Questions tagged [career]

This tag should be used for questions that are about career options that are related to writing, such as being a poet, novelist, editor, publisher or worker in a technical field.

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29 votes
9 answers
4k views

Are there jobs that involve creative writing in the software industry?

I've been a developer for some years now, but I've realized that I need a job where I can be more creative (and hopefully work more with people (except dba's)). Since I love writing, but at the same ...
erikric's user avatar
  • 2,504
24 votes
14 answers
3k views

How does a code monkey become a novelist?

I have always loved creative writing, but honestly do not see software engineers that write fiction all that often. Heck, I do not see software engineers that read fiction all that often either. To ...
Victor123's user avatar
  • 706
22 votes
8 answers
4k views

Occupational Hazards to being a Full-Time Writer

Every now and again I think to myself how nice it would be to give up my staid life as a Software Developer and start an exciting new career as a Novelist. But then I think to myself that there are ...
robertcday's user avatar
  • 7,743
21 votes
10 answers
7k views

What is the most fundamental advice when it comes to writing? [closed]

Looking back on your career as a writer, what is the most fundamental piece of advice you wish you had known about – or that you had taken to heart – when you set out to become a writer? Before you ...
user avatar
18 votes
9 answers
3k views

When should a starting writer get his own webpage?

I've heard and read from many vlogger and blogger authors that an aspiring writer should have his own webpage as early as possible. Being published or not doesn't come to it. Now, if I created a ...
iamtowrite's user avatar
  • 1,909
12 votes
5 answers
745 views

How do I balance work with my love of writing?

I'm a programmer and an aspiring writer. I love writing. Over the past year, I had been working on my first novel. Making the plot, dimensioning the characters, integrating conflicts etc. And when I ...
Amin Mohamed Ajani's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
2k views

What is a more techy Technical Writer job title that isn't cutesy or confusing?

I have been hired as a Technical Writer at a firm who needed multiple types of writers: A few people were hired to write content for the average website reader interested in our product, such as a ...
user2263986's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
2k views

What are the advantages of incorporation for a writer?

I have heard of some (rather successful) writers incorporating - that is, creating a corporation of which they are the sole member. What are the potential advantages (or disadvantages) of doing this? ...
sjohnston's user avatar
  • 4,765
9 votes
5 answers
239 views

What are the most appropriate types of degrees (or kinds of schooling) that a would-be successful writer should aim to obtain?

What kinds of schooling should a teenager, trying to decide on a college, consider, if she is looking to grow to become a successful writer?
blueberryfields's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
1k views

Breaking Into Technical Writing - Where to Start (from a programming background)

I'm currently in the process of expanding my company from doing coding & web development to more technical writing and freelance tech journalism. Although my background is mainly in technology, ...
theonlylos's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
506 views

Can I turn my anal-retentiveness into a career?

When I'm reading something, I immediately pick up on typos, grammatical errors, misuse of punctuation, and the like, as well as better ways to phrase things. I have no formal education in any sort of ...
John Doe's user avatar
  • 832
8 votes
4 answers
998 views

Is there a career for a person in writing who likes to gather knowledge in multiple fields?

I like to read and watch videos, documentaries and movies about topics covering a wide variety like history, ancient architecture, science fiction, fantasy, astronomy etc. These things take up most of ...
CCCC's user avatar
  • 180
8 votes
1 answer
104 views

Should I join writers organizations? [duplicate]

There are several professional writers organizations that people I know have suggested I join. The problem is they're rather pricey and I'm not sure what I'll get out of it. Much of what they have ...
Cyn's user avatar
  • 32.4k
7 votes
6 answers
916 views

How should I plan a life as a professional Writer/Author/Novelist? [duplicate]

I have an academic background in Engineering and work experience in tech companies. A few years back my life completely crashed. I had to quit everything in my previous life. For some medical and ...
user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
968 views

How to obtain a thoughtful critique of a job application cover letter?

Sometimes, not always, when searching for my next position or project, I make an effort to write an interesting cover letter, one intended to convey images and passion, a story. I want it to be a ...
DarenW's user avatar
  • 173
7 votes
1 answer
201 views

Technical Writing Other Than Software

There is a lot of advice on how to be a tech writer for software without a tech background. (That is, skills such as understanding end-users, investigative reporting-type skills to probe experts, etc. ...
user avatar
6 votes
10 answers
2k views

Is there enough money in writing for me to quit my dead end job?

I am currently working full time hours in a dead end job, I began writing a novel with a friend about five months ago now. It began really as a sort of 'bucket list' idea, something we had both always ...
KD Novels's user avatar
  • 543
6 votes
4 answers
585 views

How to tell people you write smut/erotica/porn

So, I am a person who writes titillating stories. Problem is, I want a way to tell people what I write in a way that doesn't seem like I'm some sort of pornstar or filmmaker. Because "I write porn/...
Kale Slade's user avatar
  • 2,643
6 votes
3 answers
572 views

Do I need to have a degree to become a writer? [duplicate]

I've always loved to write. Granted I haven't been writing very much these days because of university but I want to publish a book one day. I want to keep writing as a hobby because I want to do more ...
Faith's user avatar
  • 365
5 votes
1 answer
191 views

Should I create a domain name using a pen name that is common with another person's domain name?

I'm considering a pen name to use, and I wanted to see if its firstlast.com domain is available, but it wasn't. So, I thought I could change the domain to something like firstlastwrites.com, ...
iamtowrite's user avatar
  • 1,909
5 votes
2 answers
348 views

How does one break into the field of professional writing?

First, some background that may help explain the question. I have recently realized that most of my life has been spent pursuing technical-creative hybrid projects. As a professional software ...
Nathan C. Tresch's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
251 views

How can I prepare for a career in instruction writing and editing?

To technical background authors (e.g. Isaac Rabinovitch) who would possibly work in teams with non-technically trained writers: How can I prepare myself to be able to do what you do? How can I ...
Mary M's user avatar
  • 51
4 votes
4 answers
520 views

How to get valuable feedback on the quality of my storytelling?

At any given moment I can focus on one activity among many, e. g. improving my craft, finding a publisher, or building a platform for self-publishing. The latter two options only make sense, if the ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
82 views

Suggest some arts schools for post-graduate in other field?

I have a bachelors and masters degree in Civil Engineering(Final yr Master's student). My hobby is playwriting. Now, I would like to pursue a career in arts. So, I'm looking for some universities ...
sarath's user avatar
  • 41
4 votes
2 answers
165 views

Are there fiction ghostwriters who have gone on to become successful writers in their own right?

I currently freelance as a ghostwriter. Are there any other ghostwriters who have had any success?
Dawn Kelli's user avatar
  • 1,075
4 votes
1 answer
500 views

Making money with narrating audiobooks from Germany

I would like to try my hand at narrating audiobooks. I have some experience doing so at librivox.org so I thought I'd give ACX (that's a platform where writers can find narrators for their audiobooks, ...
merendo07's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
897 views

Should the amount of work I write as a high school senior be a concern when choosing a career?

I attend an arts school called ACES Educational Center for Arts, and this is my third year in the Creative Writing department, which has both workshops and taught classes. I have written lots of ...
JD Solomon's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
272 views

Copywriting Course

This is my first post, so apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong place. I've been working as a freelance SEO blog/article writer for almost a year and a half. While I enjoy the job, I am getting ...
Tracie Sherlock's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
184 views

What is the most environmentally safe medium of modern storytelling?

As an aspiring storyteller, I have a lot of stories that I wish to tell. I say storyteller because I am still not sure as to which medium of storytelling I should pursue, be it books, comics, or ...
Polar Paladin's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
238 views

What's the Silicon Valley of English language fiction writing?

If a person wants to build a tech startup, he or she can increase the odds of success, if they move to a place with lots of like-minded people (e. g. Silicon Valley, Israel, London, Berlin). That way ...
user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
200 views

I'm unable to read any book or write a single line

So, there was a time when I could finish a book in 2 days. All I did was read books and sometimes I took some time out to write something as well. For the past few months though? Nothing. When I sit ...
user37485's user avatar
  • 175
2 votes
4 answers
3k views

What types of jobs can a writer find?

As you all realize, the term 'Writer' is very broad and general. So my quick question is: I'm trying to help my young aspiring writer friend find a job in PA, but the term writer is really general. ...
Orca's user avatar
  • 121
2 votes
2 answers
138 views

What's next when it comes to poems?

What are the steps that one needs to follow to become a successful poet? Well in my case, I write poems but don't have a wide audience for the feedback. So in this case what should I do? Should I ...
Vimath's user avatar
  • 41
1 vote
6 answers
323 views

Where would be a good place to start for a 15 yr old who wants to be a writer when she's older?

The 15 yr old female in question has spent the last few months writing her own book (Fiction) and has passed it to her uncle for review who has a very small publishing press but its in an entirely ...
Khuram Malik's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
391 views

Is it possible to figure out the ROI of an MFA?

Given that there are a few jobs where an MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) in creative writing is preferred as a writer or editor, is it possible figure out the ROI (return on investment) of acquiring the ...
justkt's user avatar
  • 6,675
1 vote
3 answers
323 views

What are jobs that prefer or require MFAs in Creative Writing?

Other than getting adjunct work with your shiny new MFA, what other professions like them? (I'm gainfully employed, and while I think my MFA helps me, it is in not appreciated by my employer in any ...
Lynn Beighley's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
329 views

How hard would it be to find writing jobs with an English degree?

I would love to work as a technical writer, copy editor, journalist, or whatever--as long as it's related to writing. I would especially love to freelance and complete contracts every day. So, I've ...
user22102's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
363 views

What are the differences in writing a narrative between a CV and a resume?

When I googled "The Difference between Resume and CV", the first result I bumped into was this. I am highlighting a few points that are mentioned in it below: The primary differences between a ...
Karan Desai's user avatar
  • 1,987
1 vote
0 answers
64 views

What are some genuine sites for content writing? [duplicate]

What are some good genuine sites on the web for paid freelance content writing, proof-reading etc.? Even though I do not have any degree in journalism (full-time or part-time), I believe I have a ...
srini's user avatar
  • 1,223
0 votes
3 answers
718 views

If I write an erotic / porn novel now, what are the chances that it might impact my mainstream writing career?

Given that I have written a few erotic / porn novels now, what are the chances that it will impact my mainstream writing career later? Even if I do write using a pen name, will people be willing to ...
srini's user avatar
  • 1,223
0 votes
1 answer
98 views

What does someone mean when he asks, "are you a writer?" [closed]

There is a phenomenon in the Western world consisting of a person being often asked, "are you a writer?" The question is asked without any context whatsoever, often within seconds of initial ...
James Cropcho's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
263 views

How would I improve the language and structure of this farewell email? [closed]

I will shortly be moving to another a role within the same organisation and was wondering if you could advise on how I could improve the language and structure of this farewell email. It seems a bit ...
methuselah's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
77 views

How can I find good venues for publishing my work? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Where to publish poems I used to write poems and stories. They were published in local newspapers many times, but I did not get any benefit besides this limited publication. ...
Tofeeq's user avatar
  • 109
-1 votes
1 answer
86 views

Remote work advice? [closed]

I apologize if this is a tedious question but … My wife and I may be moving overseas soon and I have been considering looking for work that I can do remotely, possibly writing. My background is that ...
Kevin Smith's user avatar