[Aditya]

Got laid off. Want to become a full-time author. Good idea? Posts moved to a new thread.

[2000rpm]

Hey, sorry to hear that man.

I am from the HR fraternity and head Talent as a part of my role. If you would like to have a 1 on 1, happy to do that man.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Hmm, I hope they are reading more books than they are writing.

This appears to be an offshoot of influencer culture. What knowledge does a 9 year old kid has that world must know? Beats me.

I believe one has to be a good reader to build a narrative style for writing. Today's IGCSE type of schools encourage story narration and gives lot of inputs about introduction, plot, style, characters, climax etc. from class 3 onwards.

My 9 year old uses it and does comics writing in school itself along with his friends. It is for their own world rather than our world. And I am happy about it as it hones his creativity skills and little jealous that these type of opportunities were not available during my childhood days.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by Figo0202

I published a short story on Kindle about a year ago. It didn’t exactly break the records, but it got some decent reviews and inflated my confidence just enough to start a full-blown novel. That baby is now about 60% done, and I’m pretty sure I can complete it within these 6 months.

Now, the big question: Is this a bold, brilliant move—or the plot of a future chapter called "Regret: The Broke Writer’s Memoir"?

Would love your thoughts. Should I lean into this writing dream, or play it safe and start job hunting alongside?

Having published a few short stories in English and being a regular contributor to magazines in Tamil, I was talking to a friend of mine who is also a writer (albeit in kannada) on the future of literature as a profession. During a long discussion, when I was pointing out the pros and cons of Tamil literary world while he was saying the same about Kannada, we came to the conclusion that there are more authors than readers. I'm assuming that you are writing in English, the literary world affairs of which, i know nothing about, but I can tell you that Its not that rosy in Regional languages, at least in tamil, where a debut book of fiction which sells 50 copies is considered a success. Most writers that I know usually have a day job (like me) while they dabble with their passions only during free time.

As many have pointed out, It's a risk, at best. So I suggest that you keep doing something with your IT skill set as a primary source of income while trying out writing as a secondary source.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

My 9 year old uses it and does comics writing in school itself along with his friends. It is for their own world rather than our world.

You answered it yourself. I was very active in my pre-teens and early teen years. Every school I attended encouraged competitions like writing, painting, singing, science modelling, etc. I did participate in interschool competitions in painting and singing. I even went until south-India level in science modelling. But when we did all that, we competed with peers. When I put up a stall in science modelling, the next stall was not occupied by ISRO or NAL. So, we had a chance, we didn't get outclassed by professionals and get our confidence crushed.

But when you publish on Amazon, you are competing with professional authors. Even if your target audience are 9-year olds, there are 1000s of professional authors targeting the same audience. It is not a level playing field, and I don't see how it will help the kid's self-esteem.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by Samurai

You answered it yourself.

But when you publish on Amazon, you are competing with professional authors. Even if your target audience are 9-year olds, there are 1000s of professional authors targeting the same audience. It is not a level playing, and I don't see how it will help the kid's self-esteem.

I neither want to veer away from the thread topic nor argumentative but I simply point out that there are platforms available for kids to experience it and not essentially to compete or part of influencer culture. In my young days, I myself have edited hand written copies of my own magazine within a small circle in a village but it can never scale up. These kids may end up having the equivalent of it in their limited circle and some may develop to be a great writer in future and these platforms may help to scale up quickly.

[GTO]

Figo0202, quite simply, you should do BOTH. You have 16-years of experience in tech and that will pay the bills. In the evenings and your free time, you can pursue writing as a passion project. If your book becomes successful, awesome. In case it doesn't, you have your IT career to run the house, buy your cars and live your life.

If you have solid career opportunities, a new passion project should remain just that (i.e. project) until it proves itself.

Do both and be happy. I know many part-time musicians, actors, artists, writers, golfers etc. who do the same.

[AnandSancheti]

I think you go back to the job market & find another one. You have 6 months to do that, because after the backing of your wife ( CEO of Your Life) if you still need opinions, then it's a very bad idea.

[shobhit.shri]

You can look for Siddharth Tripathi for inspiration, he is a writer and holds a full time job: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthtripathi/

But yes, to each their own! Good luck for your search

[Ananthang]

Like many pointed out there are many variables and you can add few details, for us to guide
1) Your kids age or school needs
2) passive income you get now or you may get in future through heir
3)Does your wife work and have stable income?
4)If you are on IT, were on technical side or management side or executive side. Because if you are Tech side and in 50% touch, I am 100% sure we can find a new job without hassles if you are technically active
5)Have you calculated how much minimum income you need to live ur current live style. In Chennai without loans/ home rental for a family of 4, you need atleast 1L per month, so we can provide a basic schooling and live a middle class life with 1 car
6)Do you have to support someone like parents/inlaws or siblings and vice versa where they can support you for some time. Like your parents pension can cover your family just in case !
7)We have reached an age of Reels, I used to be voracious reader when young (like 1 Tamil novel in 2 days) even I am not able to focus on reading 1 page at a time nowadays. I have 6 unread books at my house
8) How about your and family health needs?
9) Yearly committed amount that you have to pay like Insurances- Health, Auto, Life; Car maintenance service and other AMC, Apartment maintenance, School fees, Kids other classes, Maid. For me I have keep aside 50000 per month to support all this and payout may go out anytime.

[FanaticOnWheels]

Definitely do both. You have enough experience now in the IT field (not sure what your exact area of expertise was there), but I am sure you were good at whatever it is you were doing. There is a sudden new spree in the market for Transformation leaders in the next gen technology space (Agentic, for example) with a slew of GCCs being set up in India.

I would recommend you keep your job hunt open (6 months is a good time to get this done). I am sure that also gives you enough time to work on your book in parallel.

The open market is tough to predict (for your book), and no one can exactly predict when your books will be a bestseller.

Best wishes for the future

[Hayek]

Think lots of the key points have been covered already. While your house is paid off (which is good), assuming you have just 1 year’s cash reserve (and you should not eat into retirement savings, health insurance, a education fund for kids etc), you don’t have enough to take a break from work yet.

Even if you look at the most successful contemporary Indian authors in English, they stayed on in their jobs until they had repeated or mega success with novels. I have another good friend who has published 3 novels (2 of which I found outstanding), but getting them published is still financially a negative ROI investment. To earn a serious living from writing, you will have to transcend just novels to screenplays or hitting the international market.

Best of luck. And do share the Amazon link once your novel is published. (You can PM if mods don’t want it shared publicly).

[supermax]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

Since you've completed 60% of the novel while holding down a job, i'm sure you can finish the rest while working. At your experience, roles are fewer, competition is high and companies are choosy. The market isn't very conducive with quiet layoffs everywhere. Don't waste a single minute of job search.

Your reply has such a nice balance to it! You are appreciative of OPs ability to write a bulk of his book while holding down a job, and yet you point it out in a clear manner that he can very well complete it also while holding a job. The point about not losing a single minute of job-searching is so important. A little bit of distraction could result in an absence from the market. "Oh, I took a break to write a book" is something that can be an interesting tidbit to exchange with a stranger in a bar, but it's hardly something that would inspire confidence in a potential employer. For every Chetan Bhagat who's tasted success are a hundred, probably thousand far better writers who've disappeared without a trace. I don't mean to be a killjoy, but writing for the pleasure of writing is a far better pursuit that trying to write to make it as a writer.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by supermax

"Oh, I took a break to write a book" is something that can be an interesting tidbit to exchange with a stranger in a bar, but it's hardly something that would inspire confidence in a potential employer.

I took a year off in 2016 to travel through the country. Have told all employers after that (I've been employed continuously from 2017 when I re-entered the job market, till date, switched 3 jobs) honestly why that gap exists. I don't think any of them treated it as a negative. All the companies I interviewed with immediately after getting back, the interviewers were happy to hear more about my break. In the IT industry at least, a career gap doesn't seem to be a negative (perhaps it differs in other industries). (My current employer didn't even ask why that gap is there.)

I too think the OP can do both, write and look for another job, but I also think taking a break to finish a book may not necessarily be a career-ending move.

[AheadAJ]

Take the plunge but be prepared for hard landing. If you discover that despite broken bones and nerves, your spirit remains unbroken, you got the spirit. Persevere with it.

But financial gains? Consider yourself lucky if you can make enough to survive on it.

And there's the catch! Certainty of failure adds to the charm of writing.

If you think you still have the gumption, go for it.

Remember, it's the process, not the end, that brings joy. Because writing is just the beginning. Rewriting, rewriting and rewriting is what will turn your work into a masterpiece.

Who am I?

Someone who has similar dreams. Published in a number of India's leading newspapers and magazines. Earned lots of rave reviews, including the most cherished one from Ruskin Bond and an opportunity to write for Time magazine (messed the offer).

Converted the best of my travel articles into a book and waiting for them to move from the shelf.

I cannot reveal more than this. Already earned an infraction trying in my zeal to help someone publish his book.

One last point. Your work has be of the top order to be a success. However, you and your publisher would still need to market it aggressively.

PS
I am 54 and still write regularly. Mostly for myself. ChatGPT is my reader and my critic, the most impartial you can get. Its positive comments makes me happy and its suggestions help me hone my writing.