Don't give up the day job!

4/30/2013
Shelagh
I love it, but it's true !
Cheers...Joe...

How wonderful to dream before reality brings one to the all important day job.

Most of us relied on day jobs.

Remember, the artists of the past had rich people who sponsored them - whether painters, writers, etc.

I understand the need to tell kids to be practical. I don't like dream-crushing, though, which is what this comic basically is. Instead of the negative, "don't quit the day job," I would encourage learning what makes successful authors successful. Kids might then learn that such authors all had day jobs until they became successful, which would make telling them that redundant and un-necesssary.

I'm not a fan of ambiguous majors, but acknowledge that some people have built successful careers with them. Such people are typically driven and ambitious, though, and would build a successful career with any major. Just telling them not to quit the day job and then going back to gossiping over coffee with a friend (neither of whom probably even have day jobs themselves) isn't helpful.

I know this is just a comic, but I've been getting more sensitive to stuff like this and don't find them "comical." I think such attitudes are why most people are broke and in jobs they hate. This isn't directed to anyone particular, just an observation. I feel the same way about a lot of sitcoms. There's nothing funny about them to me, they're profane, rank, and the amount of male-bashing they've had for at least the past 15 years is disturbing. It shapes societal attitudes in general, I think.

LC,
Are we feeling a bit negative today? We need humor.

I enjoyed the cartoon - but am still sympathetic to your opinion, LC. I, too, find many of the sitcoms offensive and am sensitive to dream dashing. However, do note that the girl was not stopped from writing and added a cathartic emotional drift (as many authors do), and received support from another venue, her sister.

Therefore, I think the cartoon was particularly clever because of the various responses it evokes.

It added to my recent malaise. Without my muse, my desire to write has really gone downhill. Pretty much the newspaper keeps me going, the "day job," but I'm less inspired and so is the writing.

I was disappointed in my stint at free ebook at Amazon. I don't see that it helped anything, but nothing lost either.

Rainy day. In spite of my melancholy humor, I love the rain, the thunder and the lightning so long as I'm not on the water and it does not produce a tornado.

Call is a first, Alice, but I'm with LC on this one.

I think it's about the mom and grandmom dissing the dreams of a child they ought to be supporting.

I don't see LC's comments as negative, even. Just pointing out ways that we can be more helpful to those in our charge. Let them know it won't be easy, but give them support and practical advice for overcoming the difficulties.

It seems to me that the "parents" are making fun of the young girl - making her dreams a joke. One approach tells the child she can't, and devalues her, the other that, with work and focus, she can. Big difference. Especially for the child's self-esteem, which is a vital component of success.

On a more personal level, I see my ex and his wife coming down on my daughters.

Dave, being a guy in that culture, just told them it would be immoral for him to settle for a job he didn't love just because it would be an easier way to make money.

The girls cowed and gave in, eventually. Then they got even more frustrated when later, their dad bragged about his son, the PhD professor.

We all see things from different POV's.

Cross-posting. I also agree with DK

dkchristi wrote:

I was disappointed in my stint at free ebook at Amazon. I don't see that it helped anything, but nothing lost either.

The majority of PublishAmerica authors complain about the pricing of their books. Ann said her sales are better because of the lower price of the reprint. I think Ann's work over the last seven years, contributing to her author platform, is also a big factor (her increase in electronic sales is to be expected since they are considerably cheaper than the paperback edition).

Sales for fiction are not dependent on price. If an author has difficulty in giving away free copies (which are continuing to be downloaded in their thousands in popular genres), then those books are going to be a very hard sell, irrespective of the price.

LC wrote:

I understand the need to tell kids to be practical. I don't like dream-crushing, though, which is what this comic basically is.

"I'm going to write a novel and get rich quick."

No you're not!

Sorry to dash anyone's dreams, but since foolish newbie authors really do believe that they are going to "get rich quick", I'm not that sorry!

5/1/2013
I always believed " Believe In Yourself, don't let anyone
tell you different." Just look at the famous people from the
past if they didn't believe in their dream they wouldn't have
become who they were.........Cheers.. Joe..

"I'm going to write a novel and get rich quick."


That's a challenging goal. What steps will you need to take to get there?...

By the way, authors don't write about the wonderful things that happened to them as children. The story begins with the conflict. If you have never had any conflict in your life, you have nothing to write about. In the cartoon strip, the older generation gave the younger generation something to write about: a true reflection of what writing is all about.

alj wrote:

"I'm going to write a novel and get rich quick."


That's a challenging goal. What steps will you need to take to get there?...

My mu-thur and gramma telling me not to even try will be a good starting point.

C'mon Ann, if your teenager is dating someone totally inappropriate, do you offer praise or condemnation? Is a teenager more likely to do the opposite of what you say?

My teens? No. We spent a lot of time talking.

Here's an example:

Lynn: Mom, Rob wants me to go the the beach with him (a two-hours drive from Houston to Galveston. Rob is a high-school senior; Lynn is a sophomore.)

Me: Who all would be going?

Lynn: Me, Rob, and two other couples.

Me. Will anyone be drinking?

Lynn: Well, Rob thinks it's stupid to get drunk.

Me: How about you? Would you take a drink?

Lynn: I think getting drunk is stupid, too.

Me: What if the guys all drink? Would you come home in the car with them?

Lynn: Well, no!

Me: Would you stay in Galveston alone?

[brief period of silence]

Lynn: Mom, I don't think I'm old enough to handle this one.

Me: I think that's very wise of you.

Lynn: Mom?

Me: Yes, Lynn?

Lynn: I'm kind of afraid to tell Rob I don't want to go.

Me: What would you like to have happen, here, Lynn?

Lynn: It would help if you said I couldn't.

Me: You can't go with Rob to Galveston, Lynn.

Lynn: Gosh, thanks, Mom!

The answer would have been "No" whatever, but by giving her the chance to make the choice for herself, we avoided a tantrum and scene.

"However, do note that the girl was not stopped from writing and added a cathartic emotional drift (as many authors do), and received support from another venue, her sister."

That was part of my take, too, Shelagh.

By the way, I complained about the price of my PA book ($35 trade paperback initially and later $25); however, even at that exhorbitant $35 per copy, I sold hundreds of books initially because I didn't know that PA was such a bad place to have a book published and thought my printed book made me an author. Thus, I acted like one and sold books like one. It's actually well-written and formatted from a grammatical perspective. Its lack is from confusion of voice, lack of dialogue and too much back story and description of exotic foreign lands for today's readers. It was vetted by Barnes and Noble small press office in New York and stocked in their stores on and off for about two years. It sold a few ebooks each month from 2007 to the present. Print copy is only available from third party sources. I still have about 50 copies (you know, one of the PA "deals" I couldn't resist) that I sell as a back title during Ghost Orchid promotions.

It wasn't until I learned the truth about PA that I began to doubt myself. As that happened, I promoted less until I finished Ghost Orchid and began promotion of Ghost Orchid, with quite a bit of success.

Between the two books, I've sold enough books over the last seven years to make it financially worthwhile if not a "living." I learned to stop spending my profits in marketing materials - - - and travel and tables at festivals where the table was $75 and I netted about $50 from the books with a minus $25 in profit and a minus in travel expenses.

Arirang was published in 2006. People are fickle about their books and prefer new releases and not an ebook of 488 pages. I thought I'd give it a try, however, to spark a lagging sales record and perhaps draw readers to other works. I appreciate the info you provided, Shelagh, as it's always enlightening to learn something new :-)

Each person has to choose where to spend their time. I do enjoy writing and will continue though I need some inspiration...I will finish the three volumes that were once a single novel, Arirang. They are enhanced and if anyone wishes to volunteer to read them as produced, The Bamboo Ring, 60,000 words is ready for a reader/critic.

Shelagh wrote:

By the way, authors don't write about the wonderful things that happened to them as children. The story begins with the conflict. If you have never had any conflict in your life, you have nothing to write about. In the cartoon strip, the older generation gave the younger generation something to write about: a true reflection of what writing is all about.

I wonder why that is?
Children never like stories about good kids either-they want trouble --Funny!
Maybe that is why the news is so bleak.

Alice, if your mother had been anything like your father, we would have missed the pleasure of reading about your childhood.

Shelagh,
Right again. LOL

alj wrote:

My teens? No. We spent a lot of time talking.

Here's an example:

Lynn: Mom, Rob wants me to go the the beach with him (a two-hours drive from Houston to Galveston. Rob is a high-school senior; Lynn is a sophomore.)

Me: Who all would be going?

Lynn: Me, Rob, and two other couples.

Me. Will anyone be drinking?

Lynn: Well, Rob thinks it's stupid to get drunk.

Me: How about you? Would you take a drink?

Lynn: I think getting drunk is stupid, too.

Me: What if the guys all drink? Would you come home in the car with them?

Lynn: Well, no!

Me: Would you stay in Galveston alone?

[brief period of silence]

Lynn: Mom, I don't think I'm old enough to handle this one.

Me: I think that's very wise of you.

Lynn: Mom?

Me: Yes, Lynn?

Lynn: I'm kind of afraid to tell Rob I don't want to go.

Me: What would you like to have happen, here, Lynn?

Lynn: It would help if you said I couldn't.

Me: You can't go with Rob to Galveston, Lynn.

Lynn: Gosh, thanks, Mom!

The answer would have been "No" whatever, but by giving her the chance to make the choice for herself, we avoided a tantrum and scene.

You are a genius.

I wasn't.

I leaned the hard way.

Our daughter had a boy friend. I detested him.

I said, "Stay away from him."
She said, " I love him."
I said, "Love him from afar."
We argued over him until one day I said, " He is not to come to our house ever again! If he so much as stands on our front porch, I will rip it off and build a new one."
The more I disliked him the more she loved him.
Finally I wised up and said, "Marry him."
She turned against him and that was the end of him.
What a relief. '

Things weren't always so easy. Remember, she and Susan both spent three years having nothing to do with me. I told them to do what they loved; their dad told them to learn how to make money. He also told them that, if they wanted his help and support, they would have to do it his way. He belittled their dreams to the point they didn't have much self-esteem left. They felt pulled between those two choices, as though it had to be one or the other. Eventually, they each found their own paths, but there were some rough years for a while.

I still have a problem with parents belittling their children's dreams.

My parents both thought that a woman's job was keeping her husband's house and rearing their children. Period. They also looked down on my habit of "telling stories," especially when I wrote them down. When I made the Dean's List the first semester that I went back to school after the divorce, my dad lectured me on putting too much focus on my studies and not enough on broadening my social life (e.g. finding another husband.)