day job in that it’s a safety net and a distraction"

I hadn't thought of it this way - what I'm hoping to do, to make the writing pay, is mentoring, feedback, workshops, getting funding for projects etc but all that is probably quite stressful and might take away from my writing time quite a lot. But maybe more rewarding than my current job?!

ah, op that is what I used to do! It’s an option and a decent one, but actually I’ve withdrawn from most of the face to face work as I found myself facilitating other people’s creativity more often than I was facilitating my own. Now I gravitate towards projects that can also feed my own practice, eg research based work, or lecturing (rather than running workshops)

having said that, i get a lot from being part of a community of writers and being on the workshops circuit can help with that.

I've had this advice from fellow writers too @Roastingcoffee - to only take on projects that align with my own practice, values etc. I've always said I don't really want to teach workshops because I know workshop leaders put so much of their energy into teaching others and it sometimes (often?) grinds down their own ability to write. And that reading a lot of bad writing starts to kill your love of writing!

However, now I'm getting a bit of success and interest in my work and that kind of thing feels like more of a possibility, my head is being turned! That and the fact that I'm wondering if I should really be spending so much time being bored at work. You only have one life, etc.

@mindutopia I have a feeling that not only is your DH a way better business person than me, he is also producing something a lot more sellable 😄

I turned a creative talent into a career and ended up regretting it. I made money but I found being self employed quite difficult, and I also started to dislike it once it had been my job for a few years. I am much happier and more financially stable working in an unrelated field and I enjoy the creativity in my own time. So I wouldn't recommend it

Thanks@Yuja. Are you glad you tried it out at least? Or do you think you shouldn't have bothered? Glad you're happier now anyway.

I tried to earn money from my hobby, no problems getting orders, everybody raved about it that saw it, but people don't want to pay for the hours of work you put in! To be honest I didn't even try as I'm not a business person just tried to make a small profit but ended up giving myself an injury from repetitive strain and a frozen shoulder.............then couldn't even do it as a hobby for 18 months🤦‍♀️

I would never recommend turning a hobby into a career. It's the fastest way to start hating it.

Did it previously, loved it & made more money than salary but having ADHD found it v difficult to schedule, keep to a plan & be motivated so went to a different from original salary career.

@GreenOli I don't regret it because I loved it for a few years

Could you try a career break from your job for 6+months? You could use the time to see if you can focus on writing properly/make enough to live on/enjoy it? But have the safety net of the job to go back to if not?

I'm kind of surprised there aren't more people going "woo, yeah, follow your dreams". But this sober advice is probably better!

@SquishyGloopyBum I'd love to do that. Not sure it's possible but worth looking into.

I did it, and I love it and wouldn't change it, but it's also hard at times.

To tackle the downsides first - the lack of regular income and the ups and downs each month I am still not used to after five years, everything always takes longer than you think it will, it can sometimes feel like an uphill grind doing the marketing stuff and the peopling and the admin, and I work way more hours than I ever did in a job. And it is harder to develop new things or just play creatively at times because I have clients to work with and all the stuff that goes with that, and income generating stuff has to come first. And I have taken on way too much with multiple ventures so am often overwhelmed.

But - and it's a big but - despite all that and everyone telling me not to turn photography into a business because I'd come to hate it, I absolutely bloody love it. I still stretch myself creatively, often working a bit of time into the end of client shoots to try new stuff with them once their main shots are in the bag, I love being able to work on my own schedule and choose my own clients and get rid of the difficult ones and drop everything for mum's appointments and the vet without answering to anyone. I love being able to do things my way and find the clients and collaborators who appreciate that and don't try to squash me into a pre existing box. I've met some epic people through my business. I have never felt more fulfilled and even when I'm struggling or down I'm happier than I was in any of my 9-5 desk jobs. Still figuring out all the changes post-pandemic but it's definitely the happiest I've ever been in my work and life.

Which means I would say go for it, but have a backup plan in place and don't burn any bridges - some kind of career break / sabbatical would be good so you have options, and it sounds like you're already mindful of the pp who said you could end up facilitating other people's creativity more than your own if you don't keep an eye on it.

I started publishing novels 13 years ago alongside my day job. Three years and ten books ago I made the self-employment jump. Now I make the same as I used to in my old FT job (including pension contribution), only I get to do what I love.

It took planning. I had to cut my costs to be sure I could survive for a while, which involved trading down. I haven't ever regretted it, and it turned out that I didn't need to worry, BUT I am single, and my children are grown and gone, so I didn't have to consider anyone else.

The longer I work for myself, the easier it gets as I've made professional editing and publishing relationships, and I understand what is necessary, in terms of marketing, to sell books.

In terms of workshops, these seem popular when 'big names' deliver them. There can be significant costs regarding platform fees. Same for Kickstarters and the like, but publishing is ever-changing, and there is money to be made.

For me, it's the 'do what you love' part that is most important. And for those who worry about monetising that -- if you love it enough, it truly doesn't feel like 'work'. I'm not saying that it isn't hard, but it's for you, and that makes all the difference.

@Scribl "For me, it's the 'do what you love' part that is most important. And for those who worry about monetising that -- if you love it enough, it truly doesn't feel like 'work'. I'm not saying that it isn't hard, but it's for you, and that makes all the difference." - yes!!!

Good to hear stories from people who've made it work @Scribl and @hilariousnamehere. I think the best thing to do is to try and cut down my hours rather than quitting entirely.