These days, unless you have an impressive list of awards and award show invites with your name on them, you may as well load the ink into your arm. When does 'writing' become the job that qualifies as a career - the honorable author not the cliche excuse? To your family, its when the sales and bank deposit slips equal the best job you could get - in today's market and with the skills you already have. For the author, its often the moment you discover your first novel has sold, or when it is sitting on the library's shelf among all the favorites you read as a child.
Writing novels takes time. It requires a dedication not just to writing but also to marketing. Having a book out often adds to your workload a complete list of duties which a publisher's marketing department has in-house but that you may be expected to do on your own. Add
