Ken Liu Quotes

I'd much rather do an obviously commercial writing project than get a day job.

Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance.

My hope is that I hit it big with something, and then I'll have enough of a cushion to carve out time to write a book. That would be my passion project.

I really think it is possible to make a very nice living by writing and not worrying about anything else.

My advice for writers is to get a good day job. It takes the pressure off writing if you have a job that pays the bills.

I have a teaching job that allows me to pay the rent and affords me to, frankly, write the books I want to write.

I want to pay my mortgage and go on vacation, so I love working. I want to be able to do independent projects as well, and being on a successful TV show allows you to do some other things.

No matter how much money I made from writing, I'd keep the bookstore job.

If I can make a living as a writer, I can do anything.

I don't have a boss. Well, I have a boss: the public. If the public doesn't buy my books, I would be out of a job.

There's a part of me that wants to be known and make a comfortable living but still be able to go grocery shopping. My overall idea of success is having people I want to work with want to work with me.

Once 'Walk Two Moons' received the Newbery Medal, I decided to write full-time. Partly because there seemed to be an audience out there who wanted to read what I wanted to write, and partly because I could now support myself financially through writing.

I opted for a freelance writing career. I was lucky enough to have the means to do it.

When I was a child, there was very little money, so I've always been concerned for my financial security, which has meant that finding myself as a writer was a bad move. The practical difference the money has made is that I can support myself by fiction. That is what I have been trying to do throughout my life.

You want to strike that happy medium: the balance of being able to find creative satisfaction in your profession, be able to afford a roof over your head, but still have the freedom to live a relatively normal life.

I just want real creative freedom without worrying about, you know, car payments.

Acting never was about the money for me... Maybe in 10 years, I'll be able to appreciate the fact that I am financially stable and independent and I don't have to make bad choices. I can be very picky.

The great thing about being on a television show is that it usually provides you with fairly steady income so you can go and do things.

I'm fortunate in having journalism as a sideline to pay the bills, and I essentially do it in order to take as long as I want with books.

The life of the professional writer - like that of any freelance, whether she be a plumber or a podiatrist - is predicated on willpower. Without it there simply wouldn't be any remuneration, period.

The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money.

There was a point in time where I was doing movies to be able to afford to live in a certain way.

The happiest I ever been was when I was a struggling actor. I've had big houses and small houses. I always had work available for most of my career. When I actually had to find jobs to make money, that's when I was happy.

What an author likes to write most is his signature on the back of a cheque.

I feel lucky that I've been able to make a living from painting any idea that comes into my head.