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've tried various options - full time as a painter, part-time, and just not doing it at all.

What works best for me is 4 days a week normal job, 1 day a week self-employed painter. I found it really isolating painting full-time, and it was relentless trying to earn enough money and killed creativity as I always had to think about what would sell rather than painting for my own curiosity and enjoyment.

I'm in a similar boat OP although not the same kind of creative thing (video editor - did a film production degree but can't work in industry due to disability that stops me driving). I often dream about setting up as a freelancer but I'm in a very comfortable full time role (civil service) and don't want to shake things up.

If you could drop your hours at work without it being unaffordable, that might be a way to trial things out and see how they go, while having the safety net of a guaranteed income.

@LollipopViolet would you be able to go four days a week and do some freelance video editing on the side? I've felt like you for a long time - didn't want to shake things up, felt lucky to have a nice well paid job. Maybe it's something about being in my 40s and halfway through life that's making me think hmm, do I want to spend so much time sitting behind a computer being a bit bored. Maybe what I need is a different day job and to keep the writing on the side instead of trying to make it pay.

I did - I’m an artist/designer and a few years ago found my work was really taking off on Instagram, with lots of people asking to buy it. I made a gradual shift from freelance design and web work for clients so it never felt like a big scary leap - I just dropped clients as time went on and moved more and more towards selling my own work direct to consumers as demand allowed it. I now do it full time, and have done for the last 4 years. Only very occasional client work now, if it’s something I’m genuinely excited about.

It’s worked out really well as it allows me maximum flexibility around my kids and I earn what I used to freelancing, but now I do whatever I like and I really love my particular art form. It also happens to be a nice niche where material costs are pretty low and margins are great so it’s a sensible business.

The downside is the constant pressure to produce, and to motivate myself through rough patches where I’ve fallen out of love with what I make - the knowledge that it’s just me, with no one else to push me along, can be lonely and can suck the creativity out of it at times. I panic a lot about creative block because it feels way more catastrophic now. I also worry about how I would get back into “proper” work now if I ever need to - I feel like my previous professional skills are falling behind the industry and my former work contacts are increasingly distant the longer I’m away from it.

My income is good, but very ‘bumpy’ - it can be a bit feast or famine. I have a partner who earns good, steady money which offers a bit of a buffer in lean times of the year - I might feel differently about it if I was totally on my own!! But for now, I’m grateful to be able to do it.

I meant to say as well - I know a couple of pretty successful writers but both have academic teaching jobs alongside because they struggle to earn enough from writing alone.

I think, when it works, visual arts can be much easier as images are naturally very easy to market and there’s a physical product involved! I imagine there would be a lot more hustling involved in a writing career which would be either fun or draining depending on your personality… could you keep the current job part time but carve out a dedicated day or two each week to focus on developing new work in a less pressured way? That way, you’re taking yourself seriously creatively without piling on the stress that comes from making a big leap.

I had my hobby as my career at one stage and the thing I hated the most was the long hours. It was labour intensive. Never enough hours in the day but also physically hard work. For me lonely too. I was recognised as being very good in my field but people still tried to take the piss and over burden or under pay me.

I now work in education and really enjoy it. It’s sociable and I feel useful. In my particular sector I can leave the job in the workplace whereas with my hobby job it was in the house needing my attention constantly.

So I think it’s going to depend on what you do exactly as to whether I think you should go for it.

Depends where you're at in your career. When you say you've had success, what do you mean? And also, how disciplined do you think you could be Mon-Fri? Would you give yourself a daily word count?
I think that if you're already making decent money from it, and you're seeing opportunities that are open to you that you have to pass by because of your job, go for it... But make sure DH is completely 100% on board if you'll be relying on him for a few months...

I did. It's bloody hard, frequently dispiriting, and if DH wasn't a high earner I wouldn't be able to do it as we couldn't survive on my income.

When the work is there, it's fulfilling and wonderful and the best job in the world; I feel blessed to do it. But it mostly isn't.

Thanks for everyone's honest answers. It's been helpful. @RaidFlySpray I'm an author and have had two books published, won a few competitions, got funding here and there. I get paid for readings, festivals etc, sometimes. But I'm not going to make much money from the books I write, never enough to live on. Which means that the things I'd be doing to try to earn money wouldn't be the thing I love doing (writing) - it would be teaching, workshops, etc. And if I'm not passionate about that I might as well keep the day job! I think whoever said it upthread was right - it's a bit easier if you're producing visual art as you have something to sell.

So many people around me seem to be (just about) managing to turn being an author into a career (by teaching, mostly), or doing things like getting PhDs, that it makes me think I should be doing similar or I'm not taking it seriously. But I'm not sure that's true.