Uh, anyway, though, I'd say that from what I've always heard people say, MFA degrees don't really do anything to advance your career, per se. They're more about getting better as a writer through that practice, and networking. And one from the University of Smalltown is much different from one from, la, Columbia. ITO reputation-boosting. I really wouldn't weight them very much.

In poetry, an MFA is almost-strictly for getting a job teaching poetry, and worth little if it's not from Iowa University or UC Irvine. Indeed, in today's poetry climate, they get dismissed even easier than they probably should be. The winds of the art form are railing a bit against it's self-appointed hierarchy. A lot of poets blame academia for nearly killing the art form in the 70s and 80s, and indeed, the stranglehold a few small groups have held on the art form has led to a lot of stagnation.

Did you see the piece in Newsweek's last issue about the death of poetry?

Did you see the piece in Newsweek's last issue about the death of poetry?

Yeah, my response goes up within the week on About Poetry. Bloody worst article on the subject I've ever read.

Will you post a link please?

Bloody worst article on the subject I've ever read.

Considering how many times somebody writes that particular essay, being the worst you've ever seem is an awesome achievement.

I'm looking for some input. I may end up posting this on Natter and/or Bitches, since it's as much a career/personal decision as a writing one, but I thought I'd start here first:

I started working part-time so I'd have more time to write. Originally I intended to spend most of my time on freelancing of one form or another--magazine articles, freelance business writing, a resume service--while setting 5-10 hours/week aside to work on my novel. I occasionally see a career counselor, and she pushed me really hard to focus most of my energies on a resume service, since it's a skill I already have and would bring me more income more quickly than the magazine/business writing route. We planned it that I'd be ready to go into business come July 1, when I cut back my hours from 80% to 60%.

Anyway, what I've discovered so far is that I had it backwards. I don't want to be a freelancer who works on her Great English-Set American Romance Novel in her spare time. I want to be a novelist who does some freelancing on the side to keep the creative juices flowing and bring in some short-term income. And I'm not sure how well running a resume service will fit with that. Hell, I'm not even sure how well such a service would fit in with my day job schedule. Starting in July, I'll be working Tues.-Thurs. or Wed.-Fri. depending on the week. I won't have much control over when I get the orders for resumes and cover letters. If I can't turn them around in 24-48 hours, customers will find someone else who can. I'm afraid I'll end up with just enough business to run myself ragged but not enough to quit my day job, and that my novel will suffer. And really, it's all about the novel in the end.

Are these rational fears? And is it rational of me to think I'd be better off going the magazine/business freelance route, because I'd likely have more control over my schedule? I'd still have deadlines, of course, but they'd rarely be 24-48 hours, and I'd have a little more negotiating power. I think. And I could pace myself more. Does that make sense?

What it comes down to is I don't want to have a thriving resume service. I want to be a novelist. And it may be wild hubris on my part, but I believe that I have what it takes. I'm doing what I was put in the world to do. I truly believe that as long as I don't give up, I will make a go of this someday.

(And should I be trying to hush that voice that keeps saying, "This is what you're FOR. Of course you're a storyteller. You know you can write. Of course you'll be published someday. Keep writing. Anything else would be a poor second-best"? Because the world is full of failed novelists, and who am I to think I'm one of the Chosen Ones?)

I'd say if your current part-time is keeping the bills paid, and you don't think a resume service is the way to go, don't do it.

FWIW, I think you have the stuff too.

I also think you're brilliant at resume writing, and in case I didn't tell you before, I appreciate you cleaning up mine.

Susan, I tend to agree with Heather on the bill-paying thing, but I'm the wrong person to ask: I wrote my first four novels and part of Plainsong at work, in the office, while also running a two-city law firm.

And no, that isn't a brag: I just found that when stuff wanted out, it found a way to get written down. I used to get into the office half an hour early, get four hours worth of legal-related stuff done because I was undisturbed (alone in the office, no phones ringing), and spend the first two hours of my "official" day handing off to my totally amazing secretary (whose mother is a poet and who grokked the writing thing) and working on novel.

OTOH, I had nothing keeping me from writing 24/7 over the past nine years, no day job, no 9 to 5 routine I had to deal with; I ran a catering service and my hours were made entirely by myself. I essentially didn't write a word, diddly squat, not because I was too busy or structured, but because I was disgusted with the industry.

So, YWMV.

I honestly don't know what works for anyone else.

But from what I've read, I think you have what it takes, as well.

I'd say if your current part-time is keeping the bills paid, and you don't think a resume service is the way to go, don't do it.

Paying the bills isn't a problem. It just slows down how quickly we pay down the credit card debt, and I feel guilty that I'm not pulling my full weight in the House of W. But that's something to sort out with DH.

FWIW, I think you have the stuff too.

Thanks! I hope so. Because I never feel more myself than when I'm working on my novel.

I also think you're brilliant at resume writing, and in case I didn't tell you before, I appreciate you cleaning up mine.

Thanks again! I do enjoy the work, and would be happy to do it for pay. I just don't want it to overwhelm my more important projects. But I don't see how I can avoid it, if I go the usual route of advertising through a website, flyers on campuses, newspaper ads, etc.