I hear regularly that writing is not a real job but writing is a real job.
As a teen, I wanted to dedicate my life to art and writing. This did not go over well with adults. I was told to start being sensible and get a real job. That led to many miserable years of miserable jobs.
What might have helped was if I had been told, “yes, writing is a real job but it does not always pay well and the hours are long.” That would have been a dose of reality, at least.
Writing is a real job – we need to say so
The fact that writing for money is hard does not mean writing is not a real job – it is a real job. The fact that writing has many hobbyists does not change things. There are many hobbies footballers but playing football is a real job that pays very well for some people.
I think this tweet says it well.
Writing is a job. A real job. Writing can be more than a job. Writing can be a carrier.
You would not tell Brandon Sanderson or Neil Gaiman that what they do for a living is not a real job. Both men are well-established authors. For them, writing is a real job.
I bet you can name many more authors for whom writing is their main or only job. There is a perfectly good comments section for you to list full-time authors within.
There is nothing wrong with being a hobbyist writer, either
If you write as a hobby, good for you. Writing is a great hobby. Writing is, largely, good for you. We should all write more.
Just as it is wrong to tell writers to “get a real job” it is unfair to expect all writers to get paid. How many people do you know who love playing golf, football, or running? No one asks them when they are going to go professional. If it is okay to just enjoy the activity, it should be okay to just enjoy writing.
There is no reason why writing cannot be your job
If you aspire to be a full-time writer, you should go for it. There is no reason why you should not give writing as a job your best shot.
No one would have picked me – a dyslexic goofy kid – would go on to run websites and write blog posts. Blog posts about his hobby of writing, never in a million years they would say. And yet, here I am doing that. If I can do that, I am confident in saying that if you put in the effort and the time, you can become a full-time writer.
If you refuse to give up, you have a massive headstart over the many others who started and then quit.