Hollywood paid me more than publishing ever has. So why do I keep writing? A video episode on author income, the glory, and little kids in full Rumi getup:
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00:00 Is Writing the Worst Job on Earth?
Sophia Chang (00:00)
Is writing the worst job on earth? And if so, why do writers write?
If I can make people feel something and create this worldwide movement the way K-Pop Demon Hunters did — that is why I was put here on earth.
Never in my wildest dreams as a little kid would I have imagined that. Being Asian was not only okay, but it was something people wanted, and it was something that was celebrated.
Am I gonna cry again? My god. Is it the hormones?
00:30 From Backaches to Crippling Doubt: the Real Cost of Writing
Reader question answered right now. Welcome to the Sophia Chang Show.
People who watch and listen to the Sophia Chang Show ask the best questions, and the one today is one of my ultimate favorites. They ask, "Why do writers write? It's labor intensive, emotionally draining, and not likely to provide a decent living. So why bother? Why do you bother?" You are absolutely correct.
The number of hours, the cost that we put in for our equipment — whether it's your computer, for software like my beloved Scrivener, for classes, workshops, critiques, everything — plus the physical toll: the back aches, the wrist aches, the eye strain. And let's not forget the crippling doubt.
Longtime listeners have heard me complain about all of these. So why keep going? Now, the interesting thing about this question is that there are actually two parts to it. They both go together; they're both equally valid. One is the act of the writing itself, the art of it, the craft of it. The second is the business side of it, being an author.
Now, because of the way this question was structured — "labor intensive, emotionally draining, and not likely to provide a decent living" (thank you so much for saying the truth) — this listener is asking about the confluence of the two.
01:52 Reason #1: I Would Die If I Didn't Write
So why do I write?
I call BS on, like, the whole "I wanna change the world." Should probably just go into public policy.
For me, I write for one reason: I would die if I didn't. Like, when I do not get to write — let's say I am either between projects, I'm — I've got something out with somebody, beta readers, editors, whoever, and I'm not working on something — I can only go so many days before I go insane. I am not a happy person when I am not writing, which means I'm not a pleasant person to be around.
I am in a bad mood. I'm cranky. I don't know what's wrong. I'm listless. I have no purpose. Literally, if I don't write, I am not okay. I am mentally unwell.
It's the same for anything that you need to be happy enough to survive this world. Talking to my best friends — if I don't speak to them, I do not feel well. After we have one of our five-, six-, seven-, eight-hour marathon talks (yes, I have been on the phone for eight hours with friends; we are words, people), I sleep so much better. My psychological well-being has been restored. And that's what it is with writing.
The sun is killing me. I have to move this.
03:12 Reason #2: Crying Over K-Pop Demon Hunters
But this is a different question from: why do I need to share that writing?
One word: K-Pop Demon Hunters.
That may be more than one word, but I'm a writer, not a mathematician.
What does this mean? A few months ago, I saw this video compilation of little kids from around the world singing "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters, like, in full Rumi getup. And I started crying because I have never in my entire childhood seen myself reflected to me. And to not only have that be available for people now, and to have little kids of every non-Asian race being like, "I want to be like this Asian character" — I'm gonna cry right now. Like, I'm getting emotional just saying this, because this is — never, never in my wildest dreams as a little kid would I have imagined that. Being Asian was not only okay, but it was something people wanted, and it was something that was celebrated, and it was something that could help me be seen.
The level of racist shit that I grew up with — that's where these tears are coming from. So when I see something like that, knowing that everything that I am writing could one day be made into something that touches the world, and that little kids out there won't have the experience that I had — they are actually being raised with books and media that looks like them and represents them in a non-offensive way. We had Long Duk Dong, Charlie Chan. We had all sorts of bullshit.
And knowing that they have something that is real and makes them feel okay to be who they are, and also makes the rest of the world feel something — that blows my mind.
And so when I write, my characters are going to be Asian. Some of them are also going to be chronically ill. Some of them are also bi. They're just gonna be all the things that I wish I had seen. And there's something so healing about that.
I'm the kind of person who — I wither without connection. I'm a proud extrovert. Connecting to people on a one-to-one basis, connecting with other humans, is life force. I can't live without it. And this is my way of connecting with people, is to write.
And if — if I can make people feel something, and if I can create this worldwide movement the way K-Pop Demon Hunters did, like, that — that would — Am I gonna cry again? My god, what is going on? Is it the hormones?
That is why I was put here on earth. I would be ready to just lay down and die, because I have — I have accomplished what I came here to do, you know?
06:05 Reason #3: Fame and Glory, Obvs
I always tell you my writing pet peeves, and I hate when people ask the question, "If nobody read your writing, would you still write?"
Of course not.
If nobody read your — why do you think thousands and thousands of queries go out upon the hour? Clearly people are doing this for the fame and glory. Like, anyone who says they're not, and yet they're trying to put their work out there — they're on Substack sharing shit and Instagramming. They want attention. They want their writing to be seen. There are so many querying writers for an industry that pays less and less and asks more and more of you as a writer every day, because people want their writing to be read.
I have never pretended that I wasn't doing this for the glory, okay? If you guys saw my interview with Kevin Chung — he interviewed me — I have always wanted to be the most famous person on earth since I was three years old. I have always wanted to do everything for glory. Now, the fact that I have vastly underdelivered on that, and I have spectacularly failed in that — that's on me. But it wasn't for want of trying.
And I think people need to be more honest. And when I say people: writers. You need to get real with yourself. Look yourself in the eye and be so for real.
07:34 Hollywood Paid Me More Than Publishing
So now, back to the question, which is: if there is nearly zero chance of this fame, this glory, the money, anything really, of getting published — and when you do get published, it's probably just gonna have some low sales — why would we even do this?
I heard this said decades ago when I first started in Hollywood. You know I couldn't get through an episode without dropping one of the H-bombs. Harvard, Hollywood, Harvard, Hollywood, Harvard, Hollywood.
They told us, if there is anything you can do other than acting, do it, because that is how brutal it is. And they were right.
If you guys remember from Episode 65 with Mara Williams, Top Three Publishing Myths Busted — yes, the link is below — I did say that I actually made more money, and faster, being a film and TV actor in Hollywood than I have in three times the amount of years than I have spent in traditional publishing. That's bad, guys.
08:42 Secret Lives of Writer Wives
"Hold on, Soph, that still doesn't answer the question," you guys are saying. "So why do we keep doing this?"
Well, the thing is, most of us have other jobs. And when I say most: 99.9999%. There is a very, very small number of writers who can support themselves entirely from writing novels. Even people who are full-time writers — some of them are journalists, a lot of them are book coaches, they do freelance editing, they ghostwrite, some people have full-time jobs. And then some people are like me. We are extremely old trophy wives.
This is another dirty secret that isn't talked about a lot, so I love that it was brought up by my guest Amran Gowani on Episode 68, where he was basically like, "I've told my children, the only reason I'm doing this is because I live with your mom. And if you wanna do this, you're gonna live with your mom as well for the rest of your life. Be prepared for that."
People are increasingly becoming more honest about how the money is made. But I think a lot of people don't wanna say, "This is coming from spousal support." It's not a cute look in 2026, but hey, maybe 2027 can be our year of the honest.
So I think a lot of us go into it thinking we're gonna make a lot of money. Me. I was completely ready for my seven-figure book deal. I don't know about you.
This is why I ended up taking a huge, huge break from writing. Years and years. I couldn't — I didn't write. I got really, really close with my first few rounds of querying back when I started as a YA writer. And sadly, I could not continue because I needed to make money. I could not afford this career.
And that was really sad, because I was so freaking close. And if I had the same kind of grit and the same dogged "it's this or die, write or die," then I probably could have been published a good decade ago. But, you know, I had financial considerations. So I stopped for a while, and —
10:43 The Financial Realities of Writing
Then I got ill, so I stopped 'cause I was blind. And here we are, years and years down the drain. Lots of lived experiences, though, and they say that's important.
Sitting here answering one of my favorite reader questions that I've ever gotten, to tell you that if you are in this for the money, you better go get married, and fast.
11:04 Reason #4: All In
So there you have it: my completely unfiltered answer to why I write. Number one, because I would die if I didn't. Number two, I have had to learn to make the financial gain a secondary — at best, at best, if not tertiary — concern.
Now, this doesn't mean I've given up completely. I 110% intend on having my Apple TV sitcom. Speaking it into existence.
I think that's the final reason: I'm in too deep. And I think a lot of you are too. We went all in. I sold the farm. Said, "This is it." It's — it's this, and this, nothing else. There's not a single doubt in my mind that this will happen. Every cell in my body is dedicated towards making my dream of being a published author happen.
11:59 Why Do YOU Write?
So there are many levels to this question, and I've given you as unfiltered and personal answers as I can.
Now, my question for you is: why do you write? Let me know below. You know how you could help start this worldwide movement with me.
Sophia Chang (12:16)
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Sophia is a Reese's Book Club LitUp author of speculative books for hot Asians and the world's first iPod silhouette model. She was an aerial dancer disabled by MOG antibody disease and she will make out with your dog. Subscribe if you don't want to cry about publishing alone.
