The Perks of Being a Writer

Photo Credit: Writer’s Digest

Okay guys, I’m certain that I could write a book about the so-called perks of being a writer. And hey, maybe some clueless soul might confuse the title with The Perks of Being a Wallflower and mistakenly buy it. I can dream, right?

Let’s get on topic here. For the sake of this post, let’s assume that you, the writer, earn enough money from your published titles for writing to be your one and only job. You’re not James Patterson but you’re also not John Guillen making zippo.

Make your own hours

This is one of those things that other professions just don’t have. I mean, I suppose a business owner could also set his or her own hours, but last I checked there are a lot more people in America who don’t own their own business than those who do. But as a writer you can write every other day or three hours a day or eight hours a day or on no set schedule at all. Tell me that isn’t the coolest thing. Sure I know that if you don’t write enough, then you could potentially miss deadlines and yada yada, but still. The hours a writer actually writes is solely dependent on the individual.

No commute

Plenty of professionals live a lengthy drive from their place of employment. And then you have others who may be able to walk to work each day if they live in an overpriced apartment in the middle of the city. But writers don’t have to deal with any kind of commute to and from work. If I want to only write at my desk at home, then I can. If I want to sit out back and write as the sun falls, then I can. If I have a favorite cafe that I frequent for my writing purposes, then I can go there whenever I feel the need to do so. A writer can literally work anywhere, others can’t.

No boss

I know what you’re thinking. A writer has a million people within their publisher who may or may not tell them what to do. But would you really put that in the same sentence as your boss at work who never leaves you alone about the dumbest things? “Get me coffee.” “Get off the internet.” “Where’s that report?” “Were you just taking a selfie?” I don’t think so. After all, this writer has a nice body of work and an agent who can always look for a better publishing situation. Writers are like every single aspect of a business in a single person.

No set salary

Again, I know what you’re thinking. This can also be a very bad thing, especially for a self-published author. But our writer for this post is not self-published and has several published books already. But let’s be real, every working person goes into their annual evaluation thinking they’ve done a good job over the past year and deserve a pay raise. And so many of these people are disappointed over and over again. But a writer doesn’t have to look at his or her work that way. They could write one book that someone likes and that someone could go back and buy the others that are available. A writer can always earn more. And that is not a bad thing.

Okay, I kept this list short because I wanted to hear from you all. What are your favorite perks of being a writer? I’m counting on you for some good ones I haven’t thought of yet!