Alas, alert readers will have noticed a paucity of posts in the past fortnight. As they say in the military, I was OBE — Overcome By Events. It was in a good way, enjoying the last weeks of summer with my family. That and a road trip to my favorite martial arts event of the year.

In terms of accountability, I’ve managed to keep up with my earnings quota. That’s about it. My speculative work and blogs took a hit. And keeping up with the earnings required some late nights and fast typing.

Really, this speaks to the importance of working ahead. As I mentioned in an earlier post, accumulating a buffer of work for vacation and sick time is one of the first things a professional freelancer should do if he wants to stay professional. And I did that.

I just didn’t do enough of it to keep up with the fun-filled demands of having my wife and kids out of school for three months.

The lesson here is about planning. If I had planned better, had more realistic expectations, I could have built a larger buffer during the weeks I was home. As it was, I had to scramble and postpone.

Not everybody can learn from other peoples’ mistakes. Hopefully, this post can help you do that in this case, at least.

Thanks for listening.

John Scalzi is one of the rising stars of the science fiction universe. His Old Man’s War series and hilarious The Android’s Dream have been top sellers for years.

In an example of how to increase your publicity as a writer, Scalzi contributes scifi columns to AMC’s web site. He covers movies and geek culture. Check it out for fun, then imitate it to succeed.

John Scalzi – Does Your Favorite Sci-fi Movie Do Right by Its Female Characters? – Filmcritic.com Feature.

Here we have the second half of what April learned while researching her upcoming nonfiction work: Folsom’s 93.

Rockin’ it old school

As much as I love the convenience of internet research, nothing compares to having a desk full of old documents, letters and photographs in front of me. I spent a couple of weeks at the state archives in Sacramento over the course of two trips and nothing brings out the history nerd in me more than going through boxes of documents. It also adds so much to your writing—you can describe your experience. I held hand-written letters from condemned men; their last correspondence before facing the noose. I sifted through telegrams and transcripts that told me more than any newspaper article or book ever could. Take those personal experiences and incorporate them as much as possible into your writing—they will make for a richer and more dynamic story. Depending on what you need, contact a state’s archive department or library. Many records are public knowledge and are just waiting for you to discover them.

Schedule a field trip

Field trips aren’t just for kids; they’re for writers, too. How else will you be able to get an accurate account of the scene, atmosphere, and surroundings? My second trip to Sacramento led me to a tour of Folsom prison and even though the book spans 1895 to 1937, seeing the prison and getting a lay of the land was critical. Investing in a field trip is truly that: an investment that will pay you back two-fold. It adds a new perspective to your writing and shows you are a professional and serious about what you’re writing.

So here’s the thing about writing full time. There comes a moment when you have to feel comfortable moving from a steady paycheck to working in the ebb and flow of self-employment. You have to be ready for a few months of low income while you build your client base and navigate the first gap between completed work and pay for your work. It’s an intimidating moment, and nobody should feel bad if they decide it’s too much of a risk.

For those who want to get there, there are three ways to make it happen.

The Banzai! Approach
Just jump in and do it. Tell your boss to pound sand, move into your parents’ basement, eat ramen until you make it. Recent college grads and other people with few responsibilities may do well with this approach. It allows you to give all your time to writing, meaning you can win the “numbers game” of pages written and manuscripts submitted by simple force of volume.

The Second Job Approach
This plan works best for people with more financial responsibilities. You can write part-time during the hours you’re not at your regular job. While in this stage of the plan, the extra income can help you amass savings or pay off debt. Once you’ve started to accumulate enough work and savings to bridge the gap, you can go part time at your day job — or quit entirely. Although this plan has a lot of security, it means you have less time and energy for your writing. A lot of hobbyist writers end up stuck as “second job” writers because the demands of real life keep them from writing enough to get established.

The Sabbatical Approach
If you can save a year’s worth of living expenses, you can quit your job and spend a year trying to make it as a writer. This has the advantages of both the Banzai and Second Job approaches, while mitigating many of the disadvantages of either. Its major drawback is the difficulty of amassing 12 months worth of savings. It’s worth noting that this becomes easier if you’re making extra money by first taking the Second Job approach.

Which plan works best for you and your situation is a matter of your personal reality. When I made the leap, I was taking the Second Job approach. I got a promotion to a bad situation at my existing job at the same time my part-time client expanded their need for content. This allowed me to transition directly into a full-time writing income without taking much risk. Since then, I’ve kept after other assignments so that dry periods at that client don’t automatically mean dry periods in my income.

Like so many other plans, which you choose is less important than having one. Even if you vary from your plan every day — it’s better to vary from your plan than to work without one. If you’re serious about your writing, you should have a plan for writing full-time. Perhaps you can make one of these approaches a part of it.

Thanks for listening.

Christopher Moore is one of my favorite authors, with his newest book Bite Me coming in at #3 on my Top Ten Fiction Books reading list for this year. He’s funny, touching and outrageously vulgar in just the right way. His website is an excellent example of how an author can publicize himself and his work. It keeps people interested with updating content, delivers bonus features and generally works in an attractive and user-friendly fashion.

One thing I particularly like is his section of whimsical scribblings, including this piece: a bit of fanfic about how much he admires Neuromancer author William Gibson.