Laura Lee
asked
Dave Cullen:
How do you manage to fund and find the time for such long research projects?
Dave Cullen
Ah, good question. It's a very tough business. Complicated answer.
For Columbine, it was a huge mixture. The first few years, I was writing a lot for magazines, and just scraping by with freelance gigs. (This is before the web destroyed much of the journalism market, and you could still get by on freelancing. It was always tough, but possible that recently. Now, I don't think it is.)
Over time, I went into debt, then got some advance money to help, and went back to working part-time outside writing as a consultant. Luckily, I'd worked as a computer consultant and management consultant for Arthur Andersen into my early 30s before quitting it all to go to grad school and write full time. So I was employable that way.
Then I went back more deeply into debt.
The unexpected success of the book got me out of debt, and combined with speaking gigs and other assorted bits, has kept me afloat working on this next book--along with some advance payments starting last year. I'm about to start going back into debt on this book, but hoping it will earn money after publication and I can stay solvent.
I'm now in my 50s without a retirement plan--and weak social security benefits after a decade of very low income--so that scares me. But if I can write some great books, hopefully that will take care of it.
For Columbine, it was a huge mixture. The first few years, I was writing a lot for magazines, and just scraping by with freelance gigs. (This is before the web destroyed much of the journalism market, and you could still get by on freelancing. It was always tough, but possible that recently. Now, I don't think it is.)
Over time, I went into debt, then got some advance money to help, and went back to working part-time outside writing as a consultant. Luckily, I'd worked as a computer consultant and management consultant for Arthur Andersen into my early 30s before quitting it all to go to grad school and write full time. So I was employable that way.
Then I went back more deeply into debt.
The unexpected success of the book got me out of debt, and combined with speaking gigs and other assorted bits, has kept me afloat working on this next book--along with some advance payments starting last year. I'm about to start going back into debt on this book, but hoping it will earn money after publication and I can stay solvent.
I'm now in my 50s without a retirement plan--and weak social security benefits after a decade of very low income--so that scares me. But if I can write some great books, hopefully that will take care of it.
More Answered Questions
Gongxue
asked
Dave Cullen:
Just finished reading Columbine, thank you for the thorough account. It is now understood that most mass shooters have a history of violence against women or threats of violence against women, and it is clear at least Eric shared these views from his passage about raping girls. How deep did these attitudes go for each of the boys? Thank you!
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