Writing for work: jobs in the word world

We’ve already covered ways of monetising your writing, but even since that blog post made its way into the world, the job market has had a bit of an, erm, upheaval. Not matter anyone’s personal feelings, AI is used by a lot of companies and it has been a longstanding worry that it will also eradicate many jobs – especially in the literary field.

Not to be bleak, the rise in digital technologies has also meant that writing for work is a lot more accessible – freelance gigs, hybrid positions, digital marketing and even the use of brand new platforms to write for work mean that there are a whole lot more industries now looking for wordsmiths!

Learn new skills – internships, apprenticeships and junior positions

If you don’t yet have any ‘lived’ experiences as an employed writer – those companies do love their previous experience a lot of the time – you could always start out in a junior position or in an apprenticeship/internship. These are great ways of getting a foot in the door, as well as picking up new skills that will come in handy for future roles.

Additionally, if you have any, you could dedicate some time to doing an online course or other qualification – digital media, proofreading, content creation and other courses will amp up your hireability in some really interesting niches – plus, there are tons more out there. Even better: look out for deals or taster courses to get more bang for your buck!

Content creation

Content is a pretty wide term for a whole range of written work – scripts, articles, blogs, website text, eLearning materials, social media posts – you name it! There are jobs in agencies, with companies who want an in-house content creator and various other tasks completed, or you could strike out and go freelance.

A vital part of content creation is making sure the words are structured to perform as strongly as possible – but it’s not all guesswork. Content creators will study their chosen platforms and ensure they understand SEO, keywords and other methods of marketing, too – and within the rapidly changing landscapes of trending topics and other social media pitfalls they will bolster their campaigns and spread the word as wide as possible.

Copyediting and proofreading

Those with eagle eyes will make great proofreaders, as they are tasked with spotting and fixing any punctuation mistakes, spelling errors and incorrect grammar. They will also ensure that style guides are adhered to, any links work, track editing changes and do their utmost to get a text to as high a standard as possible.

Along the same lines, a copyeditor’s main goal is to uphold a high standard of writing – watching for consistency, clarity and factuality. There will often be a lot of communication in this role too, as in passing notes to the authors or noting down specific adjustments to be made.

Journalism

There’s often a bit of overlap, so for the sake of a short subtitle, take this to include adjacent roles like feature writers, reporters, or press officers too – but a lot of the time in any journalist role, you’ll be tasked with interviewing people and collecting facts about a whole range of different subjects.

Journalists often will have their finger on the pulse, and need to be personable in order to delve deep and get interesting tidbits from passers-by or witnesses – but they also may be tasked with writing up these summaries and jotting down notes from events, too.

Teaching or lecturing

To inspire the next generation, you could become a teacher or lecturer – or even a tutor for an even more flexible role! Depending on the setup the educational institution or school has in place, you’ll be making your own materials, supervising your students and imparting wisdom to them.

You’ll tend to be honed in on one type of teaching niche or age group, so if there are any particular passions of yours you know a lot about, you could choose to follow your own further research path too and expand on your own education too by submitting your research or collaborating on projects.

Not to be a jobsworth…

If you’re struggling to net ‘the write one’ at the moment, I wish you the best! It’s a tough market out there, but keeping your chin up and bigging up your skills to match job adverts will eventually get you there. Have a look every now and again, you never know what you might find!