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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s

Occupational Outlook Handbook, “The outlook

for most writing and editing jobs is expected

to be competitive because many people are attracted to the

occupation” (1).

Ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a writer. As of today, I’m still not certain about exactly what I want to write, but I am certain that I want to pursue a career in the writing field. There are many aspects to the field of writing, and “writers are often identified by the type of writing they do“, such as playwrights, novelists, and textbook writers (Occupational Outlook Handbook 1). Some areas of writing are more lucrative than others, and prove to have major success and career longevity for the authors of the work. Today, with so much anger over our countries economic crisis, journalists, freelance writers, and bloggers have so much work to publish every day, and their literature is becoming more popular. The business of writing is growing, and I want to be a part of the growing trends in the many years to come.

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There are many “valuable” aspects of a writer. The OOH states that, “Creativity, curiosity, a broad range of knowledge, and self-motivation” are sought after character traits in a writer (2). It is important that writers have self-motivation and determination to succeed, because the field of writing can be a very disappointing and discouraging one. Not every writer becomes as famous as Toni Morrison or Ray Bradbury, and if they do, they are likely to encounter many roadblocks and obstacles on their path to success. As with any industry, writers must develop a thick skin, and learn how to deal with rejection. Freelance writer Lauren Bergen’s ideas had been rejected from the magazine Dance Spirit many times, before they finally decided to publish some of her work (1).

Every writer that is a fairly decent or even extraordinary writer might not be successful in the field; you really have to have the chops to be largely successful in the big league writing. Once most are established however, there is major career connectivity, especially for novelists. Journalist Mark Lawson claims, “Writing is a career that can continue as long as brain-life survives” (1). He uses examples of Nobel Prize winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez to athletes such as David Beckham, making the example that regardless of age, if a writer is of sound mind and body, he or she can have a lifelong career while athletes have a limited career span.

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According to the OOH, writers “produce a wide variety of written materials delivered to an audience in an increasing number of ways.” They might produce technical or multimedia writing, or they may produce work in print. Writers and authors produce original work for books, magazines, trade journals and other types of works, working with editors and sometimes publishers. A specialized type of writers are copy writers, who “prepare advertising copy for use in publications or for broadcasting and they write other materials to promote the sale of a good or service” (1), and technical writers may need a degree in a technical subject in order to be successful in their field. Most writers consider themselves freelance writers, writers who are self-employed and sell their works to publishers for many types of literary works. In an article by writer Lauren Berger, she describes her success as a freelance writer, going from a freshman at Florida State University to a freelance writer for many popular regional and national magazines. Many writers, especially journalists, get to travel the world to report stories, conduct interviews, and write anecdotal accounts about foreign affairs.

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As with any field, a writer’s salary varies depending on their industry. For example, newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers earn an annual mean wage of $51,980 while advertising yields an annual mean wage of $71,640. In the national estimates of median wages for writers and authors, the hourly wage is $23.51, and the annual wage is $53,070 (Occupational Employment Statistics 1). Wages also vary by state and metropolitan area, and the differences are visibly different.

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According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Most jobs in this occupation require a college degree preferably in communications, journalism, or English.” Some employers look for writers who have degrees in liberal arts fields, while some look for specific writing-related majors. It is helpful to be bilingual, and many writers should have a basic knowledge of technology and computers (1).

It is helpful to be bilingual, and many writers should have a basic knowledge of technology and computers (1). Writers should also be able to “express ideas clearly” (2) and have a general love and fascination for writing. The Outlook Occupational Handbook claims advancement is not likely in small or non-profit businesses, because they do not generate regular work and revenue. However, some writers in small companies may “begin writing right away” (3). Writers must work on “larger and more complex” projects in order to advance, but researchers believe the growing popularity of blogging will allow many everyday writers to have their work read around the world (3).

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As with everything, there are many trends within the world of writing, ever-growing and more popular than ever. In Charles McGrath’s article, “I Confess: One Theme, 30 Writers, a Trend,” he claims that anthologies are on many mainstream contemporary writer’s menu these days. However, he is not referring to school-days anthologies, rather than “first-person confessional essays” (1). The anthologies range from Jewish guilt to diet books and the population is mostly female, although men may attempt to write some of their own, they are not as successful as the female writers. However McGrath’s says these personal essays are not published for the money because most of the contributors to the anthologies receive $1,000 to $1,500, but “they do it because they have something to get off their chest or because they have some unpublished piece gathering dust in a drawer” (3). Either way, these writers have hopped on a lucrative bandwagon, because these anthologies are more and more popular every day. Another so-called trend is the science fiction phenomenon that Henry Fountain says was inspired by the Star Wars series. However in his article “Ideas & Trends; Episode VII: Revenge of the Writers,” “sci-fi writers say, their work and Star Wars never had much in common” (1), and the sci-fi genre has been around long been around before Star Wars, and even though the series ended in 2005, the genre will continue to flourish.

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http://www.bls.gov/oco/pdf/ocos089.pdf

- OOH Handbook, 2008-09

- Writers and Editors

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes273043.htm

-Occupational Employment Statistics

Occupational Employment & Wages, May 2008

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After completing this research project I am more interested than ever in becoming a writer, more so because the field’s future looks so bright. Hopefully, by the time I publish my first book or write my first column, there will be more opportunities than ever available to me. I know I have to prepare myself for the long road ahead, because there are many obstacles I will have to overcome to become the greatly successful writer I want to be. This project also helped open my eyes to the world of freelance writing and although I have never considered it as an option before, I am more interested in it now. I had always thought freelance writing was a useless profession and the writers just stayed home in their pajamas on their laptops, and the writers never made any more or had any real success. However, after reading Lauren Berger’s article, I realized that with knowledge, persistence, and creativity you can succeed as a freelance writer. That is why I believe I will make it as a writer; because I want it too much to give up, and I figure once I have half the heart, I have won half the battle.

Jaida is an amazing writer!

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U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook. 9 April 2009 <http://www.bls.gov/oco>.

U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment Statistics. 9 April 2009 <http://www.data.bls.gov>.

Fountain Henry. “Ideas & Trends; Episode VII: Revenge of the Writers.” New York Times on the Web 1 May 2005 <http://query.nytimes.com>

Lawson, Mark. “Comment & Debate: A writer like Marquez can have no retirement date: The Nobel laureate may be quitting, but history shows that an author’s career can survive even death.” The Guardian 3 April 2009, final ed.:1. LexisNexis Academic. LaGuardia Community Coll. Lib.,

Long Island City, NY. 9 April 2009 McGrath, Charles. “I Confess: One Theme, 30 Writers, a Trend.” New York

Times on the Web 28 May 2006 <http:www.nytimes.com/2006>.

Pictures from: www.google.com

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