Question to those who work in writing as a profession

[Double J]

Hello everyone,

 

This question goes out to those who have taken on writing careers. I'm talking about authors, columnists, journalists, public relations professionals, and the like.

 

I'm majoring in Marketing and plan to graduate at the end of this year. For several months now, I've considered getting into market research (where I would work heavily with statistics) since the demand for these jobs is fairly decent. However, I've been having second thoughts as of late.

 

I've realized that my true calling in life is not working with numbers, although I work considerably well with statistics, computations, etc. Ever since I was little, I always dreamed of becoming a writer. I feel that writing is my true talent (always praised by teachers throughout middle school and high school for my writing abilities). I've always been a perfectionist with my writing as well (I seem to be the only one among my peer group who cares about inpeccable grammar). Throughout my whole life, I've made it a habit to look up the definitions to words I'm not familiar with.

 

I would have jumped straight into English or Public Relations after graduating from high school, but my father wanted me to pursue Accounting. I was good at Accounting but eventually grew tired of it and changed my major (no passion for it whatsoever). I didn't want to start over from scratch so I stayed within the business curriculum and selected Marketing as my new major. I've enjoyed studying subjects like consumer behavior very much.

 

I'm always reading the latest news in the world of business from sources like the Wall Street Journal, BrandWeek, Advertising Age, etc. I've come to the conclusion, however, that just because I enjoy reading about research on the topic does not mean that I would enjoy conducting the research myself. I'm taking a class in Market Research right now and it seems way too numbers-oriented for me.

 

I've decided that I want to make a transition from a market research track to a writing track. The thing is that I wish to write about those subjects I'm passionate about (business and sports). My dream was to become a sports writer but it seems more feasible/realistic that I may end up writing about business trends.

 

I recently discovered that my local university has implemented a Business Journalism Master's program, which I feel would be a perfect fit for me. I think that with my background in Marketing/Business, I'll be a good candidate in the near future for someone seeking a Business writer. Plus, I recently got a job for a small start-up company which will grant me the opportunity to assist the owner in writing business plans and other documents.

 

For those of you in this industry or a similar one:

Is this feasible?

I don't want to be in a numbers-oriented career because that is not where my real talents/passions truly lie.

 

For those of you who write for a living, how has it gone for you?

Look forward to your responses.

[Goldfish6888]

Hi DoubleJ,

 

I graduated with a Business Degree and started my career in asset management (investment funds, unit prices, percentages, asset allocation....it was yawn, ahem...yawn... boring!) I quickly decided I was not the "numbers" type person and I immediately identified that my company NEEDED a marketing person (which is how I now work in marketing!) Working as a Marketing Communications Executive in a corporate culture I can say my work is quite varied e.g; everything from designing ads, ad concepts, taglines, copywriting, working with photos, branding, business to business relationships, web design and press releases, article writing, e-zine content & creation to presentations and face to face communication.

 

One word of advice, which I found out as I went along in my marketing career is: if a job isn't exactly what you want, know that you can "tailor" it (as you grow into it) to suit you better! Certainly, management LOVE you to take the initiative and expand your role. So, be open! Once you get the "foot in the door", it's up to you to open it.

 

As regards "making a living" from just writing. I've a good friend, who is a full time journalist - he writes for gaming magazines (you can't be choosy as most writers will tell you!). He has done articles for major newspapers aswell and is very busy, but this took years of building contacts and lean years of very little money!

 

In the meantime whilst tied to the corporate culture and fulltime job, I do write in my spare time (writing a novel), which got shortlisted for publishing last year. I also write for a Business magazine (for free), but it has got my name into other magazines and newspapers and also gets my name known around the industry. You might consider doing this initially, just to get your resume on track!

 

I think a marketing/business communications role would be something you might think of? If you want to PM me, I will give you some more detailed advice (only if you want!)

 

Wishing you the best. Hope this helps.

GFISH

 

G Fish