I’m starting to get more mail, and more questions, than the Playboy Advisor. I received this email yesterday:
Dear Mr. Goldberg,
I’m a young, unpublished writer who’s been fortunate enough to get the
attention of a couple of agents. Since I might one day find myself published
(it does seem so far off, though), I have a few questions for a tried and true
veteran of the industry.
First, how likely is it to make a living as a writer? I understand how
broad and poorly concieved this question is, so let my add a little more to the
question. I write literary fiction. I feel I am somewhat talented and I work
hard. I’m curious as to the possibility of living as a writer or teaching
writing as a direct result of my writing and not spending $60k and two
irreplacable years of my life to get some MFA that will teach me nothing. How
much can a literary novelist really make? It seems stupid to assume I’ll never
make any money just because I write books that read a little too artsy for mass
consumption (but then who is to predict such things).
Second, and possibly more immediate, I’m going into the Army for the next
three and a half years or so. Is this something that will impede my getting
published? As I have already stated, I have agents looking at my work now and
they have no idea of my plans.
Thanks for reading my questions. I hope I haven’t asked anything too
inappropriate.
Steve
Since I didn’t have the answers to any of his questions, I turned to my brother Tod, a literary novelist who, presumably, is earning a living at it. Here’s what Tod told the guy who wrote me:
Steve,
My brother Lee Goldberg forwarded your question on to me, since I was in a
similar situation as you (save for the military) a few years ago.
It is certainly possible to make a living writing literary fiction, though
realistically most people don’t. I’ve published two novels and have a short
story collection coming out in September and what I can tell you is that the
combined income from those books isn’t enough to live on, though the acclaim
feeds my ego, just not my stomach. I got lucky and was able to sell one of my
novels to Hollywood and have thus far received far more money from my movie
options than I ever have in publishing, enough to live on, certainly. But I also
teach at the Writers’ Program at UCLA and write a weekly column for a newspaper
and regularly contribute journalism to magazines. If I wanted to teach full time
at the University level I imagine I probably could now because of certain award
nominations, publications and experience, but without an MFA (which I don’t have
either) a full time teaching job straight out the box for a young person with a
book would be very difficult to come by without a fairly vast and accomplished
publishing history. Universities and state colleges generally want their
graduate and undergraduate professors to have advanced degrees no matter what.
How much does a literary novelist make? Anywhere from $2000 per book to
1million — there’s no real telling. Alice Sebold didn’t get a huge advance for
the Lovely Bones, but she sure earned a lot of money and her next book will
certainly garner a fat advance. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the money at
this point, just about the writing. Good writing gets rewarded, but so does bad
sometimes. I’d just focus on writing well and if you sell your novel, it’s a
dream come true no matter the numbers on the check.
As for the military, I think it probably does hamper your chances simply
because of the opportunity, or lack there of, you’ll have to write and should
you sell your book, to promote it. Of course, you could come back from your time
in the Army as the next Tim O’Brien, though I sure hope that isn’t the case on a
psychological level; talent-wise, it wouldn’t be a bad deal at all.
Just out of curiosity, who are these agents and why are they interested in
you, especially if you never been published previously?
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions. And be safe out
there in the army.
Tod Goldberg