What to Prioritise in Your First Five Years as a Fiction Writer

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The first five years of a fiction career are rarely glamorous. So let’s simplify this. Not into rigid rules, but into useful focus. If I were sitting across the table from you with a notebook and a flat white, this is what I’d suggest you prioritise — in roughly this order.

What to Prioritise in Your First Five Years as a Fiction Writer

The first five years of a fiction career are rarely glamorous.

They’re full of false starts, uneven progress, long gaps between encouragement, and a steady undercurrent of am I doing this right? Most writers don’t fail in this period because they lack talent. They stall because they prioritise the wrong things too early — or everything at once.

So let’s simplify this. Not into rigid rules, but into useful focus.

If I were sitting across the table from you with a notebook and a flat white, this is what I’d suggest you prioritise — in roughly this order.

Year One to Two: Prioritise Finishing Work

Nothing matters more in the early years than learning to finish. Not perfect manuscripts. Finished ones.

This is the stage where writers often over-invest in:

  • branding
  • platforms
  • courses
  • visibility

before they’ve built the core skill that underpins all of it: completing stories.

Finishing teaches you structure, pacing, stamina, and problem-solving — things no workshop can fully replicate. It also teaches emotional resilience: how to stay with a project when the initial excitement wears off.

Creative Australia’s research into creative practice consistently shows that sustained output — not early recognition — is the strongest predictor of long-term creative careers.

At this stage, success looks like:

  • completing drafts
  • experimenting with form
  • learning what your process actually is

Not publishing. Not validation. Practice.

Year Two to Three: Prioritise Feedback — Carefully

Once you’ve finished work, the next priority is learning how your writing lands.

Not all feedback is equal. In fact, too much feedback — especially too early — can stall growth rather than support it.

Rather than crowdsourced opinions, this is the stage to seek:

  • thoughtful peer feedback
  • structured writing groups
  • targeted manuscript assessments

Queensland Writers Centre and similar organisations consistently recommend staged, purposeful feedback rather than open-ended critique. You’re not asking whether people “like” your work. You’re learning how readers experience it.

Equally important: learning when to ignore feedback.

Developing discernment — knowing which notes to take and which to set aside — is a core professional skill.

Year Three to Four: Prioritise Positioning

By now, patterns start to emerge. Themes repeat. Voice stabilises. You begin to understand what kind of writer you are — and just as importantly, what kind you are not.

This is the time to start thinking about positioning.

That doesn’t mean boxing yourself in. It means being able to answer simple questions clearly:

  • What do I tend to write about?
  • Who is likely to be interested in this work?
  • Where does it sit in the broader fiction landscape?

Positioning helps others advocate for you — publishers, librarians, programmers, reviewers. If they can’t place your work, they can’t recommend it.

This is also when writers often start experimenting with submission pathways, small publications, or early publishing options — not to “make it”, but to learn how the industry responds.

Year Four to Five: Prioritise Sustainability

This is where many writers hit friction. They’ve done the work. They’ve built skill. But they’re tired and the question shifts from Can I do this? to Can I keep doing this?

Sustainability isn’t about productivity hacks. It’s about designing a writing life that fits alongside income needs, family responsibilities and energy limits.

Australian writing organisations regularly emphasise that most successful writers operate with blended careers — writing alongside teaching, freelancing, editing, speaking, or other work. There is no failure in this. It is the norm.

A sustainable pace beats bursts of brilliance every time. So, at this stage, priorities include:

  • realistic output goals
  • boundaries around unpaid labour
  • protecting creative energy

What to De-Prioritise (Especially Early)

Just as important as knowing what to focus on is knowing what not to rush.

In the first five years, these often distract more than they help:

  • chasing trends
  • obsessing over social media growth
  • comparing timelines
  • waiting for permission

Publishing careers are not linear. They zigzag, pause, and restart. Measuring yourself against someone else’s highlight reel is a fast path to burnout.

The Australian industry is small. Relationships matter. Reputation compounds slowly. Quiet consistency is far more powerful than early noise.

A Final Perspective

Five years can feel like a long time when you’re starting out.

In creative terms, it’s a foundation.

Writers who last aren’t the ones who sprint at the beginning. They’re the ones who build skill steadily, seek feedback wisely, position themselves thoughtfully, and design careers that can be lived in — not endured.

If you’re in your first five years and wondering why everything feels unfinished, uncertain, and slower than expected — you’re probably right on time.

References (Australian sources)

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