Ask Polly: ‘Should I Quit My Day Job to Write a Book?’

Dear HSISMT?,

Believing that publishing a book will fix your life is a little bit like believing that success or love or a trip around the world will save you. It's the kind of escape fantasy that's entirely intellectual and theoretical, so it's difficult to test. Just as you won't know if you like skydiving until someone pushes you out of an airplane, you won't find out if publishing a book will bring you satisfaction until you're standing in front of your mom and two of her friends at a bookstore, reading your own words in a wavering voice.