A Bookish Career?

I recently decided that I need to reread “Careers for Bookworms & Other Literary Types” by Marjorie Eberts & Margaret Gisler. Reason being, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my future “career”, and just want to figure out what I should be (want to be) doing. I read this book back in 2003, and enjoyed the ideas it gave me.

Of course, being a Librarian is still a top desire. That, or being a clerk in a small, independent bookstore, somewhere. Those are my favorite ideas.

But, what if I couldn’t get a job doing either of those things? Or, what if I did, but then I got tired of it? I’d need other options for my book-loving self!

So, I thought, what else can a bookworm do for a living, and actually make decent money? (enough to survive — and possibly thrive — off of) And, the idea of becoming a Book Editor came to me. It’s something I’m somewhat interested in, so I’ve added it to my list. I then Googled what it would take to become one, and found out that I’d need my B.A. in English (something I already would need to become a librarian, and therefore something I’ve already decided to get), and that it would help to get a minor in Writing studies, too. So that means, when I go back to school, eventually, I should do as I’d planned and get my Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English, but I’ll also add a minor in Writing Studies to that (instead of a minor in Spanish, as I’d originally thought of doing), so that I can keep my options open. ((side note: I also like the idea of Proofreading, as it’s something I’ve always done with notes from friends –back in my school days– and what I do for friends & family, still, any time they ask)).

In the back of my mind, I’m still thinking of becoming an Author. In fact, I have decided to take up the discipline of sitting down for an hour or more, every afternoon, to write, and to see what comes of that. I don’t do anything else, most afternoons, but sit around and read, so why not try and do something a little more productive ~ something that could possibly bring in some money, eventually?

Lastly, there’s still the idea of being an Indexer ~ someone who writes the indexes for nonfiction books. I’ve done this, just for the heck of it, for a book I own, and it was actually kind of fun. It’s definitely an option, anyway.

Of course, being that I want to become fluent in Spanish, I could also take more courses in the language, and then become a translator, translating books and other written materials from English to Spanish, or vice versa.

So, there are definitely options out there. I just have to decide which one I really want to go for, and then figure out the necessary steps to get there. I don’t want to limit myself to just one path, ’cause life can be really uncertain, and you just never know where you’ll end up.

For example, I took Office Administration in college after high-school, as it was the only course (out of the 3 I was interested in) not full-up at the time, I was told that it’d be easy, and that it’d be one that would leave me with many job possibilities ~ after all, there are always places looking to hire receptionists & secretaries, right? But, I’ve found out the hard way that, if you don’t have the experience, you won’t often get the job. And, you can’t get experience without having worked. So, it’s a catch-22. I’ve never really worked in my “field”, yet, and it’s frustrating. Instead, I work at a job that –while I enjoy it– just barely pays for my groceries each week. And, there are people out there that think I don’t apply myself ~ that I don’t have a “real” job. While I shouldn’t care what others think, it does sting… but, that’s mostly because I know I’m not living up to my full potential, anyway. I could be so much more, and I’m not. Unfortunately, it’s just the way things have worked out for me, and it’s not from lack of trying.

So, I’m giving thought to the future, and where I’d like to go from here. And, of course, now that I know I should get a career involving books, somehow — because they truly are my passion, and they make me happy — I have an idea of which direction to head.

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