Here is my gripe: This is something that has been driving me crazy lately. I'm in the market for a new job. I tend to do driving jobs because it is the one thing I never get bored of. God forbid you tell anyone that you are looking for work. People immediately get political. First, they recommend the worst possible job, like McDonalds and then say, "You can't be picky" or "Just be happy with anything." As if McDonalds is hiring 40 year old writers. No, Micky D's is hiring teenagers.
Let me spell it out for you. Twenty and thirty year old single guys get management positions at places like McDonalds so they can mack on the barely legal teens they hire to work there. For a comical version of these events watch the movies Waiting or Clerks 2. Fast food and restaurant employment is largely a dating scheme. I did work at Mick D's as a teenager and saw this with my own eyes.
As for other types of work? There are many reasons I choose driving. First, I'm good at it. There are lots of bad drivers out there, I'm not one of them. With 15 years experience at multiple delivery jobs in multiple cities, this is clearly a skill set. My longest jobs have been behind the wheel.
So what else do people do? They recommend jobs that are clearly unsuitable. "You could sell medical equipment or pharmaceutical drugs or real estate." Seriously? I'm a writer, an artist. I'm the opposite of a salesman. I have a conscience. Granted it is a burden but it's the type of burden we want humanity to hang on to. If you want to have a long, deep meaningful conversation about philosophy, identity or our place in the world, then I'm your man. Need someone to sweet talk a corporate suit with slogans and numbers, I couldn't do it if I tried. And I have tried. It was tragic.
Then comes the most insulting set of questions. Why can't you make a living as a writer? Doesn't the best writing rise to the top? If you were a good writer you'd be able to earn a living, right? I really want to believe that these things are true but they are not. Percentage wise there are very few writers who make a living from their craft. The market is overflowing with books, articles and unemployed journalists. Three million books are published each year. The number of them that makes a profit is less than 10%. The number of them that reaches a national audience selling millions of copies is a fraction of 1%. There are bad authors with movie deals and good authors who can seem to get noticed no matter what they do. The latter has been my social cage.
"Why don't you just quit? Do something else? Why be a writer if it's not making money?" These are real quotes from really dumb people. Why? Because being an artist is about purpose not prizes. This is very hard for the average person to understand. No one works in an office or a warehouse because it is their life calling, their divine purpose for existing. Artists are not driven by money. We need it to survive but we live in a country where only a select few are appreciated.
The drive that pushes someone to paint, sculpt or write for thousands of hours over the course of decades, slowly perfecting their craft has very little to do with monetary reward. It has a lot to do with vision, love, truth and expression. Art is not about the bricks that build the world. It is about the shape those bricks will take and how they will affect those who see them and live within them.
I have applied to yet another driving job. Fingers crossed. I will keep writing with the hope that maybe someday my hard work will come to fruition. It is difficult to believe that I will never get noticed. Never is a long time for a melodic voice to go unheard. I have faith that things will work out. It's not an easy way to live but these are the cards I have been dealt. All I can do is decorate them.
Also, buy my book. If you purchase a copy then I will be less poor, less angry and less likely to one day go mad becoming a diabolical supervillian who annihilates millions of people. Not that it will happen but you know, why take the chance? Save yourself, buy a book and I'll put you on the do not annihilate list.
Get your copy now!
Twisted Trails is available worldwide. Click the following links for your country:
