> Throughout this period, Glass supported himself as a New York cabbie and as a plumber, occupations that often led to unusual encounters. "I had gone to install a dishwasher in a loft in SoHo," he says. "While working, I suddenly heard a noise and looked up to find Robert Hughes, the art critic of Time magazine, staring at me in disbelief. 'But you're Philip Glass! What are you doing here?' It was obvious that I was installing his dishwasher and I told him I would soon be finished. 'But you are an artist,' he protested. I explained that I was an artist but that I was sometimes a plumber as well and that he should go away and let me finish."
> Here Reich fell in with musicians, dancers, sculptors and filmmakers. Sculptor Richard Serra was a neighbour of Reich’s at the time in Lower Manhattan, as was experimental filmmaker Michael Snow. For a brief period, Reich helped out with fellow minimalist Philip Glass’s removal company, Chelsea Light Moving. He recalls paying $65 a month in rent for a loft on Duane Street. “But I had a hard time paying that,” he says.
Cormac McCarthy appears to be an exceptional case in this respect. I skimmed through a book about it once. Early on he basically earned his keep through grants and book sales. I think he persuaded one of his old ladies to get a job while he wrote. And apparently he was always writing; pitching one book in the middle of working on another. I guess film and television soon followed.
Doesn't sound exceptional to me. Most of the authors I have some personal knowledge of manage through exactly that: spouses, grants, book sales, residencies and teaching creative writing.
I actually think being a full-time writer is a more feasible professions today than it probably was a few hundred years ago. On the other hand, back in the 1800s random newspapers would pay for serialized stories. That doesn't really happen anymore (save a few surviving exceptions like the New Yorker) but now we have substack and a ton of other avenues writers can use to keep afloat
McCarthy was famously impoverished for most of his life. He apparently spent most of his money buying books. Late in life, the movie income from No Country for Old Men and The Road made him a multimillionaire, and his spending was apparently quite wild from then on, buying endless amounts of cowboy boots and tweed coats, as well as a large collection of vintage cars. [1]
From my impressions so far, writing might be safe for far longer than many of those day jobs. At least provided there are enough people interested in reading good literature and willing to pay for that
Lots of engineers write, too. My favorite example of "very different day job" is Gene Wolfe, who worked as an industrial engineer (he famously worked on the original machine that produced Pringles potato chips), and spent most of his working life as an editor of the magazine Plant Engineering.
R. A. Lafferty worked as a full-time electrical engineer for Clark Electrical Supply Company all his life, though he eventually moved to a salesperson position.
You're the second commentor I've read mentioning Gene Wolfe, in the past two days [0]. After I finish my Cormick McCarthy stint, I'll start his The Book of the New Sun this spring.
Vonnegut is among my favorite authors alive during my lifetime — he was a POW during the bombing of Dresden (WWII) — a great drafted veteran friend of mine wouldn't even listen to me discuss Slaughterhouse Five with him until I told him about the author's background (apparently during 'Nam Vonnegut was considered a traitor by draftees?).
All these life experiences — who actually succeeds when their only goal is to become a writer?! Empty words, empty people.
Do you have a better Gene Wolfe introductory recommendation? His 2nd book for me to read?
I’m one of those, although I tend to de-emphasize this fact in most of my social interactions (not just writing related) since people tend to react weirdly to learning that I program computers for a living. Instead, the bio for my writings says, “[he] spends his days as an insignificant cog in the machinery of corporate America.”
I’ve had modest success with a few dozen stories and poems published over the last dozen years, but I don’t expect it will ever be a major source of income for me.
Brandon Sanderson often says in interviews that "laying bricks" is the best job a writer can have. He also says being a software engineer is particularly bad job for writers because you cannot do it on autopilot. I can confirm.
Back then, all jobs moved at a much slower pace. There was a lot more off time during work hours.
> Stevens turned down an offer from Harvard following his 1955 Pulitzer because he would’ve been forced to give up his vice-presidency position at Hartford Accident and Indemnity
If this intersection is of interest to you, so might Mason Currey's book Daily Rituals ("On the routines and working habits of 161 inspired minds, from Beethoven to Donald Barthelme, Kafka to Georgia O’Keeffe") which I've enjoyed very much (no affiliation), for similar reasons.
Trollope eventually got quite responsible work at the post office.
Some writers found consular and diplomatic posts: among the Americans, Hawthorne, Howell, and (James Russell) Lowell; among the French, Chateaubriand and Stendhal.
Reminds me of "Lifers, Dayjobbers, and the Independently Wealthy: A Letter to a Former Student" by Max Alper, an excerpt from which I really appreciated:
> You’re not a failure by being a dayjobber, Billy, you’re an artist, just like the rest of us. So what if you aren’t some rich kid from the Upper East Side who had the privilege of being stuck in a practice room since Kindergarten? Sure that kid can shred, but do you really want to be that person? You’re playing shows, making records, and selling merch online, all without daddy’s money to hold you down. You’re making it happen without the head start that Richy Rich got the second he was born. Be proud of that! Knowing that the game is rigged is liberating! Just because the music industry lacks meritocracy doesn’t mean you can’t blow these assholes out of the water through your craft. Your experiences outside their bubble will only foster more creativity as a result.
mrec|5 days ago
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/nov/24/arts.highe...
2b3a51|4 days ago
> Here Reich fell in with musicians, dancers, sculptors and filmmakers. Sculptor Richard Serra was a neighbour of Reich’s at the time in Lower Manhattan, as was experimental filmmaker Michael Snow. For a brief period, Reich helped out with fellow minimalist Philip Glass’s removal company, Chelsea Light Moving. He recalls paying $65 a month in rent for a loft on Duane Street. “But I had a hard time paying that,” he says.
From
https://www.ft.com/content/02edd1fa-8e18-4483-ba24-7559d329a...
(also https://archive.is/C1TiZ)
I recollect reading that Reich made a definite decision against teaching as a day job because of the demands if you do it right.
azangru|5 days ago
https://images2.imgbox.com/cc/f9/gX6o2Jfu_o.png
Must be very conducive to reading
trashb|5 days ago
Perhaps you would like the archived page instead if you don't have an adblocker, though I recommend installing one.
https://archive.ph/WeRN4
nicbou|5 days ago
unknown|5 days ago
[deleted]
akoboldfrying|5 days ago
If one day it becomes possible to host a website for free, it would also be reasonable to complain about ads on it.
tolerance|5 days ago
scandox|5 days ago
voidhorse|5 days ago
atombender|4 days ago
[1] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/two-years-cormac...
neonnoodle|5 days ago
wongarsu|4 days ago
atombender|4 days ago
R. A. Lafferty worked as a full-time electrical engineer for Clark Electrical Supply Company all his life, though he eventually moved to a salesperson position.
ProllyInfamous|4 days ago
Vonnegut is among my favorite authors alive during my lifetime — he was a POW during the bombing of Dresden (WWII) — a great drafted veteran friend of mine wouldn't even listen to me discuss Slaughterhouse Five with him until I told him about the author's background (apparently during 'Nam Vonnegut was considered a traitor by draftees?).
All these life experiences — who actually succeeds when their only goal is to become a writer?! Empty words, empty people.
Do you have a better Gene Wolfe introductory recommendation? His 2nd book for me to read?
[0] first comment <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47125287#47153200>
dhosek|4 days ago
I’ve had modest success with a few dozen stories and poems published over the last dozen years, but I don’t expect it will ever be a major source of income for me.
coopykins|5 days ago
babblingfish|4 days ago
Back then, all jobs moved at a much slower pace. There was a lot more off time during work hours.
Sir_Twist|4 days ago
Source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetry-news/65332/successfu...
qmacro|4 days ago
Link: https://www.masoncurrey.com/daily-rituals
cafard|4 days ago
Some writers found consular and diplomatic posts: among the Americans, Hawthorne, Howell, and (James Russell) Lowell; among the French, Chateaubriand and Stendhal.
Louis Auchincloss was a lawyer.
unknown|5 days ago
[deleted]
jihadjihad|4 days ago
- Chekhov
herbertl|4 days ago
> You’re not a failure by being a dayjobber, Billy, you’re an artist, just like the rest of us. So what if you aren’t some rich kid from the Upper East Side who had the privilege of being stuck in a practice room since Kindergarten? Sure that kid can shred, but do you really want to be that person? You’re playing shows, making records, and selling merch online, all without daddy’s money to hold you down. You’re making it happen without the head start that Richy Rich got the second he was born. Be proud of that! Knowing that the game is rigged is liberating! Just because the music industry lacks meritocracy doesn’t mean you can’t blow these assholes out of the water through your craft. Your experiences outside their bubble will only foster more creativity as a result.
Source: https://klangmag.co/lifers-dayjobbers-and-the-independently-...
HN thread here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36693297
navane|5 days ago