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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 selfmotivation 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

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.
work (1).
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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 writingrelated majors. It is helpful to be bilingual, and many
writers should have a basic knowledge of technology
and computers (1).
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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 socalled 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/oc
o/pdf/ocos089.pdf
- OOH Handbook,
2008-09
- Writers and Editors
http://www.bls.gov/oes
/current/oes273043.h
tm
-Occupational
Employment
Statistics
Occupational
Employment &
Wages, May 2008
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
.
Jaida is an
amazing
writer!
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.
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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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