She'd fallen into her career completely by accident. She'd simply been lucky, but that was the way publishing worked. It was a bit like the lottery. Write a book, make it the best you can, send it out there, cross your fingers, and wish on a falling star.
When she wrote like this she felt completely free. No restraints, no restrictions, just a wild happiness like catching lightning in a jar and illuminating the whole world for one vivid flash of inspiration.