Neurodivergence and Writing

A Q&A with writer and writing coach Dr. Bailey Lang

Dr. Bailey Lang is a late-diagnosed neurodivergent book coach, editor, and writer. She runs The Writing Desk, where she helps authors build sustainable, enjoyable writing practices that take their books from draft to done.

We’re thrilled that Bailey will be presenting a workshop for us on Monday, April 28th at 1 p.m. Eastern, “Finding Your Path: Crafting a Neurodiverse Writing Practice.”

Learn more HERE.

I asked Bailey a few questions about her path as a neurodivergent writer, her decision to start a small business as a writing coach and editor, and the advice she gives to other writers.

Tell us about your path to being diagnosed later in life as neurodivergent.

Bailey: I always knew I had trouble fitting in, but I first suspected I might be autistic because of a romance novel.

After finishing Helen Hoang’s book The Heart Principle, I realized I had never seen myself so clearly represented on the page as I had in her deeply burned-out, late-diagnosed autistic character, Anna. Fortunately, Hoang also included a list of books and resources about autism, which I immediately dove into.

I learned later that reading, watching, and listening to everything about autism that you can get your hands on is an incredibly common experience for late-diagnosed autistic people!

Within a few weeks, I was reasonably confident in my new self-understanding. It wasn’t until the next year that I started working with a therapist who supports late-discovered autistic people. She and I went through an assessment that confirmed what I already knew in my bones: I am autistic!

I did not have this information about myself until I was 32, and it changed everything. Assessment has improved, but it’s still difficult for many people to access diagnosis (much less support). This is especially true for women, girls, people of color, queer and nonbinary folks, and people living in poverty.

We’re in a moment of increasing awareness and acceptance of autism and, simultaneously, significant backlash and stigma (see recent reports on HHS planning to create a “registry” of autistic people for one terrifying example). It’s imperative to find and listen to autistic people about the autistic experience, and to listen to as wide a range of voices as possible.

What does most traditional writing advice get wrong about creating a sustainable and joyous writing practice for neurodivergent writers?

Bailey: Most writing advice is created by neurotypical people and is often, intentionally or not, for and about neurotypical people. (Much of it is also written by, for, and about a particular socioeconomic class of neurotypical people, many of them cis straight white men without caregiving responsibilities!)

A lot of traditional writing advice assumes that everyone’s body/mind works pretty much the same way, that we all have the same consistent amount of energy, and that we have minimal support needs.

Neurodivergent people know better. “Write every day,” for example, doesn’t work when your energy fluctuates unpredictably, or if your brain craves novelty, rebels against demands, or refuses to form long-term habits.

We know traditional writing advice doesn’t work well for us, but we need models for writing practices that are sustainable, joyous, and effective for neurodivergent authors. We need to hear from neurodivergent *and* neurotypical writers about their actual practices (not what we think we “should” do)—this is one reason I interview so many writers for my newsletter!

You started out as an academic. Why did you transition from academia to entrepreneurship as a writer?

Bailey: I finished my PhD in rhetoric and writing studies in 2021, around the time I was having my autistic self-discovery. The academic job market is always cutthroat, but during the early COVID years, it was all but nonexistent. There were almost no jobs in my field, and I was beyond burned out.

I completed graduate school, including writing and defending my dissertation during a pandemic, pre-diagnosis. I had none of the accommodations or supports I needed, and my body and mind were wrecked. Staying in academia—searching desperately for a tenure-track job or cobbling together adjunct gigs—sounded like more of the same. It wasn’t sustainable.

However, I had also been freelancing online through my entire PhD program (because we don’t value the humanities, and the stipend offered to grad students is nowhere near enough to live on, even in northwest Ohio).

I loved that work, which let me apply all the best parts of my research and academic studies in situations where it made a clear impact and allowed me to work at a pace that wasn’t soul-crushing. So, I decided to withdraw from the academic job search and go all-in on the business. The Writing Desk was born a few months later!

What advice do you have for women thinking about starting their own business as a writer?

Bailey: Starting a writing business is one of the most rewarding and difficult things I’ve ever done.

I’m not the sort of person who says, “If I can do it, anyone can!” so here are things that allow me to run my business: I’m a highly educated thin white woman from the Midwest with no immediately apparent disabilities (people pick up on the autism even if they can’t pinpoint it, but I also made it 32 years without getting diagnosed; I can mask when I need to).

My husband’s job provides health insurance. We have no student loan debt, a lot of financial stability, and we live in rural northwest Ohio, where the cost of living is low. I am childfree and not currently a caretaker for any elders. There are very few demands on my time and energy besides the ones I put there.

I offer all that context because I think it’s important. Any business advice I offer should be evaluated with that background in mind. With that said, if you want to start a writing business, it can be a beautiful way to use your creativity to support other writers.

Here’s what I would recommend thinking about:

• What writing problems are you uniquely equipped to solve?

• What writing-related issues are people always asking for your help with?

• What services would you want to offer to solve those problems?

• What existing relationships and/or audience could you draw on to test and refine your services/offers?

• If your writing is the product/service you want to focus on, what type of writing do you want to do? What’s the market for it right now?

Talk to as many people running writing businesses as you can. Get a sense of what’s possible, what you would enjoy, and what it’s really like to make money through this type of business (especially right now, given the ubiquity of AI and the general “everything is falling apart” vibe of the world more broadly).

💬 Do you relate to Bailey’s experiences as a neurodivergent writer? We’d like to hear your thoughts.