Are you a professional writer seeking a break in Hollywood or are already working as a part of the crew? If your passion for writing scripts for Hollywood or new online platforms such as Netflix provokes you to become a writer in the industry, then this guide is just for you. Since there are thousands of movies and web series releasing every year, the availability of the writer’s job isn’t less. So, the factors that can prove a breakthrough in the industry include talent, training, and experience. This guide gives you holistic information on how to become a writer, match the eligibility criteria, and ways to earn experience in this industry. To set the right journey to become a writer, follow up.
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What Does a Writer Do?
A writer is a creator, storyteller, scriptwriter, etc. So, the basics of becoming a writer in the U.S. include using the skills of conceptualizing, researching, and writing a piece of content. In the field of writing, the basic jobs of a writer include writing across various published content such as non-fiction, fiction, Newspaper articles, poetry, etc. More so, other roles served by a writer is to work as a critic, a copywriter, technical writer, blogger, and as an editor in many private firms.
Steps to Become a Famous Writer
If your passion for writing motivates you to become a famous and most-read writer, here are the steps you need to follow.
Step 1# Get the Required Educational Qualifications
Becoming a writer is neither very difficult nor is it simple. Why is it not difficult? Well, because you do not need any education to be a writer, then why is it not simple? Well, since you do not have an education, you will not know how to write and what to write. Do you understand the simple point?
The key point is that there is no specific education or a degree program, needed to be a writer. But, that does not mean you do not have any basic education at all. If you ask ‘how long does it take to become a writer’, it takes completing a Bachelor’s degree programs with four-years of full-time study and do another side by side writing courses.
Writing is an interpretation of your life experiences in an artful method. If you are looking to be a writer for a publishing house or you plan to teach, then a degree or higher education is a compulsion.
Step 2# Get a Writing Degree
Besides, if you want to become a professional writer and wish to write a book, you must take creative writing classes. These classes would help the rapidity of your book. Also, you must get skilled at the fundamentals of writing, such as maintain a journal, write short articles or screenplays, know the topic you wish to write, and then progress to writing a book. Without these fundamentals in place, you wouldn’t find a publisher to print your book.
Whatever is your purpose of writing; for fun, for money, or to blurt out what you feel or think, the main thing out here is not the purpose of why you want to write, but how good you are at expressing yourself in your writings. Expressing oneself well is vital to be a writer because your main purpose to write is to have someone to read it irrelevant of you doing it for money or fun.
Step 3# Choose Your Professional Career Path
When you decide to become a writer, there’s another plan that you have to get sorted – the professional career path that will determine the type of writer you’d become. So, know thy writings, what is it that the most, please you. Do you have a knack of writing fiction, poetry, prose, or is it screenwriting? Determine what suits you best and get along with the career path. The next step demands a lot of research about the field and the professionals who have a designated name. Read their biographies, watch their interviews, and trace how they got to where they are.
Step 4# Do an Internship
Be it any genre of creative writing that you take up, has an associated field to it. Now, ensure to do an internship in your field of interest and seek experience from like-minded professional writers. This gives you a prospect of your job and how well you’ll go about it.
Step 5# Seek a Job
After getting the required degrees and completing an internship, the next up is to work as a full-time writer or at a freelance level in your respected industries. Although the path is hard for straight A novelists, poets, and screenwriters, the course, although hard, can yet be retrieved. Keep your persistence, create a portfolio, and try your hand in different job openings as and when available.
Average Annual Salary of Writers in the U.S.
Since writing undertakes a lot of creativity, they deserve fair payment and a lot of respect. So based on many factors such as quality of work, place of writing, years of experience, the career in writing offers many well-paying jobs. As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual pay of writers and authors in the year 2015 was above $60,000. Apart from that, to name a few top-paying industries, these include science writing, grant writing, and arts and entertainment writing with $64,380, $58,920, and $58,400, respectively.