Q&A: Balancing Day Job and Freelance Writing (Patreon)

Zub: Thanks for reaching out to ask about this, Eric.

I’ve had a full-time job for my entire comic writing career. I coordinate and teach at an art college in Toronto as part of the Animation faculty, so I have a set number of lecture hours per week along with lecture prep, marking, portfolio evaluation, and curriculum development. Animation is what I went to school for and it’s obviously creative and adjacent to comics, so I’m happy I’m able to do that alongside freelance writing.

One of the most valuable things I’ve learned over the past 8-10 years has been to block out writing time and get myself into ‘writing mode’. Yes, there are days when I’m inspired and the scenes and dialogue flow like water, but that’s not a daily (or sometimes even weekly) occurrence. Having a creative job means you have to be able to turn that switch ‘on’ and get something going, even if it’s an uphill battle. With only a handful of hours per day (usually in the evening), I had to learn to set aside that time and push out other distractions. It’s me, my story notes, and the blank screen. The work has to get done because it’s on the schedule and I’ve promised myself/the creative team/the publisher I would deliver.

Some writers like to do stream of consciousness stuff and write a huge swath of material, then do lots of edits and drafts to turn it into something usable. That’s a viable way of working for some people and can generate great spontaneous ideas, but it’s not for me. I’m an intense planner. I think I learned that from working in animation. When you’re producing animation, the client is paying for every second of footage produced. Wasting production time, wasting those specialized resources is a big no-no. Animated films are carefully storyboarded and pre-edited into something called a ‘leica reel’ or ‘animatic’ so that every shot can be planned, checked and approved before the animation crew goes to work on it. 

I treat comic story planning in a similar fashion. I plan out the overall story, then each issue, and then break down how many pages will be needed for each scene. That plan can change and fresh inspirations hit me as I’m working away, but I can adjust that underlying structure with an understanding for where it’s all heading.

How does that relate to juggling writing with a full-time job? Well, once my story is built, I’ve got a blueprint I can follow. I look at that and I’m reminded of what’s gone on before and what’s coming up. It helps quickly get me into that critical writing mode and keeps me on task even if I’m not as inspired or focused as I’d like to be on that particular day. I can write a later scene I have clearly in mind or I can continue where I left off without worrying that I’m getting off track. I can write a couple pages over my lunch hour at my job, or put together script pages while I’m flying to a convention or at a hotel. The story plan is the constant keeping me moving forward, not a particular time/place/situation. 

Carving out time is difficult when the majority of your most productive hours are dedicated to a day job. I won’t lie, it’s rough. I don’t have the kind of social time I’d like. I don’t spend as much time with my wife as either of us would like. Writing is a priority in the same way any other thing you dedicate your time to is – exercise, a diet, a sports team, etc. You have to decide what else has to go to the wayside in order to give it space and that can be quite difficult at times. It’s actually easier now because the writing work I’m doing makes money and has visibility. It’s easier for me to justify to my friends and family that I’m not available when I can say “I’m writing the Avengers tonight” rather than just a personal project they don’t understand.

I’m not casting judgements on anyone. I don’t think you have to write every day to be a writer. I don’t think you have to do a certain amount every week either. If you’re building up your work bit by bit that’s great. Everyone’s needs and responsibilities are different. I’ve been very fortunate that I have a solid day job where they support my writing career. The college gives me flexibility around convention travel and allows me to book make-up classes where needed. That solid financial foundation coupled with a very caring and patient wife gives me the opportunity to take risks I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise and to burn the midnight oil on multiple projects to keep building my creative career.

A lot of people (pros and readers) ask me why I haven’t switched to writing full time. They assume having a monthly Marvel gig is ‘it’ and I should ditch teaching and grab this with both hands. It sounds good in theory, but the reality is much more complicated. The market is tumultuous. Books are launching and dropping like crazy. I don’t want the stress of feast or famine, taking gigs that are a bad fit for my sensibilities just because I need the money immediately to pay my mortgage/cover my bills. I’ve seen way too many freelancers burn bright and then get dumped. I actually pitched on two other Marvel superhero projects and a half dozen DC ones before Thunderbolts finally happened. On one of them I turned it down because I realized the book would be dead on arrival and that it would then look like I couldn’t hold a series together. I was right and that book cratered.

Having my day job is a source of stress, but it’s also a source of stability. Not to sound too crass, but it gives me the ultimate ‘fuck you’ option: I can’t be forced to do work or be beholden to someone if they’re trying to screw me. If everything in my freelance writing career fell apart I could walk away with my bills still paid and my dignity intact. I won’t be making the switch to full time writing until my house is paid off and I can be assured the road ahead is, if not obstacle free, at least wide enough that I can avoid the biggest potholes.