Strategy session I: breaking inFor folks with the means, this self-indulgence is not harmful;
that is, not until the money runs out. For most others, though, going
full-time too soon is a mistake that may have drastic consequences.
Regular financial crunches, frustration, and scraping the barrel
between advances can be a soul-destroying.
Perhaps the worst consequence of turning full-time too soon is
the cynicism that creeps into the outlook of writers who undergo
repeated financial crises. While joy may not vanish from the creative
process, the business half can become an unendurable misery. That,
I think, is a shame.
Cynicism about the business is avoidable if you plan to go full-
time only when royalties are finally able to support you. Notice that
I use the word royalties, not advances or earnings. There is a reason for
that. It bears discussion.
Many authors make the jump to full-time status during the first
year in which it seems that their gross revenues will support them.
They wishfully imagine that their advances and first sub-rights sales
will continue at their current levels or better. Perhaps their advances
will grow steadily; perhaps the stock market will always go up, too. It
may, but historically we know that the stock market at times gets
ahead of itself and goes down or maybe even crashes, causing panic.
So it can be with advances. The reason is that advances are,
underneath it all, an estimate of eventual royalties. Advances may
outstrip royalty earnings for a time, but not forever. If an author's
advances have been unrealistically generous, eventually that author
will face a day of reckoning. In the nineties that day tends to come
sooner rather than later.
When the reckoning comes, the result can be a rude and painful
shock. Authors who imagined that they were secure suddenly find
themselves demoted or even fired without the possibility of collect-
ing unemployment insurance. It is panic time. There are bills to be
paid, the mortgage is due, the kids need braces. Suddenly family
finances are stretched beyond the breaking point.
Desperation sets in. The closet is emptied again. A sale—any
sale—is urgently required, not only for the money but to bolster the
shaken self-image of the full-time author. A lot is at stake, and going
back to one's previous job is unthinkable. Writers in this situation