Is it possible to make a living writing fiction in Taiwan? It’s very difficult. Writing, reviewing and publishing all take time, fees are low, most novelists earn very little for their effort, and success isn’t guaranteed—the bestselling authors people see are a small minority. Utsudo reminds readers that the steps that suited her may not suit you; you must think for yourself and learn by trial and error. If you truly want writing to be your job, put in effort to match your ambition and be prepared for an unstable income. The most practical first step is to start writing now.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

A letter from a reader

This is a letter from a reader.

The writer wanted to know what steps and plans it would take to “make a living from writing” in Taiwan.

Making a living from fiction is very hard

“Making a living by writing novels” is probably many creators’ dream. But from my experience in the industry, I can tell you clearly: it’s extremely difficult.

I’ve explained why many times on my livestreams: writing a book takes time, review takes time, and if you’re lucky enough to be accepted, you still wait for publication—and fees are low. Try to imagine how hard it would be to live purely on writing. Need I say more?

Also, everyone’s writing situation is different. The “steps” that suited me won’t necessarily suit you. Humans are born with a precious thing called the ability to think. Use your own “situation” as the basis to work out a strategy that truly fits you, instead of leaving it to others.

Writing takes enormous brainpower. If you don’t even want to spend the effort of thinking, and don’t have the courage to try and fail, then I can tell you with certainty right now: please change careers quickly. The grueling novelist profession definitely isn’t for you.

The reality of being a novelist

People’s fantasies about novelists are writing stories elegantly, then selling tons of books and going on signing tours and speaking circuits. But that’s just the few successful enough for you to see. Most authors never sell out a first printing and have never held a signing. Worse, some have publishers change direction and cancel their books altogether—plenty of people are left with nothing but dashed hopes.

Let me say it again, seriously: being a novelist is definitely a hard job with extremely low returns. First, success isn’t guaranteed. Second, unless you’re a genius, getting into this field means grinding before you “might” break through.

That’s right—only “might.” You’re more likely to remain unknown your whole life. Worse, if fiction is your only job, you might be poor or have starved long ago. You can’t rely on your family forever, so most authors in Taiwan treat writing as a side job or hobby.

If you want writing as your job, be prepared

If you feel life is only lived once and you really want writing to be your job, then you have to grit your teeth and go all in. You must put in effort that matches your ambition to have a chance of making this dream real. Otherwise, ask ten authors the same question and they’ll all give you roughly the same answer.

Whether you realize your dream depends on how you cultivate it, but whether the results match your hopes also depends on luck. Do your best, do some good deeds now and then, and take it easy—you won’t feel so tormented.

Becoming a novelist isn’t impossible; it depends on whether you’re prepared for things like this: seeing people your age thriving while your income barely covers the month’s expenses; seeing others travel abroad while you keep your head down writing and talking to yourself; seeing others start companies while the work you poured yourself into gets rejected by a publisher, leaving you powerless…

And there are many more hardships of being a novelist that you just don’t know about.

If you want to be practical, then while you still have the dream of becoming an author, hurry up and start writing!

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #193: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and Become Who You Want to Be
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.