The Unexpected Careers of Literary Legends
Many of us dream of quitting our day jobs to pursue our passions. But most dreams don’t pay the bills — at least not at first. Which is why many authors have to grind away at tedious and often unfulfilling while they continue to hone their craft. Unfortunately for some authors — even famous ones — that big break doesn’t come during their lifetime. Others, however, like the authors below, turn those early bouts of random employment into the creative fuel that builds the foundation for bestselling material.
Kurt Vonnegut
(Car Salesman)
Before he became a literary icon (and my favorite author during my teenage years) , Kurt Vonnegut opened a Saab dealership on Cape Cod in 1957. The hope was that selling imported cars would fund his writing career after he left his public relations gig at General Electric. But hope is rarely an effective strategy and the business flopped. Sales were slow which caused his work days to grow longer, taking time away from his real passion. So it goes.
Lucky for us — but, at the time, not so much for Vonnegut — his venture into selling cars came to an end as the dealership closed. But like the tires of a car burning rubber, a mark was left. Vonnegut used his experiences to shape the character Dwayne Hoover, a car dealer in Breakfast of Champions. And the novel turned out to be a pretty solid too; it spent 56 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Favorite book by this author: Sirens of Titan
Agatha Christie
(Pharmacy Assistant)
A prolific “Queen of Crime,” Agatha Christie penned more than 60 novels in the detective genre involving murder. Poison was pivotal to the plot of nearly half of them, which makes sense considering the extensive pharmaceutical knowledge she gained from her prior jobs.
Long before she became one of the best-selling novelists of all time, Christie worked as a apothecary’s assistant during World War I. While working on her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Christie worked in the dispensary through the end of the war in 1918. And it’s not hard to see the influence this time had on what she laid out for the renowned fictional Hercule Poirot —the plot centers around a toxic murder.
Favorite book by this author: And Then There Were None (despite the horrendous original title)
Douglas Adams
(Bodyguard)
Before The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy became a radio sensation in 1977, Douglas Adams worked a string of odd jobs — including as a bodyguard for a Qatari royal family member in 1976.
Though details are sparse, Adams claimed his time protecting royalty (and drinking in fields with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe) helped him brainstorm the absurdist sci-fi series that would make him famous. Adams later wrote for Doctor Who, developed computer games, and even jammed with Pink Floyd—but his detour into private security is perhaps the most surprising.
Favorite Ex-Galactic President: Zaphod Beeblebrox
Hugh Howey
(Yacht Captain)
Before Wool made him a self-publishing success story, Hugh Howey lived on a boat to save money and gain writing time. That decision led him to work on other people’s vessels, eventually becoming a yacht captain.
Howey’s maritime lifestyle offered both freedom and discipline—two traits that helped him build an audience online. Originally intended as a short story, Wool gained traction through Kindle Direct Publishing and grew into a full series. Howey is now seen as a pioneer in the world of indie publishing.
Favorite quote by this author: “There were certain things, learned so young and remembered so deep that they felt like little stones in the center of her mind.” from Wool.
Arthur Conan Doyle
(Ship’s Surgeon)
Best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a medical background long before he turned to fiction. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and later served as a ship’s doctor—first on a whaling ship near Greenland, then on the SS Mayumba en route to West Africa.
Though his journals credit the experience as a rite of passage, Doyle rarely practiced medicine at sea. Instead, he spent his time socializing with the crew and settling disputes. After returning to land, Doyle opened a private ophthalmology clinic—but never saw a single patient.
Luckily, Sherlock Holmes proved a better investment than his medical career.
Favorite Sherlock Homes book: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Final Thoughts
The road to literary greatness isn’t always linear. In fact, it almost never is. Publishing deals and glowing reviews might define an author’s legacy, but the path to that recognition often begins far from the spotlight. The journey of a great writer is as varied as the classics they leave behind. Some spend time behind a pharmacy counter, at the helm of a yacht, or on a used car lot in Cape Cod. Others never quite make the leap from their humble beginnings to lasting fame.
Yet, all of the above authors didn’t just work odd jobs to make ends meet; they lived lives rich with strange detail, human complexity, and real-world grit. And those experiences didn’t just shape their stories — they became the stories. So if you’re stuck in a job that feels miles away from your passion, take heart: you’re in good company. Sometimes, the best writing fuel comes from the most unexpected places.