Career as Writer

Writer

Writing is one field that requires more attention to the words and thoughts than any other. Starting a career in writing is not difficult, however, making a distinct identity of your writing style and thought the process and putting it across is a difficult one. Contrary to popular beliefs, writing is a well-paid and broad career with a multitude of specialties within every single type.

The following are examples of types of writers and authors:-

Copywriters prepare advertisements to promote the sale of a good or service. They often work with a client to produce advertising themes, jingles, and slogans.

Biographers write a thorough account of a person’s life. They gather information from interviews and research about the person to accurately portray important events in that person's life.

Generalists write about any topic of interest, unlike writers who usually specialize in a  given field.

Novelists or Authors write books of fiction, creating characters and plots that may be imaginary or based on real events.

Songwriters compose music and lyrics for songs. They may write and perform their songs or sell their work to a music publisher. They sometimes work with a client to produce advertising themes, jingles, and slogans, and they may be involved in marketing the product or service.

Play writers write scripts for theatrical productions. They produce lines for actors to say, the stage direction of actors to follow, and ideas for theatrical set design.

Screenwriters create scripts for movies and television. They may produce original stories, characters, and dialogue, or turn a book into a movie or television script. Some may produce content for radio broadcasts and other types of performance.

Journalists write reports on current events. For more information, see the profile on reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts.

SKILLS SET REQUIRED-

While looking for a job, we search about the responsibilities, scope, quality, etc. Required for a particular. But we often forget the most important factors, i.e. Career interest, aptitude, and personality, needed to be considered, while applying for a job. 

Some of the basic aptitude, personality, and interest required to succeed in this career are-

QUALIFICATION-

-Minimum eligibility: 10 + 2, to pursue a course in creative writing.

-The minimum duration of the program is one year, stretchable to a maximum of four years (IGNOU offers such courses).

-Desirable qualifications include: A bachelor's degree from a reputable college/ university in any stream.

-The humanities have been usually the most popular choice amongst writers, as it helps one delves deeper into literature, philosophy, history, society, etc. But science and commerce backgrounds to come in good stead for writers. You may, as well, take online help to hone your skills.

-Many employers prefer candidates with a degree in English, journalism, or communications.

INSTITUTES-

1. The British Council located in all metro cities in India offers degree, diploma and certificate courses in Creative writing.
2. The JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) in New Delhi offers creative writing as an optional subject in its MA (English) course
3. Calcutta University offers a Diploma course in Creative Writing
4. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in New Delhi offers a Postgraduate Diploma course in Creative Writing
5. Xavier’s Mumbai Central Institute of Indian Languages, Karnataka
6. Center for Research in Art of Film and Television, Delhi which offers a one-year diploma course
7. Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi which offers a PG diploma in Creative writing through the distance learning program
8. U.P.Rajarshi Tandon Open University, Allahabad offers diploma courses through the distance mode
9. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad
10. The Karnataka State Open University, Karnataka offers Diploma courses through the distance mode.

Online Courses

For those who cannot access the above places, there is still a lot of options to choose from in the virtual world:

1. writers.com
    

   A wonderful website that offers a variety of virtual workshops and classes to teach different aspects of creative writing. They also offer weekly critiques which can help to improve your work.

2. writingclasses.com
    

   Aims at bringing writers together. Sample classes include fiction writing (10-week workshop), screenwriting (10-week workshop), article writing (10-week workshop) and many more. In their lectures, they encourage students to be proactive by assigning writing exercises and working on projects. They also show various illustrations and examples to help them learn better.

3. open.edu
    

   It offers several classes in creative writing. Available videos include ‘Start Writing Fiction’ and ‘Writing What You Know’.

4. writersdigest.com

   A great site for writers, whether you’re a novice or a pro. The site provides articles, videos, workshops, and magazines, equipped with everything you’ll ever need to know about the field. Here, writers can connect with other writers on their extensive forum and sign up for newsletters, weekly writing prompts, contests, competitions and conference listings.

 Career opportunities for writer

If you’re willing to venture into the field of pen and paper, check out the umpteen number of career options-.

Blogger-

Blogs have been around for a long time now and have evolved on a huge scale. Some people use these impeccably themed platforms to put their art on display, while some use it to document their daily life or things they are passionate about. You can be a food blogger, make-up and beauty blogger, a fashion blogger, a travel blogger and pretty much everything else that appeals to you.

Copy Editor-

Copy editors are generally referred to as fact-checkers, as they are responsible for going through the material that is to be published, proofreading, correcting any factually wrong information, sentence restructuring, fixing syntax and semantic errors, ultimately making the final draft better than the first one.

Critic-

Critics happen to be of quite a variety, and their responsibility apart from being extremely knowledgeable about the category they are writing about- includes penning down their honest opinion about the product or service they are reviewing.

Literary Agent-

Literary Agent can be recognized as the opposite of an Acquisition Editor. A literary agent is employed by a writer to make sure that his/her best works make it into the hands of a decent publisher. As a literary agent, it will be your job to get the manuscript pushed onto the right people for reading. You will be also responsible for making negotiations on behalf of the author.

Speech Writer-

A very crucial, and yet less talked about job is that of a speechwriter who is responsible for –you guessed it – writing speeches for other people. Their work is required to be immaculate, to the point, crisp, and appealing to an audience of a large number. Usually, politicians employ speechwriters.

Translator-

You’re required to know at least two languages very fluently (speaking and writing) to start a job as a translator. You can work as personal translators or in the Print, Film and Television industry where you get to translate movies, shows, documentaries, articles.

Social Media Manager-

For companies, it is very important to have an online presence for the success of their business, and hence they often tend to employ someone tech-savvy – active on all the popular social media, to reach out to customers. You’d be asked to handle social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and more.

Email-Marketing Specialist-

How many times do you subscribe to the latest offers, news, discounts, and trends from a well-known brand of your choice? Sometimes? Well, the emails you get as a result of that is something that is taken care of entirely by an Email Marketing Specialist. You will be responsible for creating everything from a subject line with the content and design of the customer communication, to ensure maximum reach.

Manuscript Reader-

As the name suggests, a manuscript reader is that person in a publishing house who is given the responsibility to go through every manuscript sent by the potential authors. They separate the mediocre from the best and submit it to the editor. So, you get to read for a living. How cool is that?

Publicist-

The job of a publicist has become increasingly common and difficult to maintain given the social media boom. A publicist is responsible for portraying a recorded image of an individual, group of people or an organization to the masses. They are the ones who decide what goes on social media, interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, television, lectures, concerning who they are managing. They also provide the option of paid advertising if the client and situation demands

Acquisition Editor-

As an acquisition editor, it is required of you to constantly be in search of new authors who could be published under the esteemed name of the Publication House you’d work for, and make sure to prepare them for a presentation in front of the editorial board. You are most likely put in charge of negotiating terms of contract and payment with these potential authors as well.


To keep exploring, head on to our page on career banks and blogs on different careers, entrance exams, courses, college, jobs, etc.