What I learnt from prioritising my writing
A bit of a glimpse into my journey as a writer
Some background
Here’s the situation. The year is 1987, and I’ve just bought a house. It’s not really owned by me, of course, because I have taken out a mortgage. Then the mortgage rate decided to train for the high jump. By 1989 it was nearly 15%1, and I had a choice:
Try to get a job nearer the home I’d vacated, ie move back in with my mother.
As above, but keeping the same job and commuting.
As above but staying in Bed and Breakfast during the week.
Take on a lodger (or two).
Take on extra work.
Number 1 was out of the question. I could probably have got a job because there are always teaching jobs available. But I loved the job I was doing, which was Head of Department in a secondary school, and I didn’t want to move back to the parental home anyway. It would have felt like going backwards.
Number 2 was out of the question, not least because it was a two hour commute in those days. Besides, the train fare or petrol alone would have cost me a fortune.
Number 3 was a no-go area because I’d have to put all the stuff I’d accumulated into storage, and whoever I moved in with would have had to charge me a fortune in rent in order to cover THEIR mortgage.
I relished my privacy. The thought of having someone, a stranger, taking up my space was awful. It was only a small house, after all, not a massive estate. Yes, I could have taken on a lodger from where I worked, but I didn’t want to have work encroaching on my private life. Therefore number 4 was out of the question as well.
The only option left was number 5. I ended up taking seven jobs – seven! – besides my main one. Here’s what they were:
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Job #1, 2 and 3
Before I moved into the area I wrote2 to every college in the county asking if they had any vacancies to teach evening classes. At that time I didn’t desperately need the money, but a little extra never comes amiss. Besides, I have always enjoyed teaching adults, and teaching in evening classes. Every one of them wrote back saying “No”, but that they would keep my details on file. I didn’t believe them, but the following summer I received about a dozen emails asking me if I was still available. It was very nice having the choice.
I took on an evening class on Monday evenings, and two evening classes on Wednesday evenings.
Job #4
At the same time I was pitching articles to magazines, which meant doing the research, writing the articles on spec and then firing them off. At this point this bundle of writing activities was a job, but one without remuneration. It did finally pay off in 1990, which I’ll talk about in a short while.
Job #5
I was also trying to get a small business off the ground with a friend who lived in America. This was one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever had, not least because transatlantic phone calls at that time cost £1 a minute3.
Job #6
I trained as a masseur. Not the dodgy kind. I enjoyed having massages myself because of shoulder tension, so I thought it might be a nice way of earning some money. I hated every minute of it. The last straw was when I did a few people at the request of my doctor. When I took into account the time I spent driving, cost of petrol and the time there my remuneration was less than I’d have received from a minimum wage job.
Job #7
I was attending evening classes about setting up your own business. I had a few ideas in mind, so my “job” at this stage was doing the research and learning about the legal framework.
What happened that changed all this?
Something significant happened in 1990. I’ll delve into that, and then relate some of the lessons I learnt from this.
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