Aside from time spent on shore at Penobscot Bay or in Searsport, Maine, Lincoln and his older sister, Joanna Carver Colcord, spent most of their childhood at sea aboard the various sailing vessels captained by their father, visiting ports as far away as Hong Kong as part of the merchant trade.

His books include The Drifting Diamond, An Instrument of the Gods, Under Sail, The Game of Life and Death, as well as his epic poem, Vision of War.

His works often featured themes relating to Asian culture and the far east, regions and people who had a large influence on him as a boy during his voyages.

He is also noted for bringing to print the English translation of Ole Rølvaag's book Giants in the Earth, and as a contributor to various other works, including the nautical history, Sailing Days on the Penobscot by George S. Wasson.

As a journalist, he wrote political commentary for various American newspapers and magazines including the International News Service, The New York Post, Hampton's Magazine, The Nation, The Washington Post, The Freeman, The American Mercury, The Dial, The New York Call, and the Philadelphia Public Ledger, where he was staff correspondent beginning in 1917.