So You Dream of Being a Writer? The Reality Might Not Be What You Expect

Most of us who dream of being writers imagine that we'll publish novels. We picture sitting behind the desk at an author-signing with long lines of fans queuing out the door, our beautifully designed books stacked up beside us.

But very few people make a living from novels. Could there be a more realistic, rewarding dream? After a few years of struggling with my writing, I realized I'd been looking in the wrong direction. There was another way to fulfil my writing dreams.

Most professional writers fail at first

Like many of us, my writing dreams started at a young age. At six I received my first writing journal and began to dream of becoming a novelist when I grew up.

When I finished school, I applied for the exclusive creative writing program at university but, with a huge hit to my self-esteem, wasn’t accepted. Stuck with what to do next, I trained as a teacher instead.

After university, I started sending children’s fiction of all lengths to publishers. Not a single one was accepted. I sent dozens of short stories to writing competitions and did win some local ones. Then, on a whim, I entered and won a nationwide year-long mentorship to work with an established author and complete my first novel.

I never finished it. Family life got in the way and, 80,000 words in, the scholarship year ended. I had run out of steam and out of time. Feeling disillusioned, I put my writing dreams on hold (but continued to journal).

Nonfiction realities

Writing a novel can take a huge amount of energy and I’m sure many of you have reached this point at some stage.

It’s okay to take a break.

It’s fine to prioritise family, or your health, or your full-time job.

What’s not okay is quitting your dreams completely. I had dropped my dream of becoming an author, temporarily. Then something interesting happened.

Two years later, I wrote a journal entry, and for some reason (I can’t even remember why) I sent it to a local newspaper. Not only did they print it, they wanted more.

Unexpectedly I became a columnist. Even more unexpectedly, people loved it.

They stopped me in the street to comment on my writing. They sent me gifts in the mail saying how much my column had helped them. A young woman pinned one of my little reflections to her bedroom wall. A group of elderly women based their weekly group discussion on my column. What was going on??

I had dreamed of becoming a fiction author and failed at every attempt. But my very first non-fiction gig was a hit. I started sending articles off to magazines and 90 percent were accepted.

A Profitable Path

Ten years later, writing non-fiction is not only my job but my passion.

Non-fiction uses an incredible amount of creative energy, but it doesn’t drain me like my novel did. It invigorates me! I love the research involved in a feature article. I love the interviews I get to do before writing up an advertorial. I love the variety: in the morning I can be writing a marketing campaign for a new tourism venture and by the afternoon I’m listening to a podcast for a psychology-based article on the brain development of teenagers, or writing a personal essay.

Non-fiction is addictive. I never get writer’s block. There are always far more article ideas than I ever have time to write.

And the massive bonus: non-fiction pays. You don’t have to finish a full-length novel and cross your fingers, hoping a publisher picks it up and sells it.

With non-fiction you type out 1000 words and know that money is likely on the way. If not, you've only wasted a couple of hours.

In a world where people love to consume bite-sized articles, true personal stories, or full length factual books — for their entertainment, education, self development or to help them make decisions — nonfiction writing is a great career path.

I still love writing fiction. It’s my hobby. It’s what I do when I feel like playing around with my writing. But I’m not a novelist. I’m a writer and, even though that wasn’t what I was expecting, it feels like I’m truly living my dream. You can too!

Kelly Eden is a creative nonfiction writer and mentor, published in Mamamia Australia, Apple News Spotlight, Zoosk and more. Check out her Personal Essay course and get your stories published too.

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