5 answers
Raven
Student
Elk River, Minnesota
5
Questions
Asked
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What all is needed to become a Writer?
Such as the amount of people you interact with. The pay and so on. I am open to just about anything.
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5 answers
Laura Chandler
CX Manager
4
Answers
Oakland, California
Updated
Laura’s Answer
There's so much opportunity in the field of writing! From freelancing and journalism, to Content Support and highly-specialized technical writing, to creative writing like novels and poetry.
It helps to focus on a specific interest. Maybe you enjoy writing about music, or are interested in a specific sect of science like Astronomy. You should find the topic you're most interested in and start writing about it. Don't feel pressured to stick to one interest either. Explore what you like and what you don't. The writing skills will develop alongside your exploration.
Networking helps with almost every job available. Join writing groups in your community (see if there's a local NaNoWriMo group that meets in-person or virtually.) Join your school's newspaper club or creative writing club. Find peers to review your work and vice versa.
As for pay, it can vary wildly based on what kind of writing you do and what industry you work in. If you haven't yet, I recommend looking at Glassdoor(.)com and searching for job titles in specific regions as pay is also dependent on your physical location.
Like I said, there is SO much variety in writing and what you can do with. Almost every industry has need for a writer. The best first step is to just start writing about what you love and get it out in the world.
It helps to focus on a specific interest. Maybe you enjoy writing about music, or are interested in a specific sect of science like Astronomy. You should find the topic you're most interested in and start writing about it. Don't feel pressured to stick to one interest either. Explore what you like and what you don't. The writing skills will develop alongside your exploration.
Networking helps with almost every job available. Join writing groups in your community (see if there's a local NaNoWriMo group that meets in-person or virtually.) Join your school's newspaper club or creative writing club. Find peers to review your work and vice versa.
As for pay, it can vary wildly based on what kind of writing you do and what industry you work in. If you haven't yet, I recommend looking at Glassdoor(.)com and searching for job titles in specific regions as pay is also dependent on your physical location.
Like I said, there is SO much variety in writing and what you can do with. Almost every industry has need for a writer. The best first step is to just start writing about what you love and get it out in the world.
Keith Carlson
Content Writer
2
Answers
Denver, Colorado
Updated
Keith’s Answer
You have so many opportunities as a writer. You can write about almost anything, for any industry, or any topic you can imagine. You have the opportunity to work and engage with people from many professions and cultures.
I realize that's an overwhelming answer, so here are some things I've learned throughout my career as a writer:
1. Write. Every. Day. Keep that skill sharp and find educational opportunities to stay on top of current trends and fields.
2. Find out as fast as you can what you like to write and what you're good at writing.
3. As a writer, I don't write all day for my job. Most of my job is researching what I need to write. Researching can take up to 90% of the time it takes to complete a project.
4. Get familiar with SEO. So many writing opportunities are for web content, so the more you know about SEO the stronger writer and contributor you'll be. Check out SEMrush and Ahrefs for their free SEO writing resources.
5. There is a lot of competition. Many people want to be paid writers, so do what you can to stand out from the crowd.
6. If you are more introverted and are pursuing writing because you think you won't have to talk to people much, you'll need to get over that because you may have to interview people, collaborate with a team, and manage your writing projects which often includes different people in the company/organization.
7. Be comfortable with criticism and learn how to incorporate negative/positive criticism into your work.
8. Read. A lot. Read anything and everything from novels, non-fiction, ad copy, product descriptions, blogs, white papers, case studies, emails from retailers/service providers, and signage in shops and stores. Ask yourself what the writer and marketing team are trying to accomplish. How could you use their strategies?
9. Less is more. As writers, we tend to want to use a lot of words to get our message across. Learn how to refine your writing so you get your point across as succinctly as possible.
And with #9, I'll leave it at that. Reach out if you have any questions! I didn't even touch on freelancing. That's an entire topic unto itself.
I realize that's an overwhelming answer, so here are some things I've learned throughout my career as a writer:
1. Write. Every. Day. Keep that skill sharp and find educational opportunities to stay on top of current trends and fields.
2. Find out as fast as you can what you like to write and what you're good at writing.
3. As a writer, I don't write all day for my job. Most of my job is researching what I need to write. Researching can take up to 90% of the time it takes to complete a project.
4. Get familiar with SEO. So many writing opportunities are for web content, so the more you know about SEO the stronger writer and contributor you'll be. Check out SEMrush and Ahrefs for their free SEO writing resources.
5. There is a lot of competition. Many people want to be paid writers, so do what you can to stand out from the crowd.
6. If you are more introverted and are pursuing writing because you think you won't have to talk to people much, you'll need to get over that because you may have to interview people, collaborate with a team, and manage your writing projects which often includes different people in the company/organization.
7. Be comfortable with criticism and learn how to incorporate negative/positive criticism into your work.
8. Read. A lot. Read anything and everything from novels, non-fiction, ad copy, product descriptions, blogs, white papers, case studies, emails from retailers/service providers, and signage in shops and stores. Ask yourself what the writer and marketing team are trying to accomplish. How could you use their strategies?
9. Less is more. As writers, we tend to want to use a lot of words to get our message across. Learn how to refine your writing so you get your point across as succinctly as possible.
And with #9, I'll leave it at that. Reach out if you have any questions! I didn't even touch on freelancing. That's an entire topic unto itself.
Mark Morgan
Telecom Engineer/Truck Driver
148
Answers
Newburgh, Kentucky
Updated
Mark’s Answer
Raven,
Laura and Keith have pretty much nailed it. I'd like to add a web site. Medium.com
Also, there is a YouTube channel that might interest you. https://www.youtube.com/c/ZulieRaneWrites
If you want to read stories on Medium.com, you'll need to pay. It's $5 per month. However, you can sign up to write on Medium.com and that is free.
Zulie has instructions on how to sign up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHOHZtO5NIM&t=350s
In addition to what Laura and Keith had to say, I hope this helps.
Good luck!
Mark
Laura and Keith have pretty much nailed it. I'd like to add a web site. Medium.com
Also, there is a YouTube channel that might interest you. https://www.youtube.com/c/ZulieRaneWrites
If you want to read stories on Medium.com, you'll need to pay. It's $5 per month. However, you can sign up to write on Medium.com and that is free.
Zulie has instructions on how to sign up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHOHZtO5NIM&t=350s
In addition to what Laura and Keith had to say, I hope this helps.
Good luck!
Mark
Thanks for the advice.
Raven
Fernando Iriarte
Freelance Writer & Editor
153
Answers
Puerto Rico
Updated
Fernando’s Answer
First it's all about deciding what genre or style of writing you want t get into. Story writing alone has multiple styles like: prose, script writing and novel writing just to name a few. Then you have areas of communication and marketing where you have copywriting, commercial script writing and advertisement writing as examples. I'd recommend researching the areas you're most curious about and then practicing that style.
William Nwaogu
Construction, CAD and BIM
299
Answers
Lagos, Nigeria
Updated
William’s Answer
Hi Raven,
What you need to become a writer are below.
1) Discipline knowledge.
2) Get a practice license.
3) Be able to research on subject of writing.
4) Develope writing skills.
5) Know about intellectual property (avoid plagiarism).
6) Know demographics like - regions, language, audience.
7) Know your publication budget.
8) Know how to finance your writing investment.
9) Get counsellors and authoring team like editor, reviewer and others.
10) Choose a good publishing company.
11) Know your marketing and promotion plan.
12) Network, create a blog and public profile.
What you need to become a writer are below.
1) Discipline knowledge.
2) Get a practice license.
3) Be able to research on subject of writing.
4) Develope writing skills.
5) Know about intellectual property (avoid plagiarism).
6) Know demographics like - regions, language, audience.
7) Know your publication budget.
8) Know how to finance your writing investment.
9) Get counsellors and authoring team like editor, reviewer and others.
10) Choose a good publishing company.
11) Know your marketing and promotion plan.
12) Network, create a blog and public profile.
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this.
Raven