Kevin Baker: I am fortunate enough to be able to work full-time as a writer. I have a regular column in American Heritage magazine, and do other (nonfiction) periodical work, but the bulk of my time is spent on my novels.
Margaret George: I'm fortunate enough that writing IS my "day job." But wouldn't you know, the perversity of human nature is that once writing is expected of you, it becomes harder to do. It was easier when it was a forbidden activity, an act of personal rebellion, my "secret garden." Even today, I find myself longing to write most when it's impossible because I have some other obligation. That's why I always carry a notebook! I at least write down ideas so I don't lose them.
Tayari Jones: I don't have a "day job." As a matter of fact, this is one of the reasons I have chosen to live in the state of Arizona, far from my Atlanta roots. Arizona has a very low cost of living. Yes, I am lonely living out west, but this is one of the sacrifices I make so that I can do what I love full-time.
Karen Essex: I have a pretty excellent day job, which is writing film and TV scripts. When I was working on the books, I supported myself as a journalist and a teacher. I found that I actually had to give up journalism because it was not aiding my novelistic style. I would write sentences like "Kleopatra, a thirty-year-old dark haired queen…" Tedious! Writing for TV and film don't have the same effect, however, though I do not write prose and scripts simultaneously.
Bernard Cornwell: God knows how people balance it --- I've been a full time writer for 22 years.
Megan Chance: I make my living by writing. However, I also have two young children, and most of my writing time is dictated by their schedules. Currently, I work for two-three hours a day, and sometimes in the evening, after they go to bed. However, I work everyday, even weekends, and I rarely a break of longer than two weeks a year.
Glen David Gold: I'm lucky enough to be a full-time author-guy. This means I'm supposed to have a steely discipline; otherwise, the time I spent writing is too porous. In other words, I have more time to goof off, and boy is that attractive, in every conceivable way.
For many years I worked Office Support --- answering phones, Xeroxing --- and allegedly that was an ideal job, as when I left the office at 5, I was free. But I didn't have the focus. Switching over to teaching was a much better gig, as that involved whole days of teaching and grading, interspersed with whole days of writing. That worked for me.
Matthew Kneale: Right now, no. In the past I've done all kinds of things, from teaching English in Tokyo to making sandwiches in Oxford. I didn't mind much what it was so long as it left me enough time and didn't seem so serious that it might surreptitiously become a career.
