Which Type of Writing Career to Choose as a Beginner?

String along a few words, and you have a sentence.

Sentences become paragraphs, which become passages, and soon you have pages full of thousands of words. In short, writing is a powerful skill.

Writing can construct entire stories, communicate how one feels, or explain a complicated concept easily.

Having great writing skills opens a person to a range of work opportunities.

The nature of these opportunities varies; some jobs are based in a professional setting and require formal writing, whereas others are more experimental and creative.

Deciding on any one career among these can be intimidating, which is why knowing the details of all writing jobs is necessary.

This information can help you realize which job aligns most with your interests and skill set.

To help make an informed decision, here are six of many forms of writing careers;

Content Writing

Today, one of the leading commercial uses of writers is content writing.

A common marketing strategy, content writing is employed by brands to promote their services in a non-advertising tone.

This form of writing includes blogs and articles; these write-ups tend to inform the audience about a particular service, including a call-to-action (CTA).

Thus, the intention is to convince customers to purchase by providing adequate information.

As a content writer, your primary focus is to write clearly to ensure an article/ blog is understandable to a large audience.

The content is either posted directly by the brand or a third party, such as online influencers.

Content writing requires a person to have descriptive and concise writing skills.

Additionally, a content writer should have flexibility in their tone as different brands and content will require a change in voice and approach.

Ghostwriting

The novel-writing industry is saturated with professional ghostwriting services.

Ghostwriting refers to working off-the-record for authors who receive the credit for writing.

Most professional ghostwriting services work on stories and novels that are personal projects. However, these writers often collaborate with businesses.

Ghostwriting is popular as it gets considered seeking the expertise of a professional.

Most people hire ghostwriting services because they believe those writers will execute the writing project better, producing high-quality work.

Often, professional ghostwriting services get approached to improve an existing manuscript so it’s ready for publishing.

Similar to content writing, ghostwriting requires a person to have flexibility in their writing style as clients bring projects from all sorts of genres.

These writers need to read more frequently as the job requires being imaginative, having your ideas, and being able to produce writing in a limited period.

Therefore, you should be prepared for a fast-paced and innovative environment.

• Songwriting

Do you have a sense of rhyming or creating a tune?

If you have the mentioned talents, then songwriting might be the career for you!

It is a common misconception that whoever writes songs must sing them, but that is not true!

Many singers have songwriters working for them, creating their songs.

Songwriting gets credited by the music artist, and the practice includes writing lyrics to musical compositions.

The writing requirements for this job are severely different from the first two. While you still work for clients, you do not need to maintain a formal and professional tone in writing.

Songwriting does require a person to be well-versed in musical terms, adapt their writing style according to music genres, and have a creative mindset.

However, the job does not end with making one song and calling it a day.

Songwriters must ideate and create multiple lyrics and tracks before reaching a finalized song.

Thus, the job requires being patient and artistic constantly.

• Journalism

Want a job connected to current affairs?

Journalism is the answer.

The field of journalism is extensive; it mainly requires you to research, write, and then report on the subject you wrote about.

The work of a journalist is grounded in political, social, or environmental concerns; they write to update and highlight their severity or importance.

Journalism has strict expectations from any journalist; they should be professional and determined to report honestly. 

No news or report should be fabricated but based on elaborate research.

The job entails a lot of field research, being actively present, and prioritizing getting the truth to the audience.

Journalism can seem intimidating, but the career is fitting for anyone who values what is happening around them and wants to actively participate in informing people about said concerns.

• Screenwriter

Lights, camera, action!

Have you ever watched a show/ movie on your television and thought, ‘I could write a better storyline’?

Well, screenwriting might be the career for you!

Creating and writing storylines and plots for shows and movies is known as screenwriting.

The created manuscript provides more than just a completed narrative. Screenwriting produces a setting, direction, dialogues, and proper cues.

The script gets translated by producers and directors into a proper film/ show.

The job requires a person to be innovative. Most importantly, the writer should have a cohesive writing style so the script has flow.

A screenwriter should be capable of visualizing their ideas; being unable to do so will lead to a script that requires revisions for adaptation to a screenplay.

• Copywriting

Writing for marketing is not limited to content writing.

Copywriting is another writing-based job for brands; the writer openly advertises the business and its products.

Therefore, copywriting contradicts content writing.

A copywriter must have an engaging and unique writing style, as the primary goal is to draw the customer to the brand and make a purchase.

The intention of selling is evident in such writing; it is direct and on point.

Conclusion

When it comes to exploring writing jobs, each career requires a person to have proficiency in writing.

Instead of deciding on a career based on the quality of your writing, a person should focus on the topics they enjoy or their preferred nature of work.

Such factors help narrow down career choices easily.

You can market for brands, join professional ghostwriting services, report news, or create memorable discographies; it all comes down to realizing which job feels most fulfilling.