--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A professional writer is a joke. You…" description: "\"A professional writer is a joke. You write because you can't do anything else, and then you have another job.\" — Jamaica Kincaid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/jamaica-kincaid-1540_jobs_a-professional-writer-is-a-joke-you-writ_1283368.png" --- # A professional writer is a joke. You write because you… ![“A professional writer is a joke. You write because you can't do anything else, and then you have another job.” quote by Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/jamaica-kincaid-1540_jobs_a-professional-writer-is-a-joke-you-writ_1283368.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/jamaica-kincaid-1540_jobs_a-professional-writer-is-a-joke-you-writ_1283368.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/jamaica-kincaid-1540_jobs_a-professional-writer-is-a-joke-you-writ_1283368.png) > “A professional writer is a joke. You write because you can't do anything else, and then you have another job.” [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is portrayed as a fallback job, suggesting a tension between creative passion and economic necessity. **In simple terms:** Writing feels like a job because of financial pressure. Key Takeaway Balance creative work with practical livelihood. Themes creativity economics professional identity artistic struggle Mood reflective realistic Type creative professional When to use this quote - freelance writing - teaching - side hustles Key Concepts gig economy artistic labor self‑valuation Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain creativity under financial pressure? - Is it possible to make writing a primary career? A Different Perspective Economic constraints can stifle artistic freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I can't write a joke. I could never write. I do a lot of stories and I call them stories, but they're just comedy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shock/i-can-t-write-a-joke-i-could-never-write-i-do-a-lot-of-stories-and-i/) [Ron Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shock/) > [I am so happy that I married a comedy writer. He's never not without a joke. No matter where we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-miller/i-am-so-happy-that-i-married-a-comedy-writer-he-s-never-not-without-a/) [Christa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-miller/) > [Writing comedy is an exposing thing because you're putting yourself on the line with every joke you write, and although you can't second-guess an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-tate/writing-comedy-is-an-exposing-thing-because-you-re-putting-yourself/) [Catherine Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-tate/) > [Being a professional writer is not an easy way to make a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/being-a-professional-writer-is-not-an-easy-way-to-make-a-living/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [My personal opinion is that, if you're a professional writer, that you do have quotas. So every day I do try to write 800-1,200…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/my-personal-opinion-is-that-if-you-re-a-professional-writer-that-you/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [I'm not the most talented writer in the world. I know that. But I also know that I'm disciplined, that I work my butt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-coe/i-m-not-the-most-talented-writer-in-the-world-i-know-that-but-i-also/) [David B. Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-coe/) > [“A professional writer is an amateur who never gave up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/a-professional-writer-is-an-amateur-who-never-gave-up/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [I write. This is what I do. 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My job is to try to serve it to the best of my ability, which is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/a-book-comes-and-says-write-me-my-job-is-to-try-to-serve-it-to-the/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [When you write for a show that's not yours, your job is to hear the voices of the characters and write as best you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherman-palladino/when-you-write-for-a-show-that-s-not-yours-your-job-is-to-hear-the/) [Amy Sherman-Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherman-palladino/) > [I write a tiny fraction of what I used to write. My only job used to be to just write songs, and that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-spektor/i-write-a-tiny-fraction-of-what-i-used-to-write-my-only-job-used-to/) [Regina Spektor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-spektor/) > [In the usual way I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-usual-way-i-submitted-manuscripts-to-publishers-this-was-not/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“I had been a writer all of my life, every waking second, and now that part of my life was over. I suppose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-greer/i-had-been-a-writer-all-of-my-life-every-waking-second-and-now-that/) [Bonnie Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-greer/) ## More by Jamaica Kincaid > [I'm always telling my students go to law school or become a doctor, do something, and then write. First of all you should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-m-always-telling-my-students-go-to-law-school-or-become-a-doctor-do/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [The slave trade was globalism. Why people insist that globalism, after its hideous history, is a good thing, I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/the-slave-trade-was-globalism-why-people-insist-that-globalism-after/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I have no credentials. I have no money. I literally come from a poor place. I was a servant. I dropped out of college.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-have-no-credentials-i-have-no-money-i-literally-come-from-a-poor/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [In my writing I'm trying to explore the violations people commit upon each other. And the important thing isn't whether I'm angry. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/in-my-writing-i-m-trying-to-explore-the-violations-people-commit-upon/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > ["Race." I really can't understand it as anything other than something people say. The people who have said that you and I are both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/race-i-really-can-t-understand-it-as-anything-other-than-something/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Race as a subject only comes about because of what I look like. If I say something truthfully, people say "Oh, she's so angry."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/race-as-a-subject-only-comes-about-because-of-what-i-look-like-if-i/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [in the place I am from ... a grave is topped off with a huge mound of loose earth - carelessly, as if piled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/in-the-place-i-am-from-a-grave-is-topped-off-with-a-huge-mound-of/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I like melancholy. I like to pretend that I'm alone in the world and I'm just sort of abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-like-melancholy-i-like-to-pretend-that-i-m-alone-in-the-world-and-i/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I come from the small island of Antigua and I always wanted to write; I just didn't know that it was possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-come-from-the-small-island-of-antigua-and-i-always-wanted-to-write/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“Have you ever wondered to yourself why it is that all people like me seem to have learned from you is how to imprison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/have-you-ever-wondered-to-yourself-why-it-is-that-all-people-like-me/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. And one's duty, one's obligation every day, is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/love-and-hatred-don-t-take-turns-they-exist-side-by-side-at-the-same/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“Do you see the queer thing about people like me? Sometimes we hold your retribution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/do-you-see-the-queer-thing-about-people-like-me-sometimes-we-hold/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I didn't really understand racism because I grew up in an all-black society, so I didn't see how it was possible not to like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-didn-t-really-understand-racism-because-i-grew-up-in-an-all-black/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [A great piece of literature encompasses all that is and all that will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/a-great-piece-of-literature-encompasses-all-that-is-and-all-that-will/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [The people who invented race, who grouped us together as "black," were inventing and categorizing their ability to do something vicious and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/the-people-who-invented-race-who-grouped-us-together-as-black-were/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) [Explore all 228 Jamaica Kincaid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## More Jobs quotes > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. 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Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [Musicians talk of nothing but money and jobs. Give me businessmen every time. They really are interested in music and art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-sibelius/musicians-talk-of-nothing-but-money-and-jobs-give-me-businessmen/) [Jean Sibelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-sibelius/) > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. 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