Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Will Write for Money

Have you ever thought of supplementing your income while awaiting the sale of your first novel? Would you like to find a way to write and still earn money during that temporary period? Do you feel freelance writing or journalism are your only options? Note: This isn’t an advertisement. Although, it could be, I suppose.

I came a across a book called “Career Opportunities for Writers” by Rosemary Ellen Guiley and found the information quite interesting. If I wasn’t a stay-at-home mom, maybe I’d consider some of the career options mentioned in this book. After all, writing is writing, right? Well, sort of. I prefer fiction, but could see myself working in a writing environment if circumstances were different.

I’ve compiled a list of career opportunities for writers taken from Guiley’s book, but didn’t include the obvious categories like publishing, journalism, or magazines. Take a look.

Television: desk assistant, researcher, reporter, anchor, news writer, assistant news director, news director, news librarian, community-affairs director

Radio: reporter, news director

Arts and Entertainment: ghostwriter, screenwriter, playwright, lyricist/jingle writer, poet, greeting card writer

Business Communications and Public Relations: public-relations assistant, internal publications editor, external publications editor, public information officer, government affairs specialist, speechwriter, communications coordinator, public-relations account executive, technical communicator

Advertising: assistant account executive, account executive, assistant copywriter, copywriter

Federal Government: editorial assistant and clerk, writer and editor, technical writer and editor, press secretary, political speechwriter

Scholastic Academic, and Non-Profit Institutions: journalism teacher, assistant professor, alumni communications specialist, alumni magazine editor, librarian, news director

Freelance Services and Self-Publishing: freelance writer, technical writer, technical editor, copy editor, proofreader, fact checker, indexer, stringer, book reviewer, contributing editor, syndicated columnist, communications consultant, desktop publisher, packager, self-publisher, advertising copywriter

I know, quite the list, but maybe something will interest you enough to do a little research. Of course, the easiest way to find out about these jobs and others like them is to buy Rosemary Ellen Guiley’s book. I did.

Do you have a writing related job? Did any of the job titles in Guiley’s list interest you?

9 comments:

  1. I guess I might fall under the technical writer description. I'm currently writing books for TSTC Publishing's TechCareer series. I've written the one for Automotive Technicians and am finishing up (due in 2 weeks, yikes!) Avionics Technicians.

    Helen
    http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com

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  2. I try to do articles and essays for payment here and there, but like you, my SAHMness and the fiction get much more of my attention and effort, so it's sporadic at best. This is a great list!

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  3. I've thought about stuff like this, but unfortunately I have no experience with any of that kind of stuff. :-(

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  4. Thank's for the idea's. I wrote program's for my employer once upon a time.

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  5. I currently work as a freelance writer for an online company. I spend my days writing from home, creating How To pages on some pretty bizarre things. Some of the stuff I've researched and written about has come in handy when it comes to characters. It has its perks, definitely.

    Jenny
    http://theinnerbean.blogspot.com/

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  6. I'm with Jessica. Super interested in a job from home, but without actual experience it seems unlikely :(

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  7. I actually do write - I freelanced from home for a while, doing everything from product description to whole e-books, as well as editing. The job I just started (outside the home) is in marketing and pr - so, yay, I'll still get to do a bit of writing, including one post a week for the company blog.

    For those who are interested in writing from home, everyone started with no experience. A good place to start might be local charities or organization where you can volunteer your writing and build references. If it's something you're interested in, there are lots of great resouces out there to get you started and help you learn.

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  8. Well, since I'm also a mom of twins and a stay-at-homer, AND I'm waiting for that pesky book to sell, I do a lot of freelance writing online. I use it to finance my book addiction. :)

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