It has not been too long since an ad in the local Chicago paper asked in its headline "Waiter or Writer?" Waiter had been crossed out and replaced with writer. The ad was for a school that would teach you to be a writer. The hook, of course, was if you have writing talent and something to say, you could be a paid writer instead of part of a restaurant's (low-wage) waitstaff.
Twenty years ago, the Web was a blessing for would-be writers because there was no "wait time" between submitting a story to a national publication--yes, through snail mail--and the terse, universal rejection slip that read "Thank you for your interest".
If the publication liked the submission--it happened!--a writer got an acceptance letter but there was another wait time between acceptance and publication, and the publication usually "paid on publication"! See you at the bank--not!
The Web was also a boon for would be writers because more "content" was suddenly needed--admittedly to wrap around clickbait, but still.
The Web had downsides for writers though. Sure, the self-publishing movement which the Web launched let would-be writers have their say for the first time--and circumvent actual publishers. But, sadly, self-publishing replaced the vanity press which was called the vanity press for a reason: few, except family and friends, wanted to hear about Wacky Uncle Harry, someone's mean mom or their bout with depression. (In fact Covid, with its forced downtime, caused a bloom in such memoirs-cum-diaries.)
And it got worse for would-be writers. The self-publishing movement spawned an avalanche of writing and publication "coaches" teaching someone to be "their own brand," how to write a "best-seller" and how to win fame.
There were several ironies to the Web-based developments. First, the real money in self-publishing was in coaching writer wannabes not writing.
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