By 1918, Lane's marriage officially ended and she had quit her job with the "San Francisco Bulletin" following the resignation of managing editor, Fremont Older. It was at this point that Lane launched her career as a freelance writer. From this period through the early 1940s, her work regularly appeared in leading publications such as "Harper's", "Saturday Evening Post", "Sunset", "Good Housekeeping" and "Ladies' Home Journal". Several of her short stories were nominated for O. Henry Prizes and a few novels became top sellers.