What is the place of soulful writing in culture?

This is a question I would very much like to know the answer to. Could you tell me?

 I like to be seen as a serious writer, but I know I haven’t done much so far to have that look. No prizes, no bylines in renowned publications, no entries in competitions. All I have been doing is writing for fun, so how can I be seen as a serious writer?

What’s interesting, to me at least, is that I don’t know what it even means to be a serious writer.…