[…] Newspaper delivery. The days when a boy with a bag on his bike delivered the paper are over, in many communities. Many routes call for a car, and a grownup to drive that car. I’ve known more than one freelancer who was an earlybird and …read more […]

Learn a skill that uses computers. I've worked in IT for 17 years, and it's a great trade to be in for writing.

The video store was such a ridiculously perfect gig, you've got three busy days, then the rest of the week you're just there with a big TV and a huge collection of DVDs. AND you could take home the new releases a few days before they were available to rent. Of course, those gigs are gone now. I'm still trying to figure out what to do to replace that gig that's the right fit for me.

Something else to consider are seasonal jobs. Farming, fire fighting, teaching, ski instructing, etc., all allow for a lot of time off.

I have the absolutely worst job for a writer: my day job is writing. Yes, I'm feeling sorry for myself, but it's worth pointing out only as something for others to avoid. When life as a starving writer started to lean a bit too much towards the "starving" part, I went looking for a full-time job. I had a degree in creative writing and zero work experience other than several years working on film sets as a P.A. In other words, I was totally unqualified for any profession. So when I scored a job as a copywriter at an advertising agency, I thought it was cause to celebrate. Wrong. First off, I have to work during the hours when I'm most ready to write. Second, my work is writing, usually advocating for something I either have no interest in or outright oppose. So when I get home at the end of a long, soul-crushing day, my brain is mush and the last thing I want to do is open my computer and write some more. I've been working on the same script for over two years. When I was a starving writer living on crackers and mustard, I could write a script in two weeks. I did. Several times. Look: my point is, if you have to work, my suggestion is get something that has nothing to do with writing, preferably something physical that requires no thinking at all. Then, at the end of the day, the computer seems fresh and exciting. If, however, when you sit down to write your script at the end of the day, you're on your 9th hour of staring at a computer, your productivity is going to somewhere between Wonder-what's-on-TV and Fuck-this-script-I-have-got-to-get-some-sunlight.

Those jobs are all super-hard! When I worked in a bar I was usually too tired to do much with my free time. I used to have this amazing job for writing in my spare time: I worked for a clippings agency. I had never heard of it before (I didn't fully understand it until a couple of days into my first week) but it has two things that make it perfect for writers. A clippings agency basically monitors the media. Big brands and their PR agencies need to know when they're mentioned in the press, so they hire a clippings agency to read everything and send them relevant clippings. My job was as a reader, skim reading newspapers for keywords. It's great for writers for two reasons: first, unlike many office jobs, you don't take it home. You do your shift and leave. I didn't even have a phone, let alone emails while I was off work, so when I was at home my mind was clear to concentrate on my writing. And secondly, you're reading all the news! You're constantly absorbing potentially interesting true stories, which is great for inspiration. Plus there are day and night shifts, and in fact I worked 4-9.30 so I had all day to write plus the evening to see friends. I'm a full-time writer now (well, a journalist) but if I wanted a job that gave me a few extra quid while I was writing at home I'd go back to that job in a heartbeat