When I was growing up, my teachers often told me there was no money to be made in writing. As a child, I accepted that as fact. Writing was something you did for fun, they said, not as a realistic career. Looking back, that belief seems both ridiculous and surprisingly accurate at the same time.
My teachers were partly right. Most fiction writers never become household names. Very few achieve the success of writers like J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Alice Munro, Charlotte Brontë, or Neil Gaiman. Most novels never end up on school reading lists, in public libraries, or on bestseller shelves. Making a living solely from fiction has always been difficult.
What my teachers failed to mention was that writing careers extend far beyond novels. There are writers who earn a living through journalism, technical writing, copywriting, grant writing, and corporate communications. Many of these fields pay well and offer opportunities that my teachers simply didn’t mention (or maybe they hadn’t thought to). Had I known about those options, I might have pursued a different career.
Of course, the writing profession has changed dramatically. Artificial intelligence has affected the profession in ways nobody could have predicted. AI tools can help generate articles, outlines, and even entire books. This has lowered barriers to entry (so it’s easier to become a writer), but it has also created new challenges. Talented writers are sometimes accused of using AI when their work is entirely their own. Others face pressure to lower their rates because technology can produce content more quickly.
In the end, my teachers were neither completely right nor completely wrong. There’s money to be made in writing, but you need to choose the job carefully. Today, the challenge is not just writing well—it’s proving the value of human creativity in a time when anyone can generate words at the click of a button.
Vanya Wryter Consulting Services 