How To Become A Writer: An Ultimate Guide

The internet is filled with multiple opportunities to earn and make a career online. And writing is one of the most demanding and favorable career options for people who love to pen down their experiences, emotions, and feelings on a platform. According to Inc, about 73% of employers worldwide lookout for candidates with good writing skills. Hence, here is a complete breakthrough regarding everything you need to know about becoming a writer and pursuing this lucrative career! Let’s dive deep into it.

Who Can Become a Writer?

Practically, anybody can become a writer with practice and hard work. Writing is an expressive form of art, just like painting, dancing, music, or cooking. You need to dedicate yourself to this art and master it with rigorous practice over time. One of the best ways to start the journey of writing is to start a journal or create a blog of your own.

It is also essential to read a lot and expand your thoughts and idea bank over time. However, if you think English is not your forte, you can also explore a writing career in your native language without hassle!

Type of Qualities Do You Need to Become a Writer

Every writer has a unique quality in them. However, a few of the common qualities that every writer should possess are:

Attention to Detail

Great writers are always the best observers. They always take mental notes and notice all the subtle changes around them, creating a perfect write-up. Also, this curiosity and attention to detail make them excellent editors who can spot even the tiniest grammatical error while skimming through the article and also adds a personalized touch to their writing!

Lastly, being attentive to every detail ensures that you are not losing out on any descriptive detail.

Discipline

Successful writers are highly disciplined in terms of their work. Even though the frustration from rewrites, edits, and improvements is inevitable, the disciplined approach to writing makes the task easier.

Good writers are always devoted to constant reevaluation and improvement until they reach the desired quality. Also, with discipline, you as a writer will constantly grow and yield better in your professional environment.

Clarity

A good writer can distill complex thoughts and ideas into the simplest tone and clear language, which is easier for the reader to decipher. Writers can easily grind through the most profound subject matters and break down the most complex theories into simple pieces for a crystal clear understanding.

Strong Vocabulary

A robust set of vocabulary is a real asset for any good writer. Nobody likes to re-read the same words and phrases over and over again. Hence, improving vocabulary will help incorporate interesting and unusual words in the writing to make it more interactive and exciting.

Adaptability

The writer should always be open to new edits and rewrites whenever required. Such suggestions and recommendations are the key elements to excel in writing even further.

There is no way that you can take any recommendation to your ego and get away with it. Writers are highly open-minded, which allows them to see their work through the eyes of their readers and improve their weak points gradually.

Passion for Reading

Writers need to be avid readers. There is no way you can have a good vocabulary without the habit of reading. The more you read, the better you understand every nitty-gritty detail about writing, such as the tone, framing, syntax, etc.

Meet Every Deadline

If you are writing for your client, you are expected to submit your work within a specific deadline. Delivering high-quality content under a specific deadline will not only ensure that you are professional but also reliable.

Communication Skills

Writers are excellent communicators. As a writer, if you are not good at communication, there is a high chance that you might not be able to convey all the information and ideas to your reader. This will leave you with very messy content. Thus, you must work on your communication skills as a writer.

Strong Research Skills

You, as a writer, need to have strong research skills to grind through different sources and bring out the relevant information to add to your article. Even though you might have prior knowledge about the topic, you will still need to do extra research every time to educate your readers at your best.

Patience

Lastly, mastering the skill of writing takes a lot of time and effort in general. You need to have enough patience and determination to complete the entire article and carry on with every revision required without losing control. Your discipline also plays a major role in building your patience in this career.

Which Online Courses Are Best for Writers?

You can find multiple courses on the Internet to build your base and harness your skill of writing. Some of the top choices for online careers best for writers include:

Writing With Flair

Shani Raja is the Ex-Wall Street Journal Editor and has taught many top journalists and corporate writers how to improve their writing skills over time. Writing With Flair is one of the best-selling writing courses on Udemy, which has over 80,000 students currently enrolled in the course.

Good with Words

The University of Michigan offers this course and has over four topics covering every detail about how to become a writer. It will help in phrasing your sentences and adding the right syntax in every article.

In addition to that, you also get a certificate that you can add to your portfolio and build your credibility!

Writing in the Sciences

If you are fond of tech, science, or medicine and love to write about that, Writing in the Sciences is an incredible course that will help you create the best articles and hone your writing skills.

Writing in Sciences is offered by Stanford University and has millions of views now. It is the perfect choice if you have science or technical writing as your specialized niche.

Like the previous one, you get an E certificate from Standford University upon completing this course.

The Novelty

If you want to write a novel and harness your creative writing skills, Novelty is the right choice for it. Novelty offers you a wide range of different paid courses that will help you write your best-selling novels in no time!

Ultimate Web Content Writing MasterClass

If you want to know about the different aspects of content writing, SEO, and blogging, this course is the one-stop destination for all your needs. It will help you become an excellent content and copywriter. The content of this course is focused on writing killer content that sells.

How Can You Become a Writer?

Now, when we are done with the basics and understand what it takes to become a successful writer, let’s jump onto the step-by-step guide on becoming a writer and kickstart your journey to writing.

Improve Reading Skills

If you do not have the habit of reading yet, it is high time that you inculcate this habit to get started with your writing career. Begin with reading any book or novel you like. You can also start by reading magazines, comic books, blog posts, etc.

Once you acquire the habit of reading, branch out to different disciplines and become a subject matter expert as per your interests.
If you are aspiring to become a B2B copywriter, nonfiction is a great genre to focus on. You can choose memoirs, biographies, and news items and read them thoroughly.

Your writing style, tone, and voice will derive inspiration from the books you read. It will gradually influence the quality of your writing.

Apart from gaining knowledge, reading also helps in finding the most suitable opportunities as a writer. Be it blog posts, newsletters, or books. As a writer, you have full chances of diversifying to any opportunity you want.

Write Everyday

Just like anything in life, dedicated practice makes you perfect!

If you limit your writing practice to just three tweets a day and expect to be a master at it, you are mistaken.

To ace the skill of writing, you need to write religiously every day with no restrictions. An excellent way to master this skill is to commit to a certain number of words every day. Start by writing 200 words every day and be disciplined.

Create an Online Presence

Even if you are not yet ready to create a blog, you should still create an online presence in writing, which will help you build your portfolio.

You need to start writing in the market to get critics from others and improve over time. Either begin by pitching traditional media houses or send out guest post offers to different guest post sites. You can also post your blogs or articles on your social media sites and gain traction and engagement through them.

The main aim here is to create your online presence and build your quality of writing. On that note, be completely ready to even get rejected. Not every publication or website owner will like your pitch. But don’t let the rejections get you down. Keep sharing your posts and write-ups regularly and gradually build your presence on the internet.

As you establish your online presence and hone your writing skills, don’t overlook the power of engaging with niche communities like Reddit. Participating in relevant subreddits can provide valuable feedback, exposure, and networking opportunities to further refine your craft and expand your reach

Join a Writer’s Group

Since we talked about building an online presence to receive constructive criticism, one fantastic way to achieve that is by joining a writing group.

You can find numerous writer groups on Facebook, Instagram, Wattpad, or other sites where writers have a community to interact, engage and empower other writers.

Likewise, you can also pair with a member from your writer group and start your everyday word count challenge, which is a terrific method to stay motivated during your writing journey! Joining a writer group will allow you to interact with like-minded people and gain more knowledge on your way.

Look for Mentors

As we said, it is beneficial if you have a mentor who can guide you throughout your writing journey. However, not everybody out there is ready to give you free advice on your journey.

An excellent method to find mentors is by enrolling in different courses that will help accelerate your career growth. The instructors of those courses are just like your personal mentors who can give you personal guidance and uplift you regarding every issue in your writing journey.

Books That Can Help to Improve Writing Skills

As we mentioned in our previous points, reading books regularly is an essential step in your writing journey which you can never ignore. If you are confused about choosing suitable books to initiate your reading habit with, here are some popular suggestions you can consider.

On Writing by Stephen King

On Writing is filled with memoirs and anecdotes, which act as guidebooks or advice columns for budding writers. He describes his experiences as a writer and has mentioned every uphill and downhill instance in his life which was a part of his writing career.

This book will help identify any writing mistakes and help you lay the foundation for your writing career.

The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogle

If you are fond of the mythology niche, this book is perfect for you! The Writer’s Journey is great for shaping your novels and giving a realistic vibe to them, which your readers will surely enjoy.

Nonetheless, it is preferable for people looking to write fictional novels or books shortly. The narrative structure and character archetype perfectly demonstrate the entire story and always keep you on the edge while reading it.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King

This book is proven to turn manuscripts into published novels and short stories. This book mainly teaches about the techniques and other essential components required to gain success in writing. It teaches everything about editing your write-ups and how to bring perfection to your articles every time. Hence, another must-read if you want to understand how to become a writer.

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Zen shares his love, excitement, wisdom, and experience during his entire writing journey in this book. The exuberant stories are completely practical stories that will help clear your basics in writing and inspire the writer within you!

The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig

The writing journey is long and perpetual. You get to learn new things almost every day! However, you might still get stuck with different queries. The Kick-Ass Writer speaks about various aspects and queries that a writer might acquire with time.

It helps to acknowledge and answer all the questions in a very lucid manner, giving maximum clarity to the writer’s mind.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

The life of a writer is indeed a roller coaster ride. Starting from the initial rejections to writer’s blocks and whatnot. You get to deal with millions of things over time which might create frustration. The Bird by Bird talks about similar instances and experiences in a writer’s life, which is pretty common, and steps on how to overcome such challenges as a writer.

Story Genius by Lisa Cron

If you love writing stories, this book will help you build the skill of using cognitive storytelling strategies to keep your reader hooked to your book. It helps add structure to the raw ideas in mind and generate a complete story, which is a tricky task for a writer.

The Story Genius decodes the different possibilities and techniques to excel in your storytelling career.

Types of Writing Options Available For Writers

Since we already talked about how much a writer can make on average, let’s check out what are the different types of writing options for writers out there that are sustainable and profitable at the same time.

Freelance Writing

Being a freelance writer has one of the greatest advantages in professional life, flexibility! You get to choose who you work for and the topics that you want to write about. There are different types of freelance writing, starting from blog writing to copywriting and many more. You can use platforms like Fiverr to look for clients.

Also, if you want to earn more, it is always recommended that you choose a suitable niche and specialize in that particular subject such as tech, digital marketing, medicine, etc.

Ghostwriting

When you do freelance writing, in most cases, you are attributed to your published articles. On the contrary, with ghostwriting, you are not attributed to your blogs or write-ups. Instead, it will be attributed to someone else.

Hence, there is more potential to earn here since you cannot market your blogs yourself, and you are not getting your due credits here.

According to Ziprecruiter, ghostwriters earn about $51,456 per year on average!

Blogging

Blogging is an all-rounder and one of the most popular choices for professional writers. You can either create a doctors blog, food blog, marketing blog, IT blog, or even an author’s blog,

A blog is an incredible method of building your community and interacting with them via your blog posts and articles.
You can also make a six-figure income by blogging via affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and many more.

Lastly, you can also create and use your blog as a marketing strategy and build your portfolio to pitch to other clients for hiring you.

How to Build a Career in Writing

Now when we are done with all the possibilities and techniques and everything you need to know about how to start writing and building this habit, let’s jump onto building a career in writing and making good revenue out of it.

Step 1: Get Appropriate Certification Online

Appropriate certification will help you build credibility and enhance your resume when you send it out with your pitch to your future clients.

There are multiple courses, camps, and webinars that offer you certificates online, which you can use to build your writing career gradually. Likewise, the courses we mentioned before also offer you e-certificates that are valid worldwide and will hold significant importance in your entire writing career.

Step 2: Get a Degree in Writing

Some many institutes and colleges offer you a major or a minor degree in writing for full time. However, you can also choose shorter courses and get your writing degrees certified by the top institutes.

Getting a degree in writing will help you clear your basics. It will ensure that you learn right from the professionals and get the best knowledge for your writing career.

Also, getting a writing degree will give you an edge over your fellow writers since you will be taught by a professional, and the degree will be a game-changer during your interviews and pitches.

Step 3: Start a Blog

Starting a blog takes a slight bit of initial investment, which will be all worth it when you finally gain some traction and revenue out of it. Your blog is almost your online business where you can write down your thoughts and monetize them effortlessly.

When you create your blog, you can portray your clients about the type of quality of articles you write and giving you a better edge in understanding how you can run a blog. This will help make your pitch even better and foolproof!

Step 4: Create a Portfolio

Creating a portfolio is an absolute necessity when it comes to making writing your career. Your portfolio is the summation of your previous samples and your past achievements in the field of writing.

Concerning samples, you can either link your blog to your portfolio or link any guest posts that you might have posted elsewhere. This is precisely why we mentioned creating an online presence with writing in the previous points.

A good portfolio is just like your curriculum vitae or resumes which you send out to your clients along with your pitch as to why they should hire you in their organization.

Remember. The more effort you add to building your portfolio, the better chances you have of sealing the final deal with your potential client.

Step 5: Create a Website For Yourself

You need to create a website for yourself to list out all your degrees, certifications, and achievements of your past. It is almost an “About Us” section that reveals insight into your professional life. This will yet again help you to create a solid online presence.

Career Opportunities for Writers

Even though we have discussed a few options that you can choose as a writer, here are some more career opportunities for writers that you can consider shortly.

Novelist

If you love writing fiction stories, you can always become a great novelist in your career. There are a few courses that we have mentioned above that are perfect for budding novelists.

Novelists have great popularity and are recognized for their work worldwide. Hence, if you are aspiring to be a novelist in the future, get certified and start working on your first novel today!

News Reporter

If you want to see your name in print or online news articles, a news reporter is an ideal career option. To become a news reporter, you need to ensure that you are well-versed and updated with all the latest news that is happening over the world or your geographic area, whichever you are aiming to cover.

News reporters typically earn lump sum money, and there is a great demand for news reporters currently within leading companies such as Times, The NY Times, and many more.

Technical Writer

If you love coding and are a tech-savvy person, a technical writer is likely your best shot! Technical writer educates their audience about the different topics which are relevant to their industry.

The technical industry is massive. Some of the specializations under technical writing include web development, app development, and others.

However, everything boils down to your technical knowledge. In case you do not have a sound technical background, it is recommended not to choose this career since your knowledge base is highly important here.

Copywriter

In the simplest terms, a copywriter typically sells using their words. Copywriters use a mix of emotions, psychology, and storytelling to sell a product or service. Starting from email campaigns to creating a landing page for a website. Copywriting plays an important role in persuading visitors to click on the link and make the final purchase.

Author

Being an author, you have a vast scope in your career. You can either be a children’s author, novella author, historical author, or pretty much anything which is relevant to your interests. You can either write short stories or biographies and publish them under your name.

FAQS

Here are some FAQs related to writing:

👉 What qualification is needed to become a writer?

Even though there is no specific qualification required to become a writer, you should register for any online courses and get your basics strong before starting your journey in writing.

👉 How much does a writer earn?

According to the 2020 Labor Statistics, the median pay for a technical writer currently on average is $74,650 per year, which accounts for $35.89 per hour. Other writers earn about $67,120 per year, which accounts for $32.37 per hour.

👉 Is writing a good profession?

Yes. Writing is currently one of the most lucrative professions out there. You can earn a lump sum amount that is equally sustainable in the long run.

👉 Can anyone become a writer?

Yes. With sheer passion, dedication, and hard work, anyone can become a writer without any restrictions.

👉 Is writing a demanding profession?

Yes. The writing industry is highly demanding and emerging over the years. The employment rate for writers is expected to grow at 8% by 2026, which is even faster than most other jobs.

Final Thoughts

Writers who can persuade and lure readers into reading every line with utmost curiosity until the words run out are the real ones who are likely to succeed in this career. Becoming a writer is easy with the right approach. Thus, now that you know what it takes to become a writer and have a complete plan to finally start your journey in writing, what are you waiting for? Kickstart your journey to writing and let the words flow!