Bob Marley biographer Christopher John Farley writes how quitting a job for a labor of love meant freedom and reward:

Leaving any 9-5 job - or 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. job - can be an intimidating, exhilarating proposition. In doing so, one gives up regular paychecks, job security, health benefits, possibly stock options and bonuses - and for what?

If you're doing it to write a book, the chances are you're doing it for nothing. Most books don't sell, because most people don't read a lot of books.

I once saw a statistic on how much the average author earns from his writings each year. I wish I could remember that stat and share it with you here, but the number was so disturbingly low, I have repressed it in my memory, along with the details of death of my first dog and a blind date I had freshman year in college (it involved zydeco music and bicycles).

More here.