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authors, Chuck Palahniuk, com, Jack London, jobs, Ken Kesey, Kurt Vonnegut, Salinger, unplag.com
As you may know, my day job is in web design, through my company, Istomedia. I often daydream about working as a full-time author, but that may have to wait until I’m a pensioner, it seems. Still, reading posts like this, from Unplag.com, anti-plagiarism online tools, make me realize just how lucky I am!
You see, it turns out that many big-name writers started from unbelievably weird and underpaid jobs not related to their writing careers at all.
Ken Kesey
Was inspired to write “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” after working as a janitor in a mental hospital and volunteering for a CIA study (Project MKULTRA) when studying. He and other students participating in the experiment were given LSD or mescaline and observed so researchers could see how they reacted while on psychedelic drugs. After that, Kesey decided to share his wretched experience.
Kurt Vonnegut
Was working as a car dealer for Saab (a Swedish car manufacturer). He combined managing the dealership with teaching – by that time he had already had two daughters and jumped at any chance to earn a living.
J.D. Salinger
Worked as an entertainment director on the H.M.S Kungsholm (a Swedish Cruise liner). He was organizing activities for tourists so they wouldn’t get bored while traveling. Can you imagine Salinger being paired as a dance partner to lonely ladies? Well, that’s what he did.
Jack London
Do you know what an “oyster pirate” is? That is a person who steals and resells oysters, and that is what Jack London was. Oysters from the West Coast used to be in high demand, and some people were willing to do anything to get them. Even in his novels London references oyster pirates a few times.
Chuck Palahniuk
This author had an unbelievable amount of occupations before he got a job as a writer. Imagine Palahniuk as a dishwasher, movie projectionist, bicycle messenger, diesel mechanic, or assembly line mechanic for Freightliner. He had all those jobs before becoming a fulltime writer.
These are just a few of the jobs mentioned in Unplag.com, so be sure to check out the original post for even more incredible jobs held by famous authors and find out what authors like Scott Fitzgerald or Stephen King did for a living before becoming famous!
gipsika said:
Geneticist, then violin teacher. Authors, come forward about your dayjobs pls? This is fun!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Nice! You sound kinda like Sherlock 😀
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gipsika said:
hehehe!! 😀
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gipsika said:
Btw I checked out Istomedia. Impressive! Do you have a showcase of some sites you did?
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! Sure, if you go to the experience page (http://www.istomediahost.gr/english/experience1.asp), you’ll see some sites we’ve developed 🙂
(I really need to update that page, mind you)
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gipsika said:
Thanks! Will check it out.
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Sue Coletta said:
Very cool! There’s hope for us yet. 😀
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – especially you 😉
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beetleypete said:
Everyone has to start somewhere. I doubt there are many who were ever ‘just’ writers, unless they were from wealthy backgrounds that is. Still, it is interesting to imagine them in their normal jobs, using some of that experience later, in their books.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Very true! I remember how shocked I was when, as a young teenager, I read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and discovered that Douglas Adams had held a host of odd jobs, including bouncer.
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Charles Yallowitz said:
The Stephen King one was rather surprising. Can barely imagine what it would have been like to be a student when him as a janitor.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
You probably wouldn’t look at him twice 🙂
As to what *he* was like as a kid…
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Charles Yallowitz said:
Tempted to look that up. I remember being told that a person with a bland, ‘normal’ childhood would make a terrible author. Not sure about the reasoning behind that statement.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I remember reading that King had witnessed the tragic death of a childhood friend; the boy had been hit by a train. He later claimed to have forgotten all about it, and that he found about about the death many years later. Some believe that trauma is the basis for some of his most troubling stories.
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Charles Yallowitz said:
Sounds like ‘Stand By Me’ actually. I think that’s the one with the boys that go in search of a dead body. Might not be the name of the book though.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
That’s the one 🙂
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macjam47 said:
Very interesting to see what humble beginnings some writers had.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Just goes to show you: everyone has the seeds of greatness in them
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Let's CUT the Crap! said:
Fascinating. I suppose everyone has to start somewhere. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Makes you look twice at that janitor, doesn’t it? 🙂
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Let's CUT the Crap! said:
I.n.d.e.e.d. Same as you can’t tell a book by it’s cover. 😀 😀 The devil made me say this. 😛
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – I bet 😀
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D. Wallace Peach said:
Interesting. I didn’t know that about Ken Kesey. No wonder the book was so intense. And Stephen King’s job as a janitor at a high school – that would make me consider writing something like Carrie too.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – absolutely! 😀
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sknicholls said:
Very interesting. Just so you have it when I become famous: I was a McDonald’s swing manager, a waitress, almost a call girl (long story), a farmer, a dressage instructor, a certified nursing assistant, a retail record store clerk, an insurance salesperson, an L.P.N. and an R.N.(A.C.L.S., S.A.N.E., and chemotherapy and Forensics certified.) before I became a writer.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – writing it down for that day! 😀
The almost-a-call-girl story definitely sounds worth sharing. A blog post, perhaps? 😀
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sknicholls said:
It’s in some old novel I started in word a long time ago and never got back to. Maybe some day. But it DID involve a Greek Adonis named Nikatas Theophilous KouKouvas with a penchant for pretty women, guns and drugs.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – nothing less than I would expect, with a name like that 😀
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John W. Howell said:
Before getting out of college I was a landscaper, painter and factory worker. After i was a sales rep, marketing manager, general manager, consultant, and supply chain exec.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Wow, you’ve certainly been busy, career-wise!
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John W. Howell said:
Seems so.
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Celine Jeanjean said:
Salinger is my favourite. Trust Jack London to have such a cool job as oyster pirate. I’ve been in finance, worked in diamonds, waitressed and bartended, did medical trials, tutored and worked as a translator. Sadly no oyster pirating for me!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
No need – you’ve already done everything else, it seems! 😀
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Celine Jeanjean said:
Yeah but having ‘Oyster Pirate’ on my resume would be pretty damn cool 😉
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – the epitome of cool 😀
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vanbytheriver said:
Wow. Looking at Cuckoo’s Nest in a different way now. I just assumed it came from a patient’s POV. Interesting. I have a friend who grew up in Maine with Stephen King. She has stories of the family…strange ones.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
If you ever feel like sharing… 🙂
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vanbytheriver said:
I’m sworn to secrecy. lol. But some day… He scares me a little…so maybe not.
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Suzanne Joshi said:
Really interesting piece, Nicholas. Understandable though, as a person has to eat and feed their family. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Oh, absolutely. It still came to me as a shock when I realized, as a teenager, that authors are just people… 😀
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D.G.Kaye said:
Fascinating stuff! Wow, Ken Kesey’s story is unbelievable! 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I know, right? 😀
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cav12 said:
I think Ken Kesey’s job tops them all! No wonder he had amazing insight into a mental institution and the craziness! Great post Nicholas D:
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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P.S. Bartlett said:
Reblogged this on Author P.S. Bartlett.
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Toni Betzner said:
I about spit out my coffee at oyster pirate. I love that that is a thing.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I know, right? 😀
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