Description of duties
An author is someone who writes creative and unique stories. Authors typically work for a bigger company, business, or themselves. They get feedback from editors and get insight from different perspectives to enhance their work before it is published.
Work Environment
Authors work anywhere they can have access to a computer, or pen and paper. The only thing a writer needs access too is somewhere he can write down his ideas. This allows for the story to flow and be made into one piece. A quiet place is better for authors to concentrate, however, going out into the public may give them ideas on what to say.
Education, Experience, and Skills Required
A bachelor’s degree is needed as your first step in becoming a professional author. Majoring in English, journalism, or communications specifically for this career due to the amount of writing you do in those classes. However, if you’re lucky, just having a creative mind can be enough. Aspiring authors should try to accomplish as many pieces as they can. Work with different editors and get different people’s feedback, so you can gain more skill. Skills required to be a writer is to be patient. The first person to read your piece might not love it, however the 15th person could. It takes time and growth to become your best self when it comes to writing. Secondly, you must be creative. To be a great writer you have to think outside the box and write something no one has ever heard before.
Typical Salary
The typical pay for a writer/ author is $51,711 or $20.44/hour. The better the company you are working for, the higher you will get paid. For instance, you will get paid more if one were to write for the New York times, rather than your towns newspaper. However, if you sell a best-selling book, you could make even more money.
How to Prepare
While in college, there are a couple things you can do to prepare to become a writer. First, you should be working on your book every day. If you wait too long to write your book, the love you have for it may fade. Working on it every day allows for the book to flow better, and more ideas to be made. Secondly, you should be practicing your skills constantly. Whether it is from writing short stories or writing a quick blog, you should always be practicing writing different things. Last you should make sure you have a variety of resources and connections. This will help you outside of college in the long run when looking to publish your book. You can publish your own books on Amazon as well.
How to Advance
You will most likely have strong competition in this job field. Many people might have the same publisher as you, causing your competition to just be in your company. However, that doesn’t stop their as there is multiple publishing companies and future authors working to further their career every day. Getting involved in social media and the world today will give you a step up in this job. Since social media is huge and apart of everyone’s life’s, ones who strive to be an author should get involved in this field to gain fans and attention.
Sources
Average Writer / Author Salary. (n.d.). Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Writer_/_Author/Salary
Jenkins, J. (2020, September 01). How to Become an Author: The Ultimate Guide from a Bestseller. Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://jerryjenkins.com/how-to-become-an-author/
Writer or Author. (2020, May 20). Retrieved from https://www.truity.com/career-profile/writer-or-author
