How to Become a Professional Writer

Copywriter

Copywriting is the activity or occupation of writing the text of advertisements or publicity material.

This involves being the voice of a brand. To succeed, you need to know your audience and tailor your writing to them.

What are career options in copywriting?

You could be responsible for any marketing materials such as websites, emails, brochures and catalogues. Copywriting is all about telling stories and getting readers to take action. 

According to a survey by Simply Business, most copywriters are self-employed (73%).

It’s relatively easy to declare yourself a freelance copywriter (you don’t necessarily need a degree). To start copywriting today, all you need is a laptop and a way with words. 

Working in-house you’ll be tied to regular meetings and admin tasks, meaning you may spend less time actually writing. But, you’ll have a more regular income and not have to spend time on business development. 

Top tips for getting into the sector 

1. Simple is beautiful. There’s no point writing long sentences with complicated vocabulary because people will lose interest. Most copy that’ is written for consumption via media is at a low comprehension level.

2. You should have a portfolio of work to offer to customers before they offer you the job. Michael Burns, a successful freelance copywriter, suggested imitating a particular company’s tone and style of writing to prove you can do so and adding this to your portfolio.

3. Start by advertising your services online. Show companies what you can do for them and why they should hire you using your portfolio.

4. Try to build a reliable client base before focusing on how much you’re earning. Offer decent prices and try to get some gigs. Once you get clients, you can up your prices as you become more worthy with experience.

5. You can take copywriting courses to learn the tricks of the trade. This makes you more appealing to potential clients too.

Median Salary – $47,838

Ghostwriter

Ghostwriting is writing on behalf of someone else and capturing their ideas in your own words. Types of ghostwriting include web writing, non-fiction, fiction and memoir.

What are the career options in ghostwriting?

• You can be a self-employed ghostwriter, or you can work through a firm. Working through a firm means you’ll have to do less searching for clients yourself as more will be given to you.

• You can ghostwrite lots of different things, such as fiction and non-fiction books as well as short-form content (eg: speeches, book proposals).

Top tips for getting into the sector 

1. You need to have written some books/articles for yourself before people are going to trust you with theirs. You can ask your friends and family if they’re willing to share stories for you to put into writing. You can also reach out to organizations online who may need help telling their stories.

2. You can practice writing in different tones to make sure you’ll be able to write successfully in the voice of a particular individual. You can do this by mimicking the way your favorite author writes.

3. To find a ghostwriting gig, check freelance writing job boards online regularly. Also don’t be afraid to reach out to publishers. You can give them or call or send them a letter. As with many areas of writing, niching can be beneficial. 

Median Salary – $37,752

Travel Blogger

Have you ever seen these young adults who seem to be having the time of their life traveling the world and getting paid for it? If you love to travel and you love to write, this career could be right up your alley. 

Travel blogging might seem like a dream, but it isn’t as simple as going on an amazing holiday and whacking a few posts together on your flight home. You need to be consistent and you need to strategize.

To be a successful travel blogger, besides writing you’ll have to use social media to draw in new readers, market your content and do a whole lot of networking. Some experts say that only 10% of your time is actually spent writing and the other 90% marketing, and it takes a lot of hard work. 

 Top tips for getting into the sector

1. As with most types of writing, you need to find your niche. You need to stand out from the crowd, and you need to develop a loyal following who care about the topics you choose to write about.
   
2. Part of the strategizing process includes identifying your audience. You need to know exactly who you’re speaking to and where they’re most likely to read your work.

3. Do your research and see what’s already out there. Travel blogging comes in the form of articles, novels, guidebooks and more. Decide what you like the most, what you’d like to produce yourself and see how the experts do it.

4. There’re many publications that feature travel articles, whether they’re magazines dedicated entirely to travel or with travel sections. Before pitching an idea to ANYONE, make sure you’ve tailored it to their needs.

5. When pitching ideas to potential publishers, make sure they get a feel for your writing and what you’re trying to address. Don’t make your pitch too long or they’ll get bored.

6. A great tip is to think back to previous trips of yours, what’s been interesting about them and what you think people would like to read about. Practice writing some blogs and see how they turn out – this can be the start of your portfolio.

Median Salary – $47,472

SEO Copywriter

SEO copywriting is all about creating the most useful, compelling and valuable content on the web. This is done by identifying specific keywords that people are searching for and embedding them into your content. 

Having the right keywords is key in any piece of writing means readers can find the content they require from search engines. Including all of the relevant keywords in the right frequency can rank your article higher in searches meaning you’ll have more people visiting your website. 

Top tips for getting into the sector 

1. Find a topic you’re interested in, research it and write a showstopping article. Even if you’ve not got anywhere to publish your work, the practice is great and you can feature it in your portfolio.
2. Learn to use tools like Google Keyword Planner. This allows you to identify all relevant keywords and which ones will get you the most interest.

3. Make sure your articles are informing the reader on what they came for. It’s not enough to just throw the keywords in there because readers will soon bounce away from your page if the detail isn’t there.

4. There are endless opportunities for you to get experience and practice these skills, usually in the form of internships. Search the web for copywriting internships and remember that in this day and age you can apply for remote positions in companies all across the world. 

Median Salary – $60,400

Novel Writer

To be a great novelist is not easy and the feat of completing any novel is impressive. Aspiring writers need to put in a lot of hard work.  

It’s not enough to just have a great idea, you need to be able to get your ideas down in a compelling way, seamlessly following characters in unique situations and tackling problems. Bestseller David Baldacci’s outlines the importance (and hardship) of making time for your writing, especially when you’re juggling it alongside another career. 

Top tips for getting into the sector

1. Block out as much time as possible for writing every day and keep it consistent. Whether that be for half an hour in the evening or on your lunch break, what’s important is keeping it up.

2. Don’t chase rewards. You can find great pleasure in telling your story in a compelling, interesting way whether it ends up making you money or not. 

“Hope for the best and expect nothing” – Harper Lee

1. Continuously work on making connections with editors and other writers. A good editor can make or break your manuscript. Research editors’ previous work and check out their references before you hire them – it’s sometimes hard to find a good editor.

2. Don’t forget marketing. Having a winning story is not enough. It needs to be discovered by readers and that doesn’t happen by accident. Novelists who are published through major publishing houses often have marketing and PR machines behind them. 

Median Salary – $49,046

Script Writer

Script writing is worlds away from any other type of writing. It includes writing the movements, actions, expressions and dialogue of characters for performance.

Thinking visually isn’t always easy and script writing takes a lot of skill. And sometimes you can say more with fewer words. 

• You can be a film screenwriter or a TV screenwriter. TV screenwriters tend to have more creative freedom and more control. 

Top tips for getting into the sector

1. Write A LOT and build a portfolio. Script writing differs from novel writing quite significantly. You need to be able to express how a character is feeling through their actions instead of through words alone.

2. Research and read screenplays. This can help you when creating your own pieces as the formatting and style of writing can be mimicked. You’ll be learning the tricks of the trade from those who do it best.

3. Get your foot in the door. Whether you’re lucky enough to have some connections or manage to bag yourself an entry level role alone, don’t expect to start at a company in your dream position. You can work your way up from an assistant role or even an internship.

4. Keep learning. Companies value hard-working, curious individuals and you can prove your worth by constantly reading the news, taking online classes or even doing a second degree.

5. As you’re starting out your career, make as many connections as possible. You can connect with producers through websites like IMDB and you can also submit projects to film festivals. 

Median Salary – $58,460

Speech Writer

To be a speech writer, you’ve got to be able to put your opinion to one side and stand proudly in the shoes of the other. Whether that be a politician, a celebrity or anyone in between, you might not always share their opinion.

Top tips for getting into the sector 

1. To become a speechwriter, a degree in journalism or communications is a good place to start. But don’t worry if you don’t have one, because as long as you’re a good writer with a lot of passion, you can break into the industry with experience.

2. Get writing experience. This is relatively easy because in this day and age anyone can start a blog, or do an internship.

3. You must practice writing persuasively. Speeches must be compelling and clear to keep audiences both entertained and interested.

4. If you can’t get any ‘formal experience’, don’t worry because anyone can make up a speech. You could pick any celebrity or politician you like and mimic their voice. 

Median Salary – $134,795

Legal Writer

This career choice isn’t just for those who love to write – you must also have an interest in the law and sometimes even a legal degree. Legal experience or a proven in-depth knowledge of the industry is required alongside impeccable writing skills.

Legal writers and editors will produce items such as newsletters, brochures, marketing copy, feature articles and legal blogs.

Top tips for getting into the sector 

1. To develop your legal writing skills, reading effective examples of legal documents can help. You can then imitate the way they’re written when building your portfolio.

2. It’s important to recognize that you aren’t writing essays anymore. You must consider the audience, objective and content and weave that into your writing.

3. You could start out in freelance. There are many different places a freelance legal writer can find jobs, including ‘Simply Hired’, ‘The Legal Writing Institute’ and ‘Elance’. These jobs could start out as smaller, one-off projects but turn into something more.

4. Be resilient. It can take a lot of knockbacks and persistence before you find a writing job. But once you get the ball rolling, you’ll be more employable, and it’ll get easier and easier.

Median Salary – $46,131

Journalist

There’s no denying that journalism as an industry has faced some challenges in recent years. 

From declining newspaper circulation, to the endless opportunities for online publication, the industry isn’t what it once was. But there are still jobs out there, so if journalism is your dream job, don’t give up.

What are the career options within journalism?

There’s a variety of subject areas to choose from. These include (but aren’t limited to) sports journalism, political journalism, entertainment journalism and investigative journalism. Some roles are based in a newsroom while others offer opportunities to work from home.

Journalists may work as staff writers (when they are employed by a publication) or freelancers (who work for themselves). 

If you’d prefer to work from home and have more flexibility, working for an online magazine or newspaper as a freelancer might be more up your street.

Anyone can call themselves a freelance journalist and everyone has to start somewhere, so what’s stopping you?

Top tips for getting into the sector 

1. Improve your writing through online courses. Build yourself a top notch portfolio. Prove to companies you can write well instead of telling them.

2. Focus on writing about what you’re interested in and it’ll be more compelling. Where relevant, have an opinion and be bold. Having a clear niche and a clear voice can make you more in-demand too.

3. Join online communities for freelance journalists. These groups can provide advice as well as connections to like minded individuals within the industry.

4. Once you’ve done this, start pitching your ideas to editors. Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Some freelancers knock on the doors of countless agencies and publications, before finding one that will offer them work.

5. Perfect your pitches and spend time every day contacting relevant publications and editors. Top tip: use Hunter.io to find email addresses of editors. 

Median Salary – $48,000

PR Specialist 

Are you a keen follower of the news? Are you looking for a creative role that can offer job security? A PR role could be for you. 

As a public relations specialist, your main duties include following and controlling the interactions your company has with the press.

This could include a variety of tasks including, but not limited to, writing pitches to journalists, writing opinion pieces on behalf of your organization and writing press releases. 

PR is a fast-paced world and it can offer more job opportunities than journalism, for example.  According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, PR Specialists Outnumber Journalists 6-to-1.

And there is a huge variety of organizations you can work for. From government, to charity, to agency to big business. 

Technical Writer

Technical writing is a type of writing where the author is writing about a particular subject that requires direction, instruction, or explanation. 

Technical writing is broadly defined by the Society of Technical Communication as “any form of communication that shows one of more of the following qualities:

1. Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations.

2. Communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites.

3. Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that communication.”

This style of writing has a very different purpose and different characteristics than other writing styles such as creative writing, academic writing or business writing.

As a technical writer, you’ll be spending the majority of your time researching and writing for a specific audience. You’ll usually specialize in a certain field. Niche technical writers will always be in-demand. 

Technical Writers made a median salary of $71,850 in 2018. The best-paid 25 percent made $92,070 that year, while the lowest-paid 25 percent made $55,500.

Corporate Communications Specialist

Like the idea of communications but not sure you want to spend your life interacting with journalists? Corporate communications could be for you. 

As a corporate communications specialist, you’ll communicate with internal and external various audiences. These audiences commonly include: customers and potential customers, employees and other key stakeholders (such as the C-Suite and investors).

Tips for getting into the sector 

1. Perfect your writing. It’s a competitive field and there’s no room for mistakes. Communication is key and they’ll usually be a writing test in an interview for such a role.

2. Break into the field by working for a startup. They’re often tight for cash and can’t afford to hire an industry expert with years of experience, which gives a fresh grad a chance.

3. Be persistent. It’s a tough job market. There’s so many communications graduates and not enough jobs for them all. But you just need to stand out. Show you’re passionate about working in communications and demonstrate your ability to write.

4. Get as much experience as you can. Do an internship and get involved in as much writing as you can. 

Median Salary – $51,395