Continuing in a creative career : Claiming an artistic identity and aligning trajectories among early career novelists

Most artists who venture into an artistic career discontinue after their debut work. This article contributes to the understanding of early artistic career discontinuation and continuation by drawing on 53 mainly longitudinal interviews with early-career Swedish novelists. The article develops interactionist theories of careers and social worlds, and suggests that continuation of literary careers depends on realizing an artistic identity and the alignment of trajectories in life, thereby providing time for creative work to emerge. The alignments are arrangements of trajectories that work together, and aligning trajectories makes it possible to legitimize an artistic identity in relation to competing identity claims (and roles) from other trajectories in life. The legitimation creates normative acceptance of the writing identity and activity. The ease of claiming a literary writing identity depends on a person's author type, finances, engagements in work and family, and time management skills. The article proposes that creative career continuation is influenced by historical, situational and cultural availability, as well as the ability to claim an artistic identity and manage intermingling trajectories and priorities in life