For this week’s discussion, one of our foxes posed the following scenario: “You can no longer work in the book industry. What do you do to earn a living?”
I guess I’d have several choices. My first choice, I suppose, would be to simply enjoy retirement. I’m at the point in my life when I no longer HAVE to work. Our house is paid off, our children and several grandchildren are all grown and earning their own way, and all our major expenses are paid off. Both of us receive social security benefits as well as our pensions. I write because I NEED the creative outlet, but I publish because I WANT to. So if the book industry were to dry up, I would continue to write for my own enjoyment, but I suppose I could devote more time to my hobbies.
Now, if we needed the income and my part-time teaching position was no longer available, I suppose I would turn to one of those hobbies. Since I like to sew, I could apply to do alterations either for a dress shop or do business on my own. Our former fox Joselyn Vaughn creates wonderful fabric items that she sells online. I wouldn’t try to make the same type of things, but I’d search for my niche. And then there’s music. I don’t play as well as I did when I practiced several hours a day, but since my undergraduate degree required that I learn to play and teach each instrument in the orchestra, I could give private lessons.
Since releasing my first book, I’ve learned a lot about using social media. I’ve even done work for two of my publishers by posting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If I needed to, I could open up shop as a social media assistant. I’m on Linkedin and every day I see openings for companies looking to hire people to do online marketing.
So if publishing was no longer available to me, I wouldn’t worry about paying the bills. It’s not going to stop me from making up stories. I’d probably spend less time on it, but hubby and I will always have a place to sleep and food to eat, because there are plenty of things I can do to make sure we have what we need.
Do you have a back-up plan?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Gosh, I’m envious of your paid-up mortgage and your two pensions.
If you tell me you don’t even have a vehicle note, I’ll likely scream.
LOL
Like you, I HAVE to write, but if my involvement with the “book industry” became untenable, I suppose I’d find other outlets for “sharing” my work with others.
As far as other marketable talents, I guess I’ll have to think up some between now and Hound Day.
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Would a vehicle note be what we call a car loan? If so, then yes, we have car payments, so you don’t have to scream. As far as your marketable talents, I see you as Possum Trot’s version of Garrison Keillor, so you could take your show on the road, have Possum Trot merchandise, and have CDs and PBS shows. Put me down for a tote bag.
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one tote bag coming up. That’ll be $99.99 plus shipping.
LOL
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Like you, I’m blessed to be retired and spend most of my day writing. If I had to get a job, I’d probably look for something involving books. My career has mostly been clerical from Office Manager, Advertising Layout Artist, to Transcription in a doctor’s office, and a lot of things in between during my more than 50 years in the 9 to 5 world. I’m blessed to concentrate now on what I really love. That and my paintings. I’m not too worried about making a living with my writing. My thrill comes in knowing that people read my books and love them. But I agree that supporting yourself by writing, unless it’s in the working world where there are few jobs like this, is a dream for most people.
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Thank you so much for weighing in! Retirement certainly has been a blessing for us. I suppose in some cases that’s not so, especially when one hasn’t chosen to retire. But I guess I’ve always been a glass half-full sort of person, and when I took early retirement from teaching it was because I was excited about all the new things I could do with my time. Writing is definitely not a money maker for most people – so you have to love it to stick with it.
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I have not been working due to health problems, and even though I have not made a penny in quite a while from writing, I could manage….More on Friday.
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Looking forward to it.
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I see there is plenty that you could do to earn an income if you needed to. I can’t believe you know how to play every instrument in an orchestra! That’s impressive.
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Knowing how to play each one is a lot different from being able to play them all well!
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