{"id":455,"date":"2016-04-04T14:54:58","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T19:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zachbarnesonwriting.wordpress.com\/?p=455"},"modified":"2016-04-04T14:54:58","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T19:54:58","slug":"my-other-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/2016\/04\/04\/my-other-job\/","title":{"rendered":"My Other Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Lynch, one of my favorite fantasy authors as of late, said something truly funny about his writing career, which I never forgot. \u00a0In the bio on his website, Scott Lynch says:<\/p>\n

“I had just about every job you usually see in this sort of author bio– dishwasher, busboy, waiter, web designer, office manager, prep cook, and freelance writer.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And isn’t that so true? \u00a0When the public sees an author, you\u00a0might be inclined to believe that an author is all they’ve ever been, and that becoming smashingly successful is their Manifest Destiny. \u00a0But for the most part they’re not, and it wasn’t; they just didn’t quit.<\/p>\n

Understanding this, it’s important to know that becoming a titan almost never happens overnight. \u00a0You would be just as likely to exclaim, “well, I ran my first\/second\/fourteenth marathon and I didn’t beat that professional runner who does this, literally, for a freakin’ living<\/em>, so I guess I’m not a runner.”<\/p>\n

In a society that so values monetary success, understand that the immediate lack thereof is not a sign of failure, nor is it a symptom of bad writing or flawed ideas, though that’s an easy go-to excuse. \u00a0It might mean you need to do web design, or bus tables, or waitress, or cut vegetables very, very quickly, but it does not mean you have to stop writing. \u00a0Just look at Scott Lynch. \u00a0“Real” authors have held other jobs for years, and “real” authors will continue to take \u00a0these other jobs, because they have to eat, too.<\/p>\n

So, hold on to those\u00a0“other” jobs (Maslow would really recommend it), but don’t ever convince yourself that you’re not a writer. \u00a0Yes, I’m a barista and a tutor, but these jobs do not preclude me from being an author.<\/p>\n

And on that note, I would like to say I have officially signed my first-ever book\u00a0contract, an\u00a0editor is working on my manuscript, and Avengarde will be\u00a0on\u00a0sale\u00a0soon-ish! \u00a0Now go write!<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m on facebook at:\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/zachbarnesonwriting<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

And Twitter: @ZacharyBarnes4<\/span><\/p>\n

Like or follow me if you enjoy\u00a0the blog!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t steal\u00a0my words. \u00a0They\u2019re mine. Zachary Barnes 2016\u00a9<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a society that so values monetary success, understand that the immediate lack thereof is not a sign of failure, nor is it a symptom of bad writing or flawed ideas, though that’s an easy go-to excuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[3,6,21,27,39,1,49,50],"tags":[61,63,64,76,132,200,204],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22,"url":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/2015\/01\/08\/review-of-scott-lynchs-lies\/","url_meta":{"origin":455,"position":0},"title":"Review of Scott Lynch's LIES","date":"January 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The debut story of Locke Lamora is gripping and crammed with an intense gamut of emotion. Though the secondary world is vividly realized, the characters are what make this novel shine. The dialogue is sharply witty and every motivation fits its corresponding personality like a snug winter jacket. Sections of\u2026","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"Book Reviews\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64,"url":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/2015\/01\/21\/query-queueing-qqs\/","url_meta":{"origin":455,"position":1},"title":"Query Queueing (QQs)","date":"January 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Even if your prose would make McCarthy cry with jealousy, your book will not see the light of day without a well-crafted query.","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"Fantasy\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybarnes.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}