Haywood was incredibly prolific, writing poetry throughout her life, in addition to plays, translations, and journalistic pieces. However, she is best remembered for her prose fictions, which are considered forerunners to the novel. Financially distressed in the 1720s, some plays were acted for her benefit. She was an actress for a while, and she also started some Female periodicals. It seems that writing was her sole form of income for most of her life.