Why I Quit Content Writing Jobs Forever?

In an office, somewhere in Kolkata.

This may feel like I am oversharing, but I will, not for me but for others who are going through similar situations as I did. This blog is for those people who feel lost, but they don’t know what to do and what is exactly taking place in their lives. Let us begin now. 

I never wanted to be a content writer, but I did end up becoming one in the fast-paced corporate world. Too busy meeting up word count with informative blogs, social media content, Google content, email marketing content, and what not. 

My first job as a content writer started back in 2019. I was just a fresher like others. I wrote poems back then, accidentally, without ever thinking about becoming a writer one day. I remember I didn’t know how to write a story. I wrote poems based on my inspiration around me without knowing what a sonnet or a haiku is. I may be exaggerating, some of you might think, but it isn’t the case. It is the truth. In my first job, I had to write five 400-word articles every day. I did it for three days and then I stopped. My mother always hated me being a part of the professional world and used my admission for graduation to stop me from working. As fate would have it, I was apprehensive about what I would do next. I gave up hope until I used my pocket money to publish in anthologies. 

From 2019 till 2023, I kept on secretly interviewing for different companies, laying my hands on academic writing, memoir writing, and lifestyle and travel blogs. During this tenure, I ended up pursuing my internship with Ukiyoto Publishing. I wrote about different ways an author can market their books to reach a wider audience. The struggle was never real. By that time, I had become an award-winning author for “Some Unbothered Truths” and “Kolkata Diaries.” I won awards for my poems and stories, but I never knew how to write stories properly then. I took a creative writing course, created my website for fun without any prior knowledge. The fact is, I did it, I don’t know how. It is always fun to be whatever you want to be without restriction, isn’t it?

Writing is and will always be a part of my life. It is something that gave me a voice of my own.

“Writing is never about what you do when inspiration comes; it is about being consistent about it.” This is what I believe in. This is what Stephen King wrote in his memoir, “ On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft”. 

Too busy phase, trying to meet the word-count anyhow.

Back in 2024, I ended up joining as a junior content writer at a company in Kolkata. The amazing thing is I created a website without any prior knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I didn’t know about its importance and how it affects my website till date. Today, I choose to learn from people around me. Like I always choose to do. Bit by bit, I do my best to learn from SEO specialists and other website blogs. As a working professional, I would often end up hearing, “You have written a book, you can meet up 3000 word count on a daily basis easily.” It continued everywhere in every company I worked.

Here is where I need to raise my voice now. I may offend many people who will read the following sections.

“Before joining my office, I didn’t know how to write 2000 words per day. I was not someone who would sit down with a keyboard on a regular basis.”

“I have won awards; that doesn’t mean I know everything. I don’t have a magic wand to churn out quality content on every possible genre of writing. So please stop selecting me on the basis of my awards and select me on the basis of what I know and how I benefit your company on a regular basis.  (Dear present and future recruiters, please don’t be offended by this comment of mine. I apologize to you already now.) ”

“Meeting a word count is not easy. It takes time and effort and a whole lot of practice. You cannot expect it overnight. (Later, I wrote my memoir with a 2000+ word count regularly to increase my writing speed.)

“We are authors. We love to live in our own creative world rather than writing blogs for different clients yet we choose to do it by our choice. The choice can be money, eagerness to learn and grow as an individual. We authors don’t just enjoy writing all the time.”

In my last organization, I too ended up feeling horrible about writing content on a regular basis. I was depressed for the longest time. I receive negative feedback on my content on a regular basis. Back in January 2025, I ended up talking at the Kolkata Literary Carnival about my writing journey, where I heard a writer speak about quitting her job as an SEO content writer because it affected her creativity. I spoke to my godmother, Linda Fischer, about my recent heartbreak and my desire to quit content writing forever, probably. She told me only one thing that may help you as well. 

“You work in a digital marketing agency, not as a writer with creativity. You work as a marketer who helps to sell other people’s products and services. You help the big giants to fill their pockets, which in turn fill your own pocket with money. So, don’t quit your writing; it’s your strength. The other day, another writer also refused to write for others because she wants to be creative, not write about informative topics. It is the same everywhere. I told that girl the same thing as well.”

I also sat down with my counselor for the anxiety I went through on a regular basis. She also shared with me a story about her life. 

“ Once I was translating an English text to Bengali. While doing so, I added my own thoughts to the book but later, my editor ended up scolding me. My work there is only to translate the book as it is, not to add my own thought process to it. Similarly, in a content writing job too, you are writing for the clients, not for yourself. The companies will mould you on the basis of what their client wants. So accept that, there is nothing wrong in becoming a good, seasoned writer. “

People have different things to tell and make you feel good or bad. The most important thing out of all of this is you. Your well-being and your overall life. All of us need money and peace, but that doesn’t mean we will put ourselves on a pedestal trying to do things that are not meant for us. What others do and how they do things you failed to do; doesn't matter anymore. Yes, you guessed right; I quit content writing jobs forever. I may take freelance projects if needed, but it will always be to pay my bills. Nothing else. No job is worth enough to stress you out and develop PCOS, just like I did. 

I write because I love it. The traumatic experience of the content writing jobs still affects my self-esteem in my writing journey as an author now. I am still working on that, writing stuff every day on my laptop. I am taking online courses on therapeutic writing and ghostwriting. I don't need to meet others' demands to show that I am a good writer. I need to be honest with myself and do what makes me happy and stable in the long run. I know how to write. I write whenever I go to cafes, bars, and libraries. My aim has always been to brainwash people’s minds with the beauty of life. Nothing else. This is what we as writers do, whether we store our ideas on a tissue paper in a bustling cafe and a borrowed pen. It is enough, more than enough for us. 

“Never lose sight of who you are; otherwise, things will fall apart automatically.”

This is all I can say you now.