I've seen people move to technical writing.
This is my plan, how did they like it?
Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
21–30 of 30 posts
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#22I tried, but failed in the career shift. I found myself more draw to the tools than the writing. The problems of the extant tools were too distracting and I felt I was more drawn to solving those problems than the many my writing threw up. Once a code geek, always one, I guess. But, if you're keen give it a go, but it will be unlikely to support you unless you are exceptionally lucky.
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#23The Nobel prize winning author J. M. Coetzee worked as a programmer when he was young - he describes it in his autobiographical novel, Youth. The promiment novelist Richard Powers worked as a programmer when he was young - that part of his life is described in the recent book, The Friendly Orange Glow.
Michel Houellebecq was doing simple (back in the nineties) web dev for the European Parliament while writing his first novel.
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah. I recently wrote a book and got most of it done within a few hours of morning + coffee sessions over a few weeks and one or two airplane rides. It made like $12K in its first year and it was really easy. Thinking this was an incredibly time-efficient way for me to earn money and contribute to society, I tried to write a sequel and have stalled. The initial book just poured out of me. I had an outline, I knew ex…
Was the subject of the book technical?
We wrote a book to help software engineers learn to become (and grow as) successful freelance consultants. https://engineersguidetofreelance.com
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah. I recently wrote a book and got most of it done within a few hours of morning + coffee sessions over a few weeks and one or two airplane rides. It made like $12K in its first year and it was really easy. Thinking this was an incredibly time-efficient way for me to earn money and contribute to society, I tried to write a sequel and have stalled. The initial book just poured out of me. I had an outline, I knew ex…
How did you publish and promote? I’m sitting on a finished book now and I’m sort of at a loss for what to do with it. I put out some of the audio as a podcast that has done “ok” but haven’t pulled the trigger on actual publishing
* Self-publishing was with Amazon, draft2digital, and direct sales (sendowl)
* Did cover on Canva.com
* Made a list of podcasts in the programming niche and emailed a bunch of the hosts with suggesting they invite me as a guest
That's about it. I do some ongoing pay per click marketing too.
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#26Whether technical or creative writing, todays writing cannot be replaced with a full time job. Unless of course you are writing for a huge publication.
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Was the subject of the book technical?
We wrote a book to help software engineers learn to become (and grow as) successful freelance consultants. https://engineersguidetofreelance.com
http://engineersguidetofreelance.com
^ https was not enabled :[
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#28Charlie Stross did and is now a very successful science fiction author. He wrote about his career changes here: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2009/07/how-i-go...
Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#29Re: Ask HN: Has anybody successfully changed their career to become a writer?
#30Do you have to change your career to become a writer? I would focus on becoming a writer, and then if it works out change your career.
Also, it depends what kind of writer you want to become - some options are easier than others. For example, would you classify a journalist as a writer? Is technical writing "writing"?
Barry Eisler is a good example of a writer who broke into writing gradually. A former lawyer, it took him 7 years to get his first book published. He wrote in lunch breaks, on flights, after the kids went to bed. He had to re-write that first book at least twice based on feedback from agents/publishers.
Ted Chiang is an example of a technical writer who changed into science fiction writing.
I changed from teaching into technical writing.
How you will change into writing (which I assume is what you want) will depend on your starting point and how far down the road to becoming a writer you already are.
p.s. Have a read of "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert - I believe there's much of value in her suggested approach.