Isaac Asimov is celebrated as one of the most prolific science fiction writers of all time. However, his journey to success was far from instantaneous. For eleven years, Asimov wrote short stories for science fiction magazines, earning a modest total of $7,821.75—equivalent to about $710 annually. His first novel wasn’t published until 1950, and it wasn’t until 1952 that his writing income surpassed his salary as an associate professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine.

Even when Asimov transitioned to full-time writing in 1958, he looked back on his early years with a mix of fondness and hard-earned wisdom. During those times, he juggled his writing with a demanding job, anxiously awaiting responses from Astounding magazine editor John W. Campbell. Early on, he was paid just a penny per word—a rate that eventually increased to two cents. Yet every paycheck felt like winning the lottery, a testament to his passion and dedication.

Many creators look back on their struggling years with regret or frustration. But Asimov’s story carries an important lesson: persistence pays off. His recognition as a master science fiction writer coincided with a cultural shift. After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, science fiction began to be seen as prophetic rather than mere entertainment. The genre gained widespread popularity as readers sought to understand the future through speculative fiction.

Asimov’s story illustrates a broader principle: sometimes, your field of expertise may seem niche or undervalued—until a seismic shift changes the game. Whether it’s musical genres like hip-hop, scientific domains like gene editing, or technological advancements like large language models in machine learning, a breakthrough can bring once-overlooked fields into the spotlight.