5 Ways to Work a Day Job

We've all heard the expression, 'Don't quit your day job' when announcing that we're going to write a book, record an album, make a movie, or some other creative endeavor. Sometimes this is just someone's way to make a snide comment about your talent, but often it is just a way for concerned family and friends to let your know to be concerned about your financial situation. Getting your indie project started and completed is hard enough when you have the financing that supports your life while you produce it. It is twice as hard, no, ten times as hard when you have to work a job to support yourself and your family while you are producing your
art. The starving artist/writer/filmmaker/et. is just not any kind of good time, and if you have kids it's not fair to them to live in dire circumstances because you need time to write or paint or whatever. So you have to work to put bread on the table until your real work make lots of money. Or at least enough money to support you. Here are five tips to combine working an outside job and your creative output easier.

1. Get a job related to your field.
This can be awesome because you will be around what you love during your time at the job. For example, if you are a writer, you might enjoy working at a bookstore or at a library. This can backfire, though. I once had a bad encounter with a security guard at a museum who, after getting offended by a comment I made about a sculpture, felt compelled to me lecture me about it. Turned out he was a frustrated artist. When I was first writing my books I tried a job in a bookstore and got very frustrated just from being around all those books but not being able to write while there. Now, however, as I'm planning to open my own bookstore I know I can handle it because I've been through the working and writing deal. It would make me very happy to be around books all day. And since it's my bookstore, if I want to sit up and write during slow times I can do that 'cause I'm the boss.

2. Get a job that uses your education. If you have a degree or two you are not using, that is like throwing away money. I'm not just talking about what you or your parents paid to get the degree (and probably are still paying for), I'm also talking about your degree's worth on the job market. You might think you just have a generic degree that's not worth anything, but there are a lot of jobs you can get that that will make use of your degree; what you learned. Many don't require your specific major but just require a college degree. Expand your horizons and look for these jobs. For example, if you have a degree in english or history, you might look for a job in teaching (just need to get certified) or sales. A business degree translates well to any job regarding finance, sales, marketing. If you are afraid of a sales job...then you are probably spinning your wheels in indie production and you'd be better off aiming for a publishing contract, record deal, etc. Because if you're doing it indie...you have to learn how to market yourself to sell your product.

3. Get a job that you can learn from. You can learn from any job, but try to find a job that you will learn new skills that you can apply to your art in some way. At my new job I can already tell I am going to learn a lot of new stuff about marketing and selling, both things I need to improve my business.

4. Get a job that will make you decent money. Now I know many in the underground, DIY, indie scene are against capitalism, wealth, and just making money in general. I used to feel this way, but after struggling for so long with getting my work out there I realized it can be accomplished a lot easier if I had more money. Think of money as insulation; a buffer between you and the cold wind of struggle. I'm not saying you have to sell out your values and ethics. Just consider that money is a tool that can make your life as an indie artist much, much easier.

5. Get a job that has off-hours or flexible hours. Depending on what you do it might be helpful for you to work evenings or nights. A job with flexible hours can also be very helpful, especially if you are often struck by inspiration and used to working spontaneously. Job schedule flexibility can also leave you with more free time to devote to your art. Some examples of jobs with flexible hours are subsititue teaching, waiting tables, and call-center sales.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!