The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman

I read The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman. I found out about this book through an event at the Mercantile Library, my favorite local place to write. I attended Jane’s talk on a whim, but it ended up having a material influence on my career as I wrote about in my July clipping.

This book pairs really well with The Artist’s Way. Both reject the myth of the starving artist. The Artist’s Way gives conviction and confidence in your creative potential. The Business of Being a Writer teaches you that your creative goals don’t have to conflict with the practical concern of earning a living.

I really like Jane’s angle that business concerns for the artist are actually creative, too. It helps turn a negative into a positive. Rather than selling out, you are exercising creativity to discover what mix of work both sustains and nourishes you. This really resonates with me given my varied interest and skillset. I love writing plain English, but I also love writing code (i.e. making websites). It doesn’t have to be either get a fulltime software engineering job or go full writer. You can find a proper balance with a mix of work. It could be writing, freelance web development, and teaching, for example.