The Day Job Blog

CBC_journalists_in_Montreal.jpg

Are you hard at work on projects that bring you tremendous fulfillment but don’t exactly pay in folding money? Do you face the ever-harrowing struggle of balancing creative work with life’s other responsibilities? Is the job where you spend a substantial portion of your time not what really drives you, even though you do it anyway?

Then you’ve come to the right place. We all gotta keep the bills paid.

Non-Creative Things I Do to De-Stress: Saturdays at Home

Comment

On Saturdays I like to step away from creative work.

I used to sleep late on Saturday mornings, but this left me feeling lethargic, so now I try to get up around eight or so to let the sunlight in through my balcony doors.  If it’s sunny (which it usually is this time of year) I’ll throw in a load of laundry to air-dry later in the morning and lay in bed reading until I feel like getting up.  This morning instead of a book I read this essay from The Millions about writers living a life of uncertainty, which left me feeling inspired.

After reading but before leaving my bed I pull out my phone and check messages from the night before.  I try not to overdo it, though, since it’s best not to get sucked into a social media vortex first thing in the morning.

I used to check email first thing on Saturday mornings too, but this left me feeling drained and empty regardless of what I found in my inbox, so I stopped.  I’m writing this at one p.m. on a Saturday—I haven’t checked my email today and I genuinely don’t care.  It’s midnight in America, so email can wait. Continue reading »

I’m Getting Ready to Write a New Novel But Not Actually Writing It Yet—Here’s Why

2 Comments

My writing’s been in this weird state of transition for a long time now.  That’s because, for the first time in nine years, I’m not actively working on some sort of novel.

Instead I worked on querying MFA Thesis Novel to publishers for ten months, and in between queries worked on some shorter pieces in various states of completion.  Having time to focus on these other projects has been great, but I’m realizing how badly I miss having a bigger, more involved project to work on, and how much I want to get back into the creative process of working on a novel.

But, as I wrote about in my post a few weeks back, I’m having trouble starting.

That’s partly because this novel idea is particularly ambitious—it’s like nothing I’ve ever written, and writing it the way I’m imagining it is going to take every bit of my writing skill, in addition to a lot of skills I’ve yet to get a handle on.
Continue reading »

Should Writers Have to Pay to Submit Their Work?

Comment

In my post a few weeks ago about getting my novel accepted for publication by a small press I briefly mentioned a topic that really merits more discussion: Submitting my novel to publishers cost me some actual folding money.

Said folding money came in the form of submission fees to some of the 22 small indie presses I applied to over a 10-month period.

The submission and payment process for indie presses works a bit differently than it does if you’re going for a contract with one of the Big 5 Publishers.  To get that kind of contract, you first have to send your novel to a literary agent, which is always free.  Literary agents get paid by charging commission fees off advances and royalties—in short, they only get paid when your novel sells, and any agent who charges upfront reading fees is almost certainly running some kind of scam.

This is because the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR) specifically prohibits its member agents from charging writers to read their work.  This is an amazing protection for writers that Continue reading »

A Very Special Thanks for the Support

1 Comment

Hey everybody,

After I posted about getting the contract to publish MFA Thesis Novel I received a FLOOD of comments and messages from people saying congratulations, that they were happy for me, that they couldn’t wait to read it, and more.  Some came from people I hadn’t talked to for literally years, and getting back in touch with them felt really good too. I took the time to reply to everyone individually (and if I missed yours I sincerely apologize!) because that kind of personal response is important to me.

In the meantime, though, I also wanted to say a collective thank you to everyone who sent messages, commented, replied, Liked, or otherwise reached out in support—it means a lot, makes me SUPER optimistic about getting MFA Thesis Novel into the world, and provides a genuine confidence boost Continue reading »

Do You Have Trouble Starting New Projects, or Trouble Finishing Them?

Comment

I’ve got a big writing project I want to start, but instead of actually starting it, I’m going to blog about it instead.

I’ve always had trouble starting new projects.  In high school I was a bad procrastinator who often watched TV and played video games when I should have been writing papers, and as an adult I developed productive procrastination habits where I do the million and one other things I have to do apart from the difficult project, thus creating the illusion of productivity.

I guess I just get intimidated by big projects.  If I start something new, I know I’m going to have to finish it, which can feel downright scary.

A lot of other people, though, start projects easily because they’re excited about them.  Unfortunately, when the initial excitement wears off Continue reading »

Holy Shit, I Signed a For-Serious Novel Contract!!!!!!!!111

Comment

Hell yeah I did.

As of three weeks ago, MFA Thesis Novel, my satire about a grad school writing program, is officially signed and scheduled for publication with Vine Leaves Press in April 2022.  That means that my goal of publishing an actual novel is finally going to become a reality.

MFA Thesis Novel is about a twentysomething writer named Flip Montcalm (who’s definitely not based on me) who enters a grad school writing program (that definitely isn’t based on the one I went to at the University of Nebraska) in the barrens of the Midwest.  However, no one around him seems to like his novel, and in an world of fierce competition, Flip has to figure out how to write something that’s both meaningful and that people will actually like.  It’s a novel about fitting in, starting out as a writer, and the desolate working conditions that thousands of underpaid grad students face every year, along with what it’s like to be a lonely young artist in a strange place.

Plus there’s jokes.  And cursing (fuck yeah!).  And lots of pop culture references. Continue reading »

The TRAM (a.k.a. that Magazine I Work on in Japan) is Back!

Comment

Last year I stepped up to co-edit a cool indie zine called the TRAM (a.k.a. Toyama’s Random-Ass Magazine) here in Toyama, and our latest issue went live a few days ago.  In addition to covering local places around Toyama (restaurants, tourist spots, etc.) we publish writing and art, cool articles about Japanese culture, and whatever random stuff we can.  The latest issue features a Japanese rock music column, an essay about the suppression of dialects in rural Japan, and three pages of paintings by local artists.

If you’re interested in Japan or just want to check out one of my many side projects, you can read the issue online here.

I also write a regular column for the TRAM called Let’s Talk About Japan Books! where I share cool books by Japanese writers and books about Japan in general.  The latest one is about one of my personal favorites, Kobo’s Abe’s 1962 novel The Woman in the Dunes, Continue reading »

My Ideal Creative Work Schedule Explained

Comment

I think a LOT about how we structure our days as creative people who have to be self-motivated. It pays to be efficient, and a lot of that efficiency comes from being able to slip into a work routine without a lot of hassle so you can get more done.

However, we also need to work around the realities of real life, which means that making a work schedule requires balancing the way you work best with your particular situation, especially if you have a Day Job.

My work schedule has changed a lot (as has my work situation) since I started keeping this blog almost four years ago (!!!!!!). I’ve worked from home grading standardized test essays, held a full-time office job, spent three months without a Day Job at all, and finally come back to teach in Japan. Each of these stages required adjusting to changing realities so I could make progress on my creative work. Continue reading »

Sometimes I Take on Too Much and Then Screw Up

Comment

Let’s get one thing straight: we all make mistakes, whether it’s in our creative work or at our Day Jobs.  If you think otherwise, you’re living on another planet.

For me, the vast majority of my screwups happen because I take on too much and rush through things.

This wasn’t always the case—when I was younger most of my screwups happened because I was inexperienced, or because I wasn’t organized enough and forgot appointments or deadlines.  I improved the former issue by getting better at things I wanted to do well, and solved the latter by implementing a To-List system that’s served me well for the past nine or so years.

Now, though, I notice a different kind of problem: because I have so much going on, and so much of it coming from different directions, I tend to rush through some tasks so I’ll have more time Continue reading »

Here’s What I’ve Been Working On RIGHT NOW (and have been for the last few months)

Comment

It’s been a while since I updated you on my projects in progress, so I thought I’d change that.

I started posting semi-regular updates on my creative work a few years back both to keep people updated and keep myself accountable.  If I posted that I was working on something, it felt more serious and I’d be more inclined keep working on it so I wouldn’t have to answer to my blog readers and admit that I’d been slacking off—or worse, that I’d given up.

There are a few reasons for my lack of updates—the main one being that I haven’t been working on a novel since finishing my last one well over a year ago, and not having that as a primary focus has felt…distracting.  Without a bigger project to work on Continue reading »

How Many Paid Holidays Does Your Country Give You???

Comment

Last weekend was the 4th of July, which in America was a time for fireworks, socially distanced barbecues, and most importantly, an extra day off from work.

July 4th was a Saturday this year, which means that per American federal holiday guidelines, the holiday was observed on Friday, July 3rd and Day Jobbers across the country took a three-day weekend.  For me in Japan, though, Friday was a regular workday, and I celebrated the 4th by playing some online Scythe with my friends back home.

There is, however, an up side: this month Japan has two holidays, Marine Day and Sports Day, which, because of the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics, the government moved to July 23rd and 24th, respectively, giving us a four-day weekend.  Score! Continue reading »

Day Jobs are Great for Earning Small Wins

Comment

Life can be rough, and little boosts help a lot.

Little boosts come in many forms: I get them when I see my friends, enjoy a fun dinner with my family, read an awesome book, or take a scenic bike ride.  Those aren’t the kinds of boosts I’ll be talking about in this post, though.

When I interviewed visual novel artist Miranda Reeder she talked about earning small wins to get her through slow periods.  Because she usually had several bigger projects going at once, taking time away from them to work on something smaller that she could finish and feel good about provided a small win Continue reading »