The dream: You write, edit and polish your manuscript to the point where it shines like a diamond, then send it to a big time agent who begs to represent you. She submits it to the big five publishers, all of whom want your book. There’s a bidding war and the winner pays you an advance that’s large enough for you to quit your day job and begin writing full time.
The fact: If you’re not already the star of a reality television program, this probably isn’t happening.
But what if there was another way to become a full-time writer? What if you could use your storytelling skills to earn money doing freelance work while spending the rest of your time working on your novels.
Chris Orcutt has been supporting himself as a professional writer for nearly 20 years, by doing just that, but not in the ways you might expect. He’s become a specialist in writing speeches and as you’ll hear in the interview, even screenplays for corporations.
He uses the skills he’s developed over the years as a writer, to help support his work as a novelist. And it’s working. In the past twelve months, Chris has published two books, including the latest in his Dakota Stevens Mystery Series, A TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION. In March of last year, he published the award-winning 100 MILES FROM MANHATTAN.
I really enjoyed this 48-minute interview with Chris. You can listen to it here:
Click here to Listen to The Author Biz Episode No. 24
