After 1877, von Essen wrote articles for newspapers and publications and translated plays. She was a reporter for Morgenbladet newspaper in Helsingfors, Finland, in 1876 and in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1881.
Von Essen's writing career took off after 1877, with her contributing to various media outlets as a writer and translator of theatrical works. Her experience as a correspondent for the Morgenbladet newspaper in Helsinki, Finland, in 1876, laid the groundwork for her later work as a journalist in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1881.