CALLING, ENGAGEMENT IN THE ARTS, AND WELL-BEING AMONG SPECULATIVE FICTION AUTHORS

Abstract

Research on work-related and overall well-being among people with careers in the arts in general, and authors in particular, remains sparse. Like many careers in the arts, fiction authorship is typified by financial hardships and difficulties that limit the extrinsic incentive to pursue and persist in this area of work. Accordingly, research on authors holds the potential to further our understanding of the construct of calling, which is a eudaimonic form of work experience. Authors often work “day jobs” in addition to writing, which presents the opportunity to advance research on how calling is experienced among multiple jobholders. Also, recent research has revealed the RAISE mechanisms of engagement in the arts as facets that engender well-being, but little is known about how these mechanisms are experienced among authors (or those with careers in the arts). Using cross-sectional survey research, I applied qualitative and quantitative methods among 110 speculative fiction (i.e., science fiction and fantasy) authors to better understand work experiences and well-being among this population. Qualitative document analysis was used to analyze responses to three open-ended items on authors’ experiences. Results revealed a series of themes across initial motivation to pursue authorship, discovery of desire to be an author, and manners through which authors persist in their career paths. Six multiple linear regression models were conducted in which the RAISE mechanisms were used to predict life satisfaction, meaning in life, psychological richness, affect balance, creative self-concept, and empathy. Significant associations were found in four of the six models. Moderation analyses were applied among multiple jobholders (n = 84) to discern how calling toward writing’s association with several work-level variables may be influenced by levels of calling toward day job. Results revealed a significant interaction effect for one of three moderation models. Calling toward writing was found to be negatively associated with burnout for those high in calling toward day job, nonsignificant for those average in calling toward day job, and positively associated with burnout for those low in calling toward day job. Although results should be interpreted tentatively due to several limitations, integration of qualitative and quantitative results of the present study sheds light on the potential role of calling and the RAISE mechanisms in authors’ work-related and overall well-being.