English?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
41

<p>I made my living as a freelancer for seven years. I did okay. Doing assignments was the easy part; prospecting and securing new clients was the hard part. One could be very secure with clients that paid little--smaller newspapers and trade magazines--they'd offer repeat work all the time. Corporate clients like Xerox were dependent upon corporate politics, entire divisions being shut down or moved to a different state, etc. </p>

<p>I love fiction. Sad to say, one low-end condo sales pays more than a novel that takes three years to write, another year to market, and another two years to publish.</p>

42

<p>"I love fiction. Sad to say, one low-end condo sales pays more than a novel that takes three years to write, another year to market, and another two years to publish."</p>

<p>There's a common misconception that writing fiction is both lucrative and glamorous. I've made more money ghostwriting/freelancing/teaching than I have writing fiction -- and I'm on my third book. And glamorous? Ha! It's a lot of hard, sometimes tedious, work done in sweatpants and sweatshirts. :)</p>

<p>But writing is a passion. Once you have the bug, you'll do almost anything to keep on doing it.</p>

43

<p>Well, I'm letting the first novel lie quiet while I figure out how to re-work it's core in a year or two. Meanwhile, I think I'll be starting #2 within the next month or possibly (keeping barely on topic) right after D leaves for Smith. The problem is, I haven't decided <em>which</em> one I'm going to write...two very different ones are niggling at me, plus a couple of short stories. I once sold a short story and then a couple of years later a re-print...between the two sales, I made almost a thousand dollars.</p>

<p>I share a birthday with Stephen King, I'd rather share his bank account.</p>

<p>Yeah, ghostwriting is a decent gig if you can get it.</p>

44

<p>The most money I ever made as a writer was the year's sabbatical I got from college teaching to write a book of poems. I did write the poems, which were well received, but I made no money. However, the sabbatical was quite generous. i could probably get another if I had the time to put together the proposal. Too busy teaching and earning money for two kids in college. LOL.</p>

<p>Also received a hefty prize for an essay. Teaching, however, pays the bills.</p>

45

<p>TheDad, I understand what you're saying about journalism, and it does scare me. I've always loved writing and right now in my life I think that I'd like to find some, desperate way to make a living doing it. However, I know that things change and I will change, and I'm very open to anything that comes my way. That's why I want a strong education, so that I can handle almost anything that comes my way. Would being an English major be a mistake?</p>

46

<p>Blindkite, now is the time to follow your dreams, when you're young and don't have as much to risk. Major in English if it is your passion, but also take some more practical courses.</p>

47

<p>What MWFN said: major in English with a clear conscience but keep a lookout for some practical non-Engish courses along the way. I believe very much in serendipity...an Econ course or three might prove to be useful down the road...and a lot of journalists are actually pretty weak in writing about areas they didn't study in school, be it politics, budget, whatever. But who knows, Sanskrit or Ancient Norse might turn out to be valuable at the right time. My engineering courses gave me a darned good background for interviewing people in technical fields in a way that made <em>them</em> feel comfortable and thus lucrative for me.</p>

<p>MM: poetry makes fiction look easy. I have a friend who has had two volumes published and a third on the way...the money is a pittance, with a lot of it eked out by selling signed author's copies at readings.</p>

48

<p>English is actually a great major in that it's very versatile, and it teaches you to be a good writer, which is one of the most important skills of any journalist, or really anyone in any profession (IMO). </p>

<p>Don't get freaked out by the news that your future job may be uncertain. If you want to be a journalist, there are plenty of Smithies who do it. Just prepare yourself for the work you want to do. Join the Sophian and write A LOT, get as many clippings as you can, write for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, it's a professional newspaper and they always take Smith interns and they usual hire them for real jobs during the summer/after graduation. Take internships, and just write, write, write, write, write. That's what newspapers will want to see when you graduate. </p>

<p>Also, keep in mind that no matter how much you may want to do journalism now, you will do a lot of growing and changing (really, more than you can ever realize now) over your time at Smith. You may discover something that interests you more. Let me tell you a little story.... </p>

<p>I came to Smith with the firm, 100% unshakeable plan that I was going to major in government, go to law school, work in congressional politics. It was planned, it was solid, it was laid out. I even knew what law schools I wanted and exactly what I needed to get them. spring semester of my first year, I take my first college law course and I HATED it. I've never been so uninterested in a subject in my life. The prof was great, the class was great, but I just could not get into it. I knew then that if I had to study law for two years (at great expense to myself) I would go crazy. Simultaneously, I took a FABULOUS Middle Eastern history course and totally changed my plans. Now, I want to get a Phd. and pursue conflict resolution in the Middle East, I'm even taking Arabic and working in Washington for a foreign policy think tank. </p>

<p>Moral of the story, take english, see if its still for you. You seem to be on the right track, the most important thing is to get well rounded. A smith education can get you started in almost any field, so don't sweat everything right now.</p>

49

<p>I agree with what other posters have said. No one could have talked me out of being an English major, even if he'd said I'd never eat again. When I finished my Ph.D. I found that all I was trained to do was teach at the college level, so I did. But my primary motivation was studying books and writing about them with others who wanted to do the same. I have never regretted it, and coffee (I drink tea) with my friends often ends with a random quote from favorite prose work or poem. And I can make students read John Donne. </p>

<p>However, I did have many opportunities to try other things, and some very exciting things, including submitting wording to Congress for a Victims' Rights Bill. I could have gone in many directions with my skills. It takes a while to find one's niche. I'm sure you will. Welcome to another English major, and don't forget to read John Donne. (Actually, I did my dissertation on Thomas Pynchon, definitely not a seventeenth century writer!)</p>

50

<p>I was an English major (mainly because I liked to read, not write) and have had a variety of careers, and no regrets re my major. Reading and writing are great backgrounds for so many jobs!
My brother, on the other hand, never majored in English (I think his undergrad major was history), but was the editor of his college paper and went on to work as a journalist his entire professional life. (He has a graduate degree in political economics and is currently a political editor with the NY Times.)</p>