Professional Writer
A professional writer is someone who can write on an assigned topic. He can be a blogger, freelance writer of articles, screenwriter, advertising writer, book or poetry writer, columnist or encyclopedia writer. In summary, a professional writer is someone who earns his living by writing.
Even if it looks like it's easy to build a career in writing, it's not as easy as it sounds. There are several things to decide and tips to follow.
Tips to Become a Professional Writer
1. First decide on what to write. Find out what inspires you. It depends on your personal interests and skills. Usually a professional writer can write anything he is given. But be aware that it is much easier to focus on one or two topics in order to deliver more successful and detailed work.
2. Decide in what genre of writing you would be more successful. You can choose among writing books, novels, poetry, short stories, academic articles, blogs, etc.
3. Be sure that your writing skills are adequate to deliver high quality works. Professional writers should have good grammar. Also don’t forget that this kind of career requires researching and reading a lot. Be ready to pass your time in front of your computer.
4. If you think that you are creative enough to deliver unique products but you lack grammar knowledge, consider taking a course or private lessons.
5. Before starting to search for a job, find some people who can read your articles and give you feedback about your work. It is always useful to take other people’s opinions since you can miss some of your mistakes.
How to Make Money as a Professional Writer
1. Start to browse websites where you can find freelance job offers. Post your profile and put up some samples. Prepare a portfolio of works that you've completed in the past.
2. Create a website where you can promote your background, highlight your skills and show your working requirements. Before launching the website, be sure that you analyze similar ones in order to compare your qualifications and price.
3. Be prepared to start with a lower income initially. As there are many professional writers in the market, customers are more likely to work with different people in order to find the one who can meet their expectations. You can start to ask for more money when you demonstrate your skills to your customers.
4. Learn the salary conditions of the market. Some companies hire people who can write only for them while others are searching for freelancers. Analyze all the working forms of a professional writer and choose the one which best fits your needs. If you would like to write different topics, it can be more logical to be a freelancer since you will have the option to choose the topic that you would like to write. Usually, you will not have this chance if you work within a company.
5. Finally be sure that you are self-disciplined enough to deliver your work within the given deadline.
